DUAN WU JIE������ڣ�

        Duan Wu Jie is a day to commemorate the Chinese patriot and poet, Qu Yuan (��ԭ).  Falling on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, it is a day to remind oneself of one's duties and obligations to the nation.  Other than eating rice dumplings and participating in dragon boat races, this occasion ought to be used to commemorate the national patriots and to emphasise on the importance of loyalty and commitment to the community.
 

ORIGIN

        During the tumultous period of the Warring States (ս��ʱ��), there lived a wise and learned man called Qu Yuan (340 - 278 B.C.).  He served in various official capacities in the Chu Kingdom.  Evil court official, being antagonised by Qu Yuan's ability and reforms, influenced the weak-minded emperor to dismiss and exile him.
        During the next 20 years following his exile, Qu Yuan travelled extensively and composed verses on what he saw and thought.  With the progressive occupation of Chu land by the Qin Kingdom, Qu Yuan was totally disheartened.  Finally, being overwhelmed by misery, Qu Yuan clasped a stone to his chest and plunged into the Mi Luo River (in Hunan province) on the fifth day of the fifth month.
        Upon hearing Qu Yuan's suicide, the fishermen set sail to look for his body, hence began the tradition of holding dragon boat competitions.  However, Qu Yuan's body could not be found and people started throwing rice into the river to feed Qu Yuan.  Later the local fishermen were told in a dream that the fishes and other sea creatures got the rice instead of Qu Yuan.  Therefore, the next time they threw rice into the river, they first stuffed it into bamboo sections.  This custom is later evolved into the present day version: rice wrapped in bamboo leaves stuffed with meat, beans, salted egg yolks, mushrooms, etc..

OBSERVATION

       People will start making and exchange dumplings among relatives and friends as early as one week before the actual day.  For those who practice ancestral worship, they would set aside some dumplings to be offered to their ancestors.