The Dragon Boat Festival (端午节 or Duānwǔjié in pīnyīn) is an official public holiday in Mainland China. This traditional holiday, also called the Double Fifth festival, is celebrated on the 5th day of the 5th month of the Chinese lunar calendar (called 农历 or nónglì in Chinese).

The Dragon Boat Festival is a traditional Chinese holiday that has been around in various forms for thousands of years. Its current iteration is an amalgamation of multiple different festivals and traditions. Two prevailing stories are often cited to explain the origin of this age-old holiday.

The dragon boat festival is a fun, boisterous holiday. In most parts of China, the weather is quite good at this time of year, and people congregate outside on the banks of rivers and lakes to enjoy the fine weather while watching traditional dragon boat races.

Almost every Chinese holiday has a specific food or foods associated with it, and Dragon Boat Festival is no different. On this holiday, the food of choice is zòngzi (粽子).

Zòngzi are a type of pyramid-shaped dumpling made of glutinous rice and stuffed with various sweet or savory fillings. Common fillings for sweet zòngzi include sweet red bean paste or jujube (Chinese dates).

Savory zòngzi might be stuffed with salted egg yolks, pork or mushrooms. The dumplings themselves are wrapped in bamboo leaves, tied with a string, and either steamed or boiled.