On the 5th day of the 5th month in the Lunar calendar, it has always been a tradition for the Chinese to celebrate and enjoy the "Rice Dumpling Festival”, also known as the “Dragon Boat Festival”. The Chinese call this day, Duan-Wu. This year, Duan-Wu falls on 28 May 2009. How it all began?
In China, the Dragon Boat Festival is held in memory of the Chinese patriotic poet, Qu Yuan (340 BC-278 BC or 343-290 B.C.), who committed suicide by jumping into the river after tying himself with big rock on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month.
Qu Yuan was the number one advisor of the kingdom of Chu . But people were jealous of his position. Qu Yuan felt that the new king was incapable of running the countryand nobody cared about the future of the country and to live was meaningless and he drowned himself in the river. Fishermen tried to rescue him, but the body was never found. They were worried that the fish would eat his body so they threw food into the river to feed the fish. They also scared away the fish by splashing the water with their paddles and beating the drums on long narrow boats.
Today, these pyramid-shape dumplings are made from glutinous rice with savoury fillings and wrapped in bamboo leaves. Lest one thinks that rice dumplings are boring and ordinary, somehow through the years, due to the ingenuity of chefs, the traditional rice dumplings have evolved to become gourmet dumplings comprising unique ingredients that diners will certainly enjoy. In Singapore, we call these dumplings "Zang".
Did you know that in parts of China, it is believed that if you can make an egg stand up during the Dragon Boat Day, you will be lucky for the coming year ?
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