Dragon Festival on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar on which the Chinese calendar is based. The Dragon Festival is originated from ancient China. Quyuan, a patriot of the Chu Kingdom during War State period. Qu Yuan drowned on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month in 277 B.C. Since Quyuan is love and esteem by the citizen, the Chinese citizens throw bamboo leaves filled with cooked rice into the water. Therefore the fish could eat the rice rather than the hero poet. This later on turned into the custom of eating rice dumplings.
Dragon Boat races are the most exciting part of the festival. Dragon Boats are generally brightly painted and decorated canoes. Ranging anywhere from 40 to 100 feet in length, their heads are shaped like open-mouthed dragons, while the sterns end with a scaly tail. Depending on the length, up to 80 rowers can power the boat. A drummer and flag-catcher stand at the front of the boat. Before a dragon boat enters competition, it must be "brought to life" by painting the eyes in a sacred ceremony. Races can have any number of boats competing, with the winner being the first team to grab a flag at the end of the course. Annual races take place all over China, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and other overseas Chinese communities.
Please refer to following link for more details:
http://www.c-c-c.org/chineseculture/festival/dragonboat/dragon.html
http://www.ncsu.edu/midlink/dec97/holiday/boatz.html
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