The Double Fifth Festival

The Double Fifth Festival, also known as the Dragon Boat Festival, falls on the fifth day of the fifth month. It is the next major festival observed throughout the country and is celebrated with a special food made from glutinous rice, called ‘Zongzi’ in Mandarin or ‘chung’ in Cantonese, which people both eat themselves and send as presents to relatives and friends. A chung is basically a rice parcel made with white glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo leaves (or lotus leaves) into a triangular shape and then tied together. What accompanies the rice depends on the region and can be anything from roast or seasoned pork, beans and chestnuts, to preserved duck egg yolks, etc.