The festival commemorates the death of Qu Yuan (340BC to 278BC), a Chinese poet and politician who drowned himself in a river in a protest against corrupt rulers in the court. The people admired his patriotism and cast packets of rice called zongzi into the water for fish to eat instead of Qu’s body. Rice dumplings have been associated with Qu ever since. Over the years, recipes have become more elaborate, incorporating ingredients like mung beans, Chinese sausage, jujube, shiitake mushrooms and salted egg yolks, which are wrapped in glutinous rice then bamboo leaves, before being steamed or boiled. Recreate the unmistakable taste of the festival in your own kitchen.

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One way people warded off evil spirits they believed caused disease was by cutting out the shapes of five poisonous creatures—snakes, scorpions, geckos, millipedes and toads—from colourful paper to stick on windows, doors, walls and sometimes children’s arms. As well as crafting your own animal decorations, you can also design your own paper dragon boats for a race in a bathtub or pond using paper-folding techniques found online.

In the past, some people believed drinking realgar wine and using it to paint the Chinese character “king” on children’s foreheads would ward off pests, poison, disease and evil spirits. Unfortunately, realgar wine is actually poisonous and can contain high levels of arsenic, which is linked to a host of cancers. While some regions cling to the deadly practice, most places in China have moved away from it.

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The five-coloured bracelets and paper art aren’t the only lucky dragon boat talismans. Traditionally, ladies carried scented sachets containing dahurian angelica and clove, and mothers would hang produce like small peppers, cherub plants and cucumbers on babies because it was believed these protected against plague. Chinese people also hang wormwood and sweet flag flowers on their doors or windows to shun bad luck.

In Taiwan, some temples and department stores organise annual egg balancing contests. Some people believe that the chance of standing an egg upright is greatest at noon on Dragon Boat Festival, although scientific research has confirmed that egg-balancing is actually possible throughout the year and is not connected to the gravitational force of the moon or sun.

This article was originally published on June 7, 2021 and was updated on May 27, 2022.

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