Dragon Boat Festival 端午

The fifth day of the fifth lunar month — racing, and the summer's apotropaic observances. The Dragon Boat Festival falls on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. Its two consistent elements are the boat races and the food wrapped in leaves, and it carries a substantial layer of protective custom.

Its date is set by the lunar month, so it moves against the solar calendar. The fifth day of the fifth lunar month — racing, and the summer's apotropaic observances. The protective layer is not incidental: several of the major festivals cluster at seasonal turning points, and this one is the summer's, which is why its customs are about disease rather than about ancestors.

The festival is bound up with the warm season's onset — the classical association is with driving off illness and pests at the point of the year when they appear. The most widespread customs are the hanging of aromatic herbs and the wearing of scent bags. It is grouped under Fire (火) in the five-element system.