FÊTE DES BATEAUX DRAGONS

This festival takes place on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. It commemorates the suicide of the poet and minister Qu Yuen of the Kingdom of Chu in ancient China. He threw himself into the river of Milouo as a protest against the corruption and bad government of the sovereign. Legend has it that the population played drums to scare the fish, and threw rice balls into the water to prevent them from being eaten. From now on, in memory of this tragedy, gelatinous rice cakes are eaten and boat races are organized.