New Yorkers celebrate Dragon Boat Festival with fervor & color

Anirudh Singh, another participant, was able to recount the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival. "The fishermen threw rice in the river to make sure the fish didn't eat Qu Yuan's body, right?" he said. "I learnt all about it before I came here."

Singh was quite right. The festival began in China's Spring and Autumn (770-476 B.C) and Warring States periods (475-221 B.C). Qu Yuan was a minister of Chu, located in the Yangzi River area of central China.

In 340 BC, Qu was facing the pain of losing his homeland. Later he drowned himself in the Miluo River on May 5. The people of Chu were very sad.

To prevent fish from eating his body, the locals wrapped leaves around rice and put them into the river while beating their drums and splashed their paddles on boats.