June 9 marks the Dragon Boat Festival, or Duanwu Festival in China. It is one of the most important traditional Chinese festivals and is celebrated annually on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar.

At the center of the festival are the dragon boat races. Competing teams drive their colorful dragon boats forward to the rhythm of beating drums. The tradition originated from the fishermen who raced to save the fallen Chinese poet Qu Yuan in the 3rd century B-C. Another festival classic is eating sticky rice dumplings, known as Zongzi.

And as insects and pests are active during this season, people will put mugwort leaves and calamus on doors or windows to repel them.