Happy 端午節 Duanwu / Dragon Boat Festival!
Duanwu is one of the four most important traditional holidays (the other three being Qingming, Mid Autumn Festival and the Spring Festival/Chinese New Year) celebrated by Chinese people throughout the world. It is celebrated on the 5th day of the 5th month of traditional Chinese calendar, which for 2021 falls on June 14th of the Gregorian calendar. The two calendars are not perfectly synched, so the Gregorian calendar date for Duanwu would change from year to year (FYI it will be on June 3rd for 2022, and June 22nd for 2023).
The Duanwu festival is primarily for commemorating the tragic death of Warring States era poet and statesman Qu Yuan (c. 243-348 BC). Qu Yuan is one of the most celebrated literary figure in Chinese history, whose poems are known for their highly expressive lyrical style, imbibed with intoxicating mythos and broiling pathos. Qu Yuan is also among those historical figures became widely celebrated by the contemporary Chinese LGBTQ community, as Qu frequently (also quite explicitly) writes about his romantic passions towards his lover and patron King Huai of Chu, whom Qu Yuan refers to as “my beautiful one.”