The Dragon Boat Festival which falls on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month is an important festival for Chinese communities around the world. It is also known as the Duan Wu ("double fifth") Festival in Mandarin. Originating from southern China, the festival has its early origins in the worship of the river dragon before it became associated with the commemoration of Qu Yuan, a third century poet and patriotic statesman during the Warring States period (475-221 BC) of ancient China.