CHANGS ( Dumpling)Chinese festival

TO day 28th May 2009 is the Chinese Dumpling festival it is celebrated on the firth day of the fifth month of the Chinese calender. In Mandarin call Zongzi and in Cantonese Chang.
The festival is celebrated in rememberance of QU YUAN , a scholar in the kingdom of CHU during the warring states period ( The Three Kingdom) in 340BC-278 BC. The old emperor listen to Qu Yuan therefore the Chu kingdom ws strong but after the emperor die his son become emperor who prefer to ignore Qu Yuan and listen to other scholars. Finally Chu kingdom was taken by the Qin kingdom.
Qu Yuan was  so sad seeing his Chu  Kingdom gone decided to drowned himself in the river after writing a poem. He tie some stone in his legs and jumped into the river.
The people respected him so much and afraid that the fishe would eat his body decided to make dumpling from rice and throw into the river for the fish.
The ingredients use are glutinous rice, pork, chestnuts, mushrooms,and black eye bean, red bean, green bean could be use. some include scallop, abalone and other type expensive ingredient and curry favours etc.

My wife learn the learn the art of making dumplings chang from my mother and my 2 daughter also learn from their mother. However living in the city is totally different from living in a Chinese village where pratically every houses make their own dumplings and there was excahnge form one another. I still remember during the Chnag festivals my mother make more than 200 dumplings not for sales but mostly giving to neighbours and relatives and they in return also give their own dumplins to us. Therefore there are so many variety and favour  to taste and eat for days.
What I am afraid this Chinese customs and festival will become history as the new generation of city living people are so buy working and spending most of their time on the road traffic jam etc and It savvy etc does not have the time to learn or practice dumpling making or obeserve the various Chinese custom a festivals.
In the early 1990 every years I have the opportunity to eat the dumpling from Vietnam in fact all the Vietnamese practice and making dumpling in a square shape and big each dumpling for 4-6 people to eat.
I am not sure about USA, Australia , UK maybe my friends over there will let me know. However I sure Chinese overseas do celebrate Chinese New Year.