The ancients were superstitious people. Because the festival fell on the fifth day of the fifth month, the number five became a significant number.

The fifth month was considered an evil month and it wa an especially bad omen to be born on the fifth day. This was the month during the hot summer when the weather was most conducive to diseases brought on by the " Five Gods of Plague".

To combat against this evil, protective charms were developed. One included wearing five color threads or ribbons of silk. These "threads of life" were given as gifts to families for the purpose of averting bad influences. Five colored ornaments were worn in the hair, and even zongzi was originally tied with five colored threads.

The five colors are powerful motif because each color is associated with one of the Five Elements ( azure=wood, red=fire, yellow=earth, white=metal, and black=water). The elements, which are five natural forces, work together in a cyclical order to represent periods of rise and decay, production and destruction. Wood prevails over earth; metal prevails over vood; fire over metal;water over fire; and earth over water. Thus by symbolizing the essence of creation, the endless cycle of elements adn their correlations with colors, directions, seasons, and so on, are especially effective in banishing pernicious influences.

Another charm is the "Five Poisons" (WuDu) motif. The animals represented are the snake, centipede, scorpion, lizard, and toad ( sometimes the spider replaces one of these creatures). Their images are embroidered on clothing, stamped on cakes, and engraved on pater charms, with the idea of avoiding bites form them or, as some suggest, to counteract other kinds of poisons with the accumulated poison fo the five. And still yet another method included hanging a bouquet of four types of green leaves and on posy of flowers ( to make five) over doorways to ward off demons. Mugwort leaves, calamus, and garlic were also hung over doors to ward off poisionous influences. And lastly portraits of Zhong Kui, a demon-stayer, or pieces of paper with anti-demonic incantations were posted outside and around the house.