Culture Insider: Traditions during leap month

After that, before each leap month, daughters began to visit their parents and bring gifts. As wild goose is a rare bird, people use dough to make wild goose-shaped pastry in place of the actual bird for their parents, wishing them healthy and hoping to banish any plagues.

In some parts of East China's Shandong province, the married daughters will send dough-made fish and toad to their parents, which symbolize "wealth" and "health" respectively. Besides, it is said that the dough fish is for a mother and the dough toad is for a father.