The Dragon Boat Festival

The Dragon Boat Festival was in the last month, and I realized that we should have known some of the basics as listed here.

转自：中国英语网

The Dragon Boat Festival(端午节，字面意思是龙舟节), also called Double Fifth Festival, is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth moon of the lunar calendar. It is one of the most important Chinese festivals, the other two being the Autumn Moon Festival and Chinese New Year. The origin of this summer festival centers around a scholarly government official named Chu Yuan. He was a good and respected man, but because of the misdeeds of jealous rivals he eventually fell into disfavor in the emperor's court.
Unable to regain the respect of the emperor, in his sorrow Chu Yuan threw himself into the Mi Low river. Because of their admiration for Chu Yuan, the local people living adjacent to the Mi Lo River rushed into their boats to search for him while throwing rice into the waters to appease the river dragons.
Although they were unable to find Chu Yuan, their efforts are still commemorated today during the Dragon Boat Festival.
端午节的由来
端午节，又称为五五节，因为端午节是在农历的五月五日，是三个重要的中国节庆之一，其它两个分别是中秋节和农历新年。 这个节日的由来是古代中国有一位博学多闻的官吏屈原，他是一位爱民而且又受到尊崇的官吏，但是由于一位充满嫉妒的官吏陷害，从此在朝廷中被皇帝所冷落。由于无法获得皇帝的重视，屈原在忧郁的情况下投汨罗江自尽。由于对屈原的爱戴，汨罗江畔的居民匆忙的划船在江内寻找屈原，并且将米丢入汨罗江中，以平息汨罗江中的蛟龙。即使他们当时并没有找到屈原，但是他们的行为，直到今天在端午节的时候，仍然被人们传颂纪念着。
Dragon Boat race Traditions At the center of this festival are the dragon boat races. Competing teams drive their colorful dragon boats forward to the rhythm of beating drums. These exciting races were inspired by the villager's valiant attempts to rescue Chu Yuan from the Mi Lo river. This tradition has remained unbroken for centuries.
Tzung Tzu A very popular dish during the Dragon Boat festival is tzung tzu. This tasty dish consists of rice dumplings with meat, peanut, egg yolk, or other fillings wrapped in bamboo leaves. The tradition of tzung tzu is meant to remind us of the village fishermen scattering rice across the water of the Mi Low river in order to appease the river dragons so that they would not devour Chu Yuan.
Ay Taso The time of year of the Dragon Boat Festival, the fifth lunar moon, has more significance than just the story of Chu Yuan. Many Chinese consider this time of year an especially dangerous time when extra efforts must be made to protect their family from illness. Families will hang various herbs, called Ay Tsao, on their door for protection. The drinking of realgar wine is thought to remove poisons from the body. Hsiang Bao are also worn. These sachets contain various fragrant medicinal herbs thought to protect the wearer from illness.
风俗习惯
端午节最重要的活动是龙舟竞赛，比赛的队伍在热烈的鼓声中划着他们多彩的龙舟前进。这项活动的灵感是来自于当时汨罗江畔的居民，在江中划船救屈原，而这个传统也一直保持了数个世纪。
在端午节时受欢迎的食物就是粽子，粽子是以米包着肉、花生、蛋黄及其它材料，再以竹叶包裹。而粽子的传统则来由于汨罗江边的渔夫，将米丢入江中平息江中的蛟龙，希望他们不要将屈原吃掉。
农历的五月，也就是端午节的这个时节，对中国人而言，除了屈原的故事还有许多其它重要的意义。许多中国人相信五月是一年中容易引发疾病的危险时节，因此必须有许多防备家人生病的措施。许多家庭会将一种特别的植物-艾草挂在门口，作为保护之用，而人们也会挂带香包，它是以含有多种香味的药用植物所做成，也可以保护人们远离疾病。
There is a very famous traditional Chinese story that has a close connection to the Dragon Boat Festival. Once upon a time on E-Mei mountain there lived two snake spirits, White Snake and Green Snake. These snakes, being magical, turned themselves into beautiful maidens and set off on a journey to the West Lake of Hang Zhou.
When they arrived at West Lake they met a man named Xu Xian. White Snake quickly fell in love with Xu Xian and they were soon married. A Buddhist monk, named Fa Hai, warned Xu Xian of his wife's deceptive appearance and suggested to him a plan.
On the day of the Dragon Boat Festival White Snake wished to stay home so as to avoid the Ay Tsao, used for protection from spirits, hanging on the doors of people's houses. Her husband prepared, according to Fa Hai's instruction, some realgar wine, as this was a tradition during the Dragon boat festival. White Snake, thinking her magic would protect her from the effects of the realgar wine accepted a cup. After she drank the wine she became very ill and was barely able to get to her bed.
When her husband came to her side, he found not his wife but a huge white snake. So great was Xu Xian's shock that he fell to the floor dead.
After recovering from the realgar wine and regaining her human form, White Snake was grief-stricken to find her husband dead. She set off on a journey to obtain a potent medicinal herb, which could revive her husband. After returning and reviving her husband with the medicine, she explained to Xu Xian that the white snake he saw was actually a dragon and that this vision was indeed a very good omen. Xu Xain's fears were put to rest for the moment by his wife's fanciful story…
白蛇传
另一个与端午节息息相关的中国传统故事是「白蛇传」。 从前，在伊眉山上有两只蛇精，白蛇与青蛇。这两只蛇精运用法力将自己变成美丽的女子，并到杭州溪湖游玩。
当他们在西湖游玩时，遇到一位名叫许仙的男子，白蛇与许仙很快的相恋并且随即结婚。当时一位名叫法海的和尚，曾经警告许仙注意他妻子惑人的外表，并建议他一个知道真相的计画。 端午节当天，白蛇待加家里以避开人们挂在门上驱邪的艾草，而许仙则依照法海的建议准备了大家在端午节时都会喝的雄黄酒。白蛇自认魔力可以抵挡雄黄酒对他的影响，因此喝了一杯。但是在他喝下那杯酒之后，他却变得精疲力竭，几乎走不到床上。当许仙回到白蛇身边，看到的不是自己美丽的妻子，而是一只巨大的白蛇，许仙震惊不已且跳楼自杀。
当白蛇恢复精力及人形时，他才发现自己丈夫已经身亡，因此白蛇外出寻找能使许仙起死回生的强效药草。许仙在服用药草，并起死回生之后，白蛇告诉许仙他看到的那条白蛇，其实是一只代表吉相的龙。而在那时，许仙也在白蛇引人入胜的故事中将恐惧拋诸脑后…

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Dragon Boat Festival（端午节）The Dragon Boat Festival, also called the Duanwu Festival, is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month according to the Chinese calendar. For thousands of years, the festival has been marked by eating zong zi (glutinous rice（糯米）wrapped to form a pyramid using bamboo or reed leaves) and racing dragon boats.
The festival is best known for its dragon-boat races, especially in the southern provinces where there are many rivers and lakes. This regatta（赛舟会）commemorates the death of Qu Yuan , an honest minister who is said to have committed suicide by drowning himself in a river.
Qu was a minister of the State of Chu situated in present-day Hunan and Hubei provinces, during the Warring States Period (475-221BC)（战国时期）. He was upright, loyal and highly esteemed for his wise counsel that brought peace and prosperity to the state. However, when a dishonest and corrupt prince vilified Qu, he was disgraced and dismissed from office. Realizing that the country was now in the hands of evil and corrupt officials, Qu grabbed a large stone and leapt into the Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth month. Nearby fishermen rushed over to try and save him but were unable to even recover his body. Thereafter, the state declined and was eventually conquered by the State of Qin.
The people of Chu who mourned the death of Qu threw rice into the river to feed his ghost every year on the fifth day of the fifth month. But one year, the spirit of Qu appeared and told the mourners that a huge reptile（爬行动物）in the river had stolen the rice. The spirit then advised them to wrap the rice in silk and bind it with five different-colored threads before tossing it into the river.
During the Duanwu Festival, a glutinous rice pudding called zong zi is eaten to symbolize the rice offerings to Qu. Ingredients such as beans, lotus seeds（莲子）, chestnuts（栗子）, pork fat and the golden yolk of a salted duck egg are often added to the glutinous rice. The pudding is then wrapped with bamboo leaves, bound with a kind of raffia and boiled in salt water for hours.
The dragon-boat races symbolize the many attempts to rescue and recover Qu's body. A typical dragon boat ranges from 50-100 feet in length, with a beam of about 5.5 feet, accommodating two paddlers seated side by side.
A wooden dragon head is attached at the bow, and a dragon tail at the stern（船尾）. A banner hoisted on a pole is also fastened at the stern and the hull is decorated with red, green and blue scales edged in gold. In the center of the boat is a canopied shrine behind which the drummers, gong（铜锣）beaters and cymbal（铙钹）players are seated to set the pace for the paddlers. There are also men positioned at the bow to set off firecrackers, toss rice into the water and pretend to be looking for Qu. All of the noise and pageantry creates an atmosphere of gaiety and excitement for the participants and spectators alike. The races are held among different clans, villages and organizations, and the winners are awarded medals, banners, jugs of wine and festive meals.