| Dragon Boat Festival The Dragon Boat Festival, also called Double Fifth Festival, is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar. It is one of
the most important Chinese festivals, the other two are the Mid-Autumn Festival and Chinese New Year. This festival commemorates the death of Qu Yuan,an honest minister who is said to have committed suicide by drowning himself in a river And,because of their admiration for Qu-Yuan, the local people living adjacent to the Mi Lou 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. ⅡTraditions 1,Dragon Boat races 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 Qu Yuan from the Mi Luo river. This tradition has remained unbroken for centuries. 2.Zongzi A very popular dish during the Dragon Boat festival is Zongzi. This tasty dish consists of rice dumplings with meat, peanut, egg yolk, or other fillings wrapped in bamboo leaves. The tradition of Zongzi is meant to remind us of the village fishermen scattering rice across the water of the Mi Luo River in order to appease the river dragons so that they would not devour Qu Yuan. | 
发表于 2007-6-19 11:40
