端午节 (Duānwǔ jié) Dragon Boat Festival
The fifth of May of lunar calendar is Dragon Boat Festival. There are many legends about this traditional Festival and the most popular one is “屈原 (Qū Yuán) QuYuan,” who was a Chinese scholar and minister to the King of State of Chu during the Warring States period. He was famous for his loyalty to the state. It is said that on the fifth of May of lunar calendar, “屈原 (Qū Yuán) QuYuan,” who was banished by the king, killed himself by jumping into the MiLuo River. After his death, one of his townsmen had a dream. He dreamed that”屈原 (Qū Yuán) QuYuan” was thinner than before. So he and his villagers made “粽子 (zòngzi)” by wrapping glutinous rice with reed or bamboo leaves. Then they loaded the “粽子 (zòngzi)” on dragon boat and dropped them into the river. Because dragon is in charge of all the animals in the sea, so they didn’t dare to eat “粽子 (zòngzi).” So they figured that “屈原 (Qū Yuán) QuYuan” could eat “粽子 (zòngzi)” and get healthier. Later on, people also say “dress like a ‘粽子 (zòngzi),’ ” which refers to people who wrap themselves from head to foot, just like “粽子 (zòngzi) !”
Key Learning Points:
1. 端午节 (Duānwǔ jié): the Dragon Boat Festival
Duānwǔ jié zhè tiān yǒu chī Zòngzi hé sài lóngzhōu de xísú.
端午 节 这 天 有 吃 粽子 和 赛 龙舟 的 习俗。
There are customs of eating zòngzi and racing dragon-boat on the Dragon Boat Festival.
2. 穿的像粽子一样 (chuān de xiàng zòngzi yíyàng): dress like a zòngzi
Nǐ jīntiān zěnme chuān dé xiàng gè zòngzi yí yàng！
A: 你 今天 怎么 穿 得 像 个 粽子 一 样！
Why do you dress like a zòngzi today!
Jīntiān líng xià wǔ dù, nándào nǐ bù lěng ma?
B: 今天 零 下 5 度，难道 你不 冷 吗？
Today’s temperature is -5 Celsius. Aren’t you cold?
Rénmen zài yīnlì wǔ yuè chū wǔ sài lóngzhōu lái jìniàn Qūyuán.
人们 在 阴历 五 月 初 五 赛 龙舟 来 纪念 屈原。
People hold Dragon-boat race in memory of QuYuan on the 5th of the fifth lunar month.
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I like the Dragon Boat Festival very much. And I will move to China to study Mandarin next month. Would someone tell me more about Chinese festivals and how to say them in Chinese?
Knowing these traditional festivals would be helpful for you studying Mandarin:
春节(chūnjié) Spring Festival（New Year’s Day in the Chinese lunar calendar）
元宵节(yuánxiāo jié) Lantern Festival (the fifteenth day of lunar January)
清明节(qīngmíng jié) Qing Ming Festival ( the fifth of April in the Chinese lunar calendar)
端午节(duānwǔjié) Dragon-Boat Festival (on the fifth of May in the Chinese lunar calendar)
中秋节(zhōng qiū jié) Mid-Autumn Festival (on the fifteenth day of August in the Chinese lunar calendar)
重阳节(chóng yáng jié) the Double Ninth Festival (on the ninth day of September in the Chinese lunar calendar)
Is Mid-Autumn Festival the next one coming up? I would be interested in more of these materials and I am sure they would be helpful for me to study Mandarin.