Dragon Boat Festival
The Dragon Boat Festival, 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.
端午節的由來
端午節，又稱為五五節，因為端午節是在農曆的 五月五日 ，是三個重要的中國節慶之一，其他兩個分別是中秋節和農曆新年。
這個節日的由來是古代中國有一位博學多聞的官吏屈原，他是一位愛民而且又受到尊崇的官吏，但是由於一位充滿嫉妒的官吏陷害，從此在朝廷中被皇帝所冷落。由於無法獲得皇帝的重視，屈原在憂鬱的情況下投汨羅江自盡。
由於對屈原的愛戴，汨羅江畔的居民匆忙的划船在江內尋找屈原，並且將米丟入汨羅江中，以平息汨羅江中的蛟龍。即使他們當時並沒有找到屈原，但是他們的行為，直到今天在端午節的時候，仍然被人們傳頌紀念著。
Traditions
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.
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.
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.
風俗習慣
端午節最重要的活動是龍舟競賽，比賽的隊伍在熱烈的鼓聲中划著他們多彩的龍舟前進。這項活動的靈感是來自於當時汨羅江畔的居民，在江中划船救屈原，而這個傳統也一直保持了數個世紀。
在端午節時受歡迎的食物就是粽子，粽子是以米包著肉、花生、蛋黃及其他材料，再以竹葉包裹。而粽子的傳統則來由於汨羅江邊的漁夫，將米丟入江中平息江中的蛟龍，希望他們不要將屈原吃掉。
農曆的五月，也就是端午節的這個時節，對中國人而言，除了屈原的故事還有許多其他重要的意義。許多中國人相信五月是一年中容易引發疾病的危險時節，因此必須有許多防備家人生病的措施。許多家庭會將一種特別的植物-艾草掛在門口，作為保護之用，而人們也會掛帶香包，它是以含有多種香味的藥用植物所做成，也可以保護人們遠離疾病。
Story of White Snake
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…
白蛇傳
另一個與端午節息息相關的中國傳統故事是「白蛇傳」。 從前，在伊眉山上有兩隻蛇精，白蛇與青蛇。這兩隻蛇精運用法力將自己變成美麗的女子，並到杭州溪湖遊玩。
當他們在西湖遊玩時，遇到一位名叫許仙的男子，白蛇與許仙很快的相戀並且隨即結婚。當時一位名叫法海的和尚，曾經警告許仙注意他妻子惑人的外表，並建議他一個知道真相的計畫。
端午節當天，白蛇待加家裡以避開人們掛在門上驅邪的艾草，而許仙則依照法海的建議準備了大家在端午節時都會喝的雄黃酒。白蛇自認魔力可以抵擋雄黃酒對他的影響，因此喝了一杯。但是在他喝下那杯酒之後，他卻變得精疲力竭，幾乎走不到床上。當許仙回到白蛇身邊，看到的不是自己美麗的妻子，而是一隻巨大的白蛇，許仙震驚不已且跳樓自殺。
當白蛇恢復精力及人形時，他才發現自己丈夫已經身亡，因此白蛇外出尋找能使許仙起死回生的強效藥草。許仙在服用藥草，並起死回生之後，白蛇告訴許仙他看到的那條白蛇，其實是一隻代表吉相的龍。而在那時，許仙也在白蛇引人入勝的故事中將恐懼拋諸腦後…。
參考來源:
1.http://englishtnua.blogspot.com/2007/06/sentences-of-week.html
2.http://edu.ocac.gov.tw/ocac_ebook/show-chap.asp?chap=100039-001-0010
