端午节The Dragon Boat Festival

The Dragon Boat Festival is one of the most popular traditional festivals celebrated in China, which is on the fifth of the fifth lunar month, also known as Duanwu Festival. It’s said that it is to commemorate the death of a Chinese patriotic poet, Qu Yuan, who was snared by corrupt officials in ancient China and finally committed suicide by drowning himself in the Miluo River to protest against them.

端午节是中国传统节日中最流行的节日之一，它是在阴历五月的第五天。据说这是为了纪念一个中国的爱国诗人屈原的死，他被中国古代腐败官员陷害最后在汨罗河投江自杀来表示抗议。

The traditions and customs held on this festival differ from place to place, but there are some common in them. First, the most famous and great tradition is holding Dragon Boat races, which are held by fishermen’s attempt to protect Qu Yuan’s body against attacking by fishes and other animals in the river by beating drums and row the dragon shaped boat. Nowadays dragon boat races have been an annual popular sport activity among people. In addition, making and eating Zongzi—a dumpling made of glutinous rice and wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves—is also a popular custom during this day. It can be made by many kinds of stuffing. What’s more, hanging herbs on the front door, drinking realgar wine and pasting up picture of Zhongkui—a mythic guardian figure in ancient china—are also popular during the festival, which are mean to protect people from evil and disease.

这个传统习俗不同的地方有不同的庆祝方式，但也有相同的方面。首先，最出名的传统就是举行龙舟比赛，这是由渔民们举行的，通过打鼓和划龙形的船来保护屈原的身体免受鱼类和其他动物的攻击。现在龙舟赛是人们一年一度的流行的体育活动。此外，做和吃粽子——糯米面团，包着竹叶或芦苇叶，在那一天也是 一个流行的风俗。它可以由不同种类的馅料制成。还有就是，门上挂着草药，人们喝雄黄酒，在门前张贴中国古代神话人物钟馗的图片在节日期间也是很受欢迎的，做这些的意义是保护人们免受邪恶和疾病。

These customs and traditions have been changed a little in recent years, but they still make contribution to the spread and inheritance of Chinese culture.

这些习俗和传统，在最近几年已经发生了一些变化，但他们仍然为中国文化传承与传播做贡献。