農(nóng)歷五月初五，是中國(guó)民間的傳統(tǒng)節(jié)日——端午節(jié)，它是中華民族古老的傳統(tǒng)節(jié)日之一。端午也稱端五，端陽(yáng)。此外，端午節(jié)還有許多別稱，如：午日節(jié)、重五節(jié)，五月節(jié)、浴蘭節(jié)、女兒節(jié)，天中節(jié)、地臘、詩(shī)人節(jié)、龍日等等。雖然名稱不同，但總體上說(shuō)，各地人民過(guò)節(jié)的習(xí)俗還是同多于異的。

    過(guò)端午節(jié)，是中國(guó)人二千多年來(lái)的傳統(tǒng)習(xí)慣，由于地域廣大，民族眾多，加上許多故事傳說(shuō)，于是不僅產(chǎn)生了眾多相異的節(jié)名，而且各地也有著不盡相同的習(xí)俗。其內(nèi)容主要有：女兒回娘家，掛鐘馗像，迎鬼船、躲午，帖午葉符，懸掛菖蒲、艾草，游百病，佩香囊，備牲醴,賽龍舟，比武，擊球，蕩秋千，給小孩涂雄黃，飲用雄黃酒、菖蒲酒，吃五毒餅、咸蛋、粽子和時(shí)令鮮果等，除了有迷信色彩的活動(dòng)漸已消失外，其余至今流傳中國(guó)各地及鄰近諸國(guó)。有些活動(dòng)，如賽龍舟等，已得到新的發(fā)展，突破了時(shí)間、地域界線，成為了國(guó)際性的體育賽事。

    關(guān)于端午節(jié)的由來(lái)，說(shuō)法甚多，諸如：紀(jì)念屈原說(shuō)；紀(jì)念伍子胥說(shuō)；紀(jì)念曹娥說(shuō)；起于三代夏至節(jié)說(shuō)；惡月惡日驅(qū)避說(shuō)，吳月民族圖騰祭說(shuō)等等。以上各說(shuō)，各本其源。據(jù)學(xué)者聞一多先生的《端午考》和《端午的歷史教育》列舉的百余條古籍記載及專家考古考證，端午的起源，是中國(guó)古代南方吳越民族舉行圖騰祭的節(jié)日，比屈原更早。但千百年來(lái)，屈原的愛(ài)國(guó)精神和感人詩(shī)辭，已廣泛深入人心，故人們“惜而哀之，世論其辭，以相傳焉”，因此，紀(jì)念屈原之說(shuō)，影響最廣最深，占據(jù)主流地位。在民俗文化領(lǐng)域，中國(guó)民眾把端午節(jié)的龍舟競(jìng)渡和吃粽子等，都與紀(jì)念屈原聯(lián)系在一起。

    時(shí)至今日，端午節(jié)仍是中國(guó)人民中一個(gè)十分盛行的隆重節(jié)日。

    The origins of The 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.

    Customs

    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.

    Zong Zi

    A very popular dish during the Dragon Boat festival is zong zi. This tasty dish consists of rice dumplings with meat, peanut, egg yolk, or other fillings wrapped in bamboo leaves. The tradition of zong zi 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.