Dragon Boat Festival: 5th day of the 5th lunar month

　　Qu Yuan

　　The Dragon Boat Festival, also called the Duanwu Festival, is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month according to the Chinese calendar. For thousands of years, the festival has been marked by eating zong zi (glutinous rice(糯米)wrapped to form a pyramid using bamboo or reed leaves) and racing dragon boats.

　　The festival is best known for its dragon-boat races, especially in the southern provinces where there are many rivers and lakes. This regatta(賽舟會)commemorates the death of Qu Yuan , an honest minister who is said to have committed suicide by drowning himself in a river.

　　Qu was a minister of the State of Chu situated in present-day Hunan and Hubei provinces, during the Warring States Period (475-221BC)(戰(zhàn)國時期). He was upright, loyal and highly esteemed for his wise counsel that brought peace and prosperity to the state. However, when a dishonest and corrupt prince vilified Qu, he was disgraced and dismissed from office. Realizing that the country was now in the hands of evil and corrupt officials, Qu grabbed a large stone and leapt into the Miluo River (汨羅江) on the fifth day of the fifth month. Nearby fishermen rushed over to try and save him but were unable to even recover his body. Thereafter, the state declined and was eventually conquered by the State of Qin.

　　Zongzi

　　The people of Chu who mourned the death of Qu threw rice into the river to feed his ghost every year on the fifth day of the fifth month. But one year, the spirit of Qu appeared and told the mourners that a huge reptile(爬行動物)in the river had stolen the rice. The spirit then advised them to wrap the rice in silk and bind it with five different-colored threads before tossing it into the river.

　　During the Duanwu Festival, a glutinous rice pudding called zong zi is eaten to symbolize the rice offerings to Qu. Ingredients such as beans, lotus seeds(蓮子), chestnuts(栗子), pork fat and the golden yolk of a salted duck egg are often added to the glutinous rice. The pudding is then wrapped with bamboo leaves, bound with a kind of raffia and boiled in salt water for hours.

　　The dragon-boat races

　　The dragon-boat races symbolize the many attempts to rescue and recover Qu's body. A typical dragon boat ranges from 50-100 feet in length, with a beam of about 5.5 feet, accommodating two paddlers seated side by side.

　　A wooden dragon head is attached at the bow, and a dragon tail at the stern(船尾). A banner hoisted on a pole is also fastened at the stern and the hull is decorated with red, green and blue scales edged in gold. In the center of the boat is a canopied shrine behind which the drummers, gong(銅鑼)beaters and cymbal(鐃鈸)players are seated to set the pace for the paddlers. There are also men positioned at the bow to set off firecrackers, toss rice into the water and pretend to be looking for Qu. All of the noise and pageantry creates an atmosphere of gaiety and excitement for the participants and spectators alike. The races are held among different clans, villages and organizations, and the winners are awarded medals, banners, jugs of wine and festive meals.

　　世界其他地方的粽子風俗

　　墨西哥的粽子

　　墨西哥人也有吃粽子的習俗，他們把粽子稱為“達瑪爾”。主料是粗顆粒的玉米面，用肉片和辣椒作餡，用玉米葉子或香蕉葉子包成，別有風味。有“粽子節(jié)”以歡慶玉米豐收，在節(jié)日中，家家戶戶用芭蕉葉包玉米和牛肉、雞肉、胡蘿卜、土豆、辣椒等煮熟后食用。

　　秘魯?shù)聂兆?/span>

　　秘魯人是在圣誕節(jié)時吃粽子，全家人圍坐在一起，邊歡慶圣誕節(jié)，邊吃粽子，甚至已出嫁的女兒也趕回娘家，再嘗娘家粽子的風味。

　　每逢圣誕來臨，委內(nèi)瑞拉家家戶戶包裹粽子，這已成了應節(jié)一景，屆時，連平日賣點心的店鋪也堆滿了粽子。這種粽子以玉米面為主料，以火腿、臘肉或香腸為餡料，還加進橄欖、葡萄干，用新鮮蕉葉包成長方形，每個重約半公斤，焙干蕉葉，粽子即熟，剝開粽子，清香四溢。吃粽慶節(jié)，別有一番情趣。

　　中國少數(shù)民族的粽子

　　瑤族：瑤族做粽子用糯米配臘肉條、綠豆，包“枕頭粽”，形似枕頭，每個約250克。也有在糯米中加紅糖、花生等制成素餡涼粽子。

　　畬族：畬族粽子，民間稱牯角。用箬葉將糯米包成四角。再用龍草捆扎，十個一串，有的人家還要在包粽子時加菜、肉、紅棗等做餡。煮粽常用灰堿水，粽子煮好后，色黃氣香，可存放半月。

　　傣族：傣族過端午也吃粽子，還要過“粽子節(jié)”。據(jù)說“粽子節(jié)”是為了紀念一對因婚姻遭父母反對而殉情的青年男女。在這一天，凡未婚的傣家小伙子都要拿粽子包，與姑娘們相會在大龍?zhí)兜拿⒐麡湎?，男女圍成圈，姑娘唱起情歌，小伙子吹葉子伴奏。然后小伙子把粽包送給中意的姑娘。

　　毛南族：毛南族也過端午節(jié)，但節(jié)日的意義與漢族不同，民間稱為“藥節(jié)”。過藥節(jié)時，習慣采艾葉、菖蒲、黃姜等草藥熬水飲汁，或用這些草藥作餡包粽食用。民間認為端午吃這種包餡粽粑可以解毒去病。

　　最大和最小的粽子

　　廣西壯族出現(xiàn)過最大的粽子，它是將芭蕉葉墊在一個特大的方形籠格中，內(nèi)放50公斤淘凈并拌有醬油的糯米，再拌入一只去皮骨、切成小方塊的豬腿的肉，面上復一層芭蕉葉，隔水蒸熟，這種粽子壯族人叫“口粽粑”，可供一家三口吃兩個月。

　　據(jù)香港的媒體介紹，香港有9位老人，曾經(jīng)包了1只重36公斤的粽子，供250人食用。1989年端午節(jié)，臺灣彰化縣曾制作一只特大粽子，重達350公斤。廣東一帶包的粽子個兒特大，煮熟后1只粽子端到桌上，四個年輕人居然沒法將它吃掉。

　　粽子還有最小的，在上海一些酒樓飯館中，宴席點心供應“迷你粽”，小得象手指一般，每50克糯米加4小塊火腿，可包4只小粽子，白線纏綠葉，玲瓏淡雅，真象一件工藝品，讓人愛不釋手，舍不得剝而吃之。