Today is Duanwu Festival. Auntie gave Zhang Tianming and Lisa each a very beautiful small object. Auntie said that it is a pouch, wearing it on your body then you won't get sick. But Auntie smilingly said, this is only a custom from the past. Wearing it is for fun and there may not be any particular use.

At noon, they and the family of the Auntie ate together. Because it is a festival, so the dishes are plentiful and abundant. Besides chicken, duck, fish and meat, there were also a few plates of green vegetables that you could not get to eat at all in the States. At the end, Auntie served up a large plate of zongzi.

L: What is this?

C: This is zongzi, something you are supposed to eat especially for Duanwu Festival.

Z: Cousin. Why are zongzis supposed to be eaten for Duanwu Festival?

C: There is a story about it. Over two thousand years ago, there was a high official in the kingdom of Chu by the name of Quyuan. He could see that although the kingdom of Qin was on good terms with Chu kingdom on the surface, but in reality sooner or later would want to attack Chu. Therefore he suggest to the king of Chu that they need to make preparations early. But the king of Chu not only did not listen to Quyuan, he expelled him to the South. Because Quyuan so worried about his country and people, he eventually drowned himself in the river.

Z: Quyuan is also a great poet, isn't he? When I went to Chinese schools, I seemed to have heard the teacher mention it.

C: Right, he was one of the greatest poets in China. The poems he wrote expressed his patriotic spirit.

L: Then what does zongzi have to do with Quyuan?

C: In order to commemorate Quyuan, people put rice into bamboo tubes and threw them into the river. These later became zongzi.

L: I heard that on Duanwu festival there is often dragon boat racing. Does it have to do with Quyuan?

A: Of course there is. That symbolized the fact that at that time people vied with each other to save Quyuan.

L: It is really a moving story.

There are many traditional festivals in China. Besides Duanwu, the most important festivals also include the Spring Festival (Chinese New Year), Mid-autumn festival and the Lantern Festival.

The Spring festival is the biggest festival in China. At the time of the Spring Festival, people set off fire crackers, go to visit friends and relatives and adults give red envelops to kids.

The Yuanxiao Festival is also called the Lantern Festival. It is on January the fifteenth of the Lunar calendar. On that day, every family eat Yuanxiao. Some places people make all kinds of pretty lanterns to hang on the door. At night people all go on street to watch the lanterns.

The mid-Autumn Festival is on August the fifteenth of the Lunar calendar. On that day the moon is the roundest and the brightest. The Mid-Autumn Festival is the day for the whole family to get together. Those who work out of town try their best to go home to celebrate the festival. At night, the whole family often sit in the courtyard, eating mooncakes that symbolize reunion and watching the moon at the same time.