端午節 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.
端午節又稱五五節，是農曆五月初五的節日。
The Chinese Dragon Boat Festival is a significant holiday celebrated in China, and the one with the longest history. It is one of the most important Chinese festivals, the other two being the Autumn Moon Festival and Chinese New Year.
在中國，端午節是一個值得慶祝的重大節日，有著悠久的歷史典故，端午節也是三大重要節慶之一，其他分別為中秋節和農曆新年。
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 Lo River.
而端午節的由來是古代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，但是由於受到一充滿嫉妒的官吏所陷害，從此屈原在朝廷中被皇帝所冷落。而由於無法獲得重視，屈原在憂鬱的情況下投汨羅江自盡。
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.
由於屈原受到居民的愛戴，大家紛紛的划船在江內尋找屈原，並且將米丟入汨羅江中，以平息汨羅江中的龍。雖然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。
The boat races during the Dragon Boat Festival are traditional customs to attempts to rescue the patriotic poet Chu Yuan. Chu Yuan drowned on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month in 277 B.C. Chinese citizens now throw bamboo leaves filled with cooked rice into the water. Therefore the fish could eat the rice rather than the hero poet. This later on turned into the custom of eating rice dumplings.
龍舟競賽是端午節的傳統習俗，當時是為了營救愛國詩人屈原。屈原在公元前277年的農曆五月初五跳入江河中淹死，中國居民將竹葉包滿熟飯丟入水裡。因此，魚可以吃米飯，而不是英雄詩人。這後來也變成了每年端午節吃粽子的習俗。
The celebration is a time for protection from evil and disease for the rest of the year. It is done so by different practices such as hanging healthy herbs on the front door, drinking nutritious concoctions, and displaying portraits of evil's nemesis, Chung Kuei. If one manages to stand an egg on it's end at exactly 12:00 noon, the following year will be a lucky one.
在端午節舉行慶祝活動是為了趨吉避凶，祈求整年避免疾病以及邪惡的入侵。與眾不同的做法，每戶人家將草藥掛在門前，並且喝營養的雄黃酒，還有著名的鍾馗畫像，甚至還有一個傳聞，若能在當天中午12點將蛋立起，那麼隔一年他將會是個幸運的人。
◎ 端午節相關英文單字：
Chu Yuan：屈原
Dragon Boat race：龍舟競賽
rice dumpling(s)、tzung tzu：粽子
Moxa：艾草
Hsiung Huang Wine：雄黃酒
Fragrant Sachets：香包
Chung Kuei：鍾馗
來源：行政院新聞局全球資訊網
http://www.hitutor.com.tw/dragon-boat-festival.php
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