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。

　　端午節的由來

　　端午節，又稱為五五節，因為端午節是在農歷的五月五日，是三個重要的中國節慶之一，其他兩個分別是中秋節和農歷新年。

　　這個節日的由來是古代中國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，但是由於一位充滿嫉妒的官吏陷害，從此在朝廷中被皇帝所冷落。由於無法獲得皇帝的重視，屈原在憂郁的情況下投汨羅江自盡。

　　由於對屈原的愛戴，汨羅江畔的居民匆忙的劃船在江內尋找屈原，并且將米丟入汨羅江中，以平息汨羅江中的蛟龍。即使他們當時并沒有找到屈原，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。

　　dragon boat龍舟(名詞)

　　That dragon boat is very colorful. 那艘龍舟非常鮮艷。

　　festival節慶(名詞)

　　In Taiwan, people celebrate many different festivals. 在臺灣，人們慶祝許多不同的節慶。

　　lunar calendar農歷

　　The lunar calendar is different from the calendar used in the west. 農歷和西方所用的歷法不一樣。scholarly 博學多聞的(形容詞)

　　Our professor is very scholarly. 我們的教授非常博學多聞。

　　government 政府(名詞)

　　I think our government needs some reforms. 我想我們的政府需要一些改革。

　　official公務員(名詞)

　　That official helped me to get my visa. 那位公務員協助我取得簽證。

　　respected受敬重的(形容詞)

　　The woman is very respected because of her abilities. 那位女性因為能力而受到敬重。

　　misdeed 罪行，不當的行為(名詞)

　　His misdeeds brought him bad fortune. 他不當的行為造成他悲慘的命運。

　　jealous嫉妒(形容詞)

　　My girlfriend is jealous of my female friends. 我的女朋友總是嫉妒我其他的女性朋友。

　　rival對手(名詞)

　　His rivals are trying to defeat him. 他的對手嘗試擊敗他。

　　disfavor不贊成、反對(動詞)

　　Most people disfavor his ideas because they are outdated。大部分的人都不贊成他的意見，因為那些意見都過時了！

　　admiration欽佩、贊美(名詞)

　　His kindness gained him the admiration of all the people. 他的仁慈獲得人們對他的贊美和欽佩。adjacent鄰近的、毗鄰的(介系詞)

　　The post office is adjacent to the bank. 那郵局在銀行的旁邊。

　　appease緩和、平息(動詞)

　　This food should appease his hunger。這些食物應該會讓他感到比較不饑餓了。

　　commemorate慶祝、紀念(動詞)

　　On this day we commemorate those soldiers who died during battle。在這一天，我們紀念那些在戰爭中捐軀的軍人。

　　風俗習慣

　　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。

         Tzung Tzu

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

　　風俗習慣

　　端午節最重要的活動是龍舟競賽，比賽的隊伍在熱烈的鼓聲中劃著他們多彩的龍舟前進。這項活動的靈感是來自於當時汨羅江畔的居民，在江中劃船救屈原，而這個傳統也一直保持了數個世紀。

　　在端午節時受歡迎的食物就是粽子，粽子是以米包著肉、花生、蛋黃及其他材料，再以竹葉包裹。而粽子的傳統則來由於汨羅江邊的漁夫，將米丟入江中平息江中的蛟龍，希望他們不要將屈原吃掉。

　　農歷的五月，也就是端午節的這個時節，對中國人而言，除了屈原的故事還有許多其他重要的意義。許多中國人相信五月是一年中容易引發疾病的危險時節，因此必須有許多防備家人生病的措施。許多家庭會將一種特別的植物-艾草掛在門口，作為保護之用，而人們也會掛帶香包，它是以含有多種香味的藥用植物所做成，也可以保護人們遠離疾病。

　　Traditions/Vocabulary
race比賽(名詞)

　　The races were very exciting because the cars were very fast and loud。那個比賽非常刺激，因為那些車子非常的快速而且大聲。

　　competing競爭的(形容詞)

　　All of the competing race car drivers are very skilled。所有競爭的賽車選手都有高超的技術。rhythm節奏(名詞)

　　I like to dance to the rhythm of this music。我喜歡隨著音樂的節奏跳舞。

　　inspire啟發靈感(動詞)

　　The beautiful scenery inspired me to write this song。這美麗的風景啟發我寫這首歌曲的靈感

　　villager村民、鄉民(名詞)

　　During our travels we found the villagers to be very friendly and helpful。在我們的旅程中，我發現鄉民們非常友善及熱心。

　　valiant英勇的(形容詞)

　　The valiant hero saved the little girl's life。那個英勇的英雄拯救了小女孩的生命。

　　remain 留下、保持原狀(動詞)

　　he had completed the report。他留在辦公室直到完成報告。

　　Tzung Tzu粽子(名詞)

　　He ate so much Tzung Tzu that he became sick。他因為吃太多粽子而感到身體不適。

　　wrap包裹(動詞)

　　She wrapped the Christmas presents with colorful paper。他用彩色的紙包裹圣誕禮物。

　　scatter灑落(動詞)

　　The man is scattering seeds on the grass for the birds to eat。那個男人將種子灑在地上給鳥吃。

　　devour狼吞虎咽的吃，吃光(動詞)

　　The lion devoured the food。那只獅子狼吞虎咽的吃那些食物。

　　significance重要性(名詞)

　　Do you understand the significance of this story?你知道這個故事的重要性嗎？

　　Ay Tsao艾草(名詞)

　　Every year my family hangs Ay Tsao on their front door。每年我的家人都會掛艾草在前門。

　　Hsiang Bao香包(名詞)

　　The children love to collect the colorful Hsiang Bao。小孩喜歡蒐集鮮艷的香包。

　　Realgar wine雄黃酒(名詞)

　　People drink realgar wine to protect themselves from illness。人們喝雄黃酒保護自己免於生病。

　　sachet香包、香袋

　　The sachets are very fragrant。那些香包很香。

　　fragrant芳香的(形容詞)

　　Those flowers are very fragrant. 那些花很香。