端午節
端午佳節
The Dragon Boat Festival, the 5th day of the 5th lunar month, has had a history of more than 2,000 years. It is usually in June in the Gregorian calendar.
端午節吃什么？“粽包分兩髻，艾束著危冠。舊俗方儲藥，羸軀亦點丹。”端午節不可不吃的美味食物就是粽子(tsung-tse)。
粽子tsung-tse：Glutinous rice filled with meat, nuts or bean paste and wrapped in bamboo leaves. It is associated with Dragon Boat Festival with historical meaning.The custom of eating zongzi is now popular in North and South Korea, Japan and Southeast Asian nations.
端午節喝什么？“櫻桃桑椹與菖蒲，更買雄黃酒一壺。”端午節嘗試一下雄黃酒吧。
Adults drink Xiong Huang Wine, which can fend off evil spirits.
端午節玩什么？ “鼓聲三下紅旗開，兩龍躍出浮水來。棹影斡波飛萬劍，鼓聲劈浪鳴千雷。”端午節最應景的節目就是賽龍舟。
Dragon boat racing is an indispensable part of the festival, held all over the country. As the gun is fired, people will see racers in dragon-shaped canoes pulling the oars harmoniously and hurriedly, accompanied by rapid drums, speeding toward their destination.
端午節戴什么？端午節最有特色的飾物就是香包(sachet)。小孩佩戴香包，傳說有避邪驅瘟之意。
On Dragon Boat Festival, parents also need to dress their children up with a perfume pouch. They first sew little bags with colorful silk cloth, then fill the bags with perfumes or herbal medicines, and finally string them with silk threads. The perfume pouch will be hung around the neck or tied to the front of a garment as an ornament. They are said to be able to ward off evil.
端午節掛什么？“不效艾符趨習俗，但祈蒲酒話升平。”掛艾葉菖蒲hang branches of moxa and calamus around the doors of their homes 和懸鐘馗像display portraits of evil"s nemesis, Chung Kuei都是為了驅疾避兇，討個吉利（to drive away the evils and unfortunes and welcome good luck）。
The following is an article which introduces Zongzi(tsong-tse) and its recipe in detail.
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.
Many traditional Chinese foods are intended to honor either the gods or divine persons in history. Zong Zi - a glutinous rice dumpling wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves - is no exception. It is meant to honor Qu Yuan (340-278 BC.), the pioneer poet of ancient China.
Qu Yuan was a famous poet who was also concerned about the fate of his government. Unfortunately his stature aroused the jealousy of the king, who banished him to a remote area. The poet despaired of the government and its policies. When the state"s capital was captured by enemies, he committed suicide by drowning himself in the Miluo River (on May 5th according to the Chinese lunar calendar). The Chinese people felt this loss deeply, as he was a much beloved poet. Local folk searched for him in the river, meanwhile dropping dumplings of glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves into the river in order to keep the fishes from attacking Qu Yuan"s body.
Since that time, it has been customary on this day to enjoy Zong Zi dumplings as a memorial to the patriotic poet.
In addition, there is also a festival called the Duan Wu or Dragon Boat Festival. If you ever visit China during the Dragon Boat Festival, you can"t miss the nationwide custom of enjoying Zong Zi. You are sure to be impressed with the delicacy of this snack, and with the faint scent of the leaves imprinted on the skin of the dumplings.
I still remember making and enjoying Zong Zi as a child. Along with my brothers and sisters I hovered around the stove, begging to have a taste, unable to wait until they were cooked. We were very eager since the food was made only once a year on May 5th. But now it is quite different. The Chinese Zong Zi is not only made for the Duan Wu Festival. It is available at any time of the year. And local areas have developed their own styles and varieties of dumpling.
The main ingredient of Zong Zi is the glutinous rice. The next most important ingredient is the bamboo or reed leaves which form the wrapping and make Zong Zi distinct from other types of Chinese dumplings. The filling often contains either dates or sweetened red bean paste. These are the ones I once had in my family. I like them much more than the ones with meat but my brother doesn"t. He says the meat ones are terrific.
The leading place for the food is Jia Xing, an ancient town in Zhejiang province. Many different types of Zong Zi are made here. At Wu Fang Zhai, a monopolistic food processor, you"ll find all the ingredients you need: the dumplings with meat, sweetened bean paste and chestnuts, lotus seeds, dates, and yolk of egg.
If the materials are available to you, it is quite possible for you to make Chinese Zong Zi at home; both for pleasure and maybe also to honor the great poet, Qu Yuan. By the way, in the year 2006 the Dragon Boat Festival happens to fall on May 31st, according to the solar calendar. You"d better prepare a net for the fish.
Here is a recipe for Zong Zi:
(makes ten dumplings)
1. 50 sheets of bamboo or reed leaves
2. Glutinous rice (1 kilogram)
3. Chinese dates (250 grams)
Directions:
1.Soak the rice and the dates 12 hours or more till they are soaked thoroughly.
2.Wash the leaves.
3.A chopping board is necessary for laying out the leaves.
4.Fold the leaves flat at the leafstalk to make a sheet.
5.Hold the sheet, fold it round in the middle and make a funnel till both ends are laid over each other in one direction.
6.Use about 1/10 kg. of rice and 6 dates for each dumpling. The dates must be covered by the rice so that they won"t lose too much syrup in cooking.
7.Fold the leaves up to seal the open side of the funnel and tie the bundle with a band made of twisted leaves. Make sure that the bundle is tied neither too tight nor too loose. This helps make sure that the ingredients are well cooked.
8.Put the dumplings in a pot, cover with water and make sure they are pressed and kept still while being boiled.
9.Cooking time: 40 minutes in a pressure cooker; 2 hours in an ordinary pot.
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