Dragon Boat Festival， often known as Tuen Ng Festival or Duan Wu Festival， is a traditional Chinese festival held on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese calendar. It is also known as the Double Fifth.[citation needed] It has since been celebrated， in various ways， in other parts of East Asia as well， most notably Korea.

　　The exact origins of Duan Wu are unclear， but one traditional view holds that the festival memorializes the Chinese poet Qu Yuan of the Warring States Period. He committed suicide by drowning himself in a river because he was disgusted by the corruption of the Chu government. The local people， knowing him to be a good man， decided to throw food into the river to feed the fishes to prevent them from eating Qu's body. They also sat on dragon boats， and tried to scare the fishes away by the thundering sound of drums aboard the boat and the fierce looking dragon-head in the front of the boat.

　　In the early years of the Chinese Republic， Duan Wu was also celebrated as "Poets' Day"， due to Qu Yuan's status as China's first poet of personal renown.

　　Today， people eat zongzi (the food originally intended to feed the fishes) and race dragon boats in memory of Qu's dramatic death.

编辑:Liuxuepaper.Com

作文地带知识拓展:

• 端午节，是中国四大传统节日之一，时间为农历五月初五，是集拜神祭祖、祈福辟邪、欢庆娱乐和饮食为一体的民俗大节，有端阳节、龙舟节、重午节、重五节、天中节等二十多个别称，是汉族、水族、纳西族、藏族、彝族、傣族、仡佬族、普米族等民族的传统节日。

  外文名：

  Dragon Boat Festival

  Loong Boat Festival

  Duanwu Festival

  名称由来：

  “端午”二字最早见于晋代周处的《风土记》：“仲夏端午，烹乌角黍。” “端”字有“初始”的意思，因此“端五”就是“初五”。而按照历法五月正是“午”月，因此“端五”也就渐渐演变成了“端午”。《燕京岁时记》记载：“初五为五月单五，盖端字之转音也。”

  “端午”的“端”字本义为“正”，“午”为“中”，这天午时则为正中之正。古人以天干地支来作为载体，天干承载天之道，地支承载地之道，设天干地支以契天地人事之运，纪元通用天干地支。仲夏午月午日飞龙在天，此时龙星处在正南中天，为全年周天运行最“中正”之位，既“得中”又“得正”，乃大吉大利之象。古人历来崇尚中、正之道，“中正“之道在此表现得淋漓尽致。另，端亦有“初”的意思，因此午（五）月的第一个午日，亦谓端午。