1. Duanwu Festival
端午节

2. Duanwu Festival (端午节)
Duanwu Festival is on May 5th of the Chinese lunar calendar.
Duanwu Festival is a very old traditional festival which has a history of more than 2,000 years.

3. How Did Duanwu Festival Start?
More than 2,000 years ago, there was a great poet and politician whose name was 屈原 (Qu Yuan). He worked hard to better people’s life in his country, but the king wouldn’t listen to him. Being desperate, he committed suicide by jumping into a river. People loved him very much and were very sad at his death. Being afraid that fish would eat his body, people threw rice wrapped in bamboo leaves (known as 粽子)into the river so that the fish would have enough food to eat and would not eat Qu Yuan’s body. It later became a tradition to eat t Zongzi during this festival.

4. Traditions of Duanwu Festival
People eat 粽子 (zong zi)
They also hang a special kind of grass in front of their houses to keep illness away.
Dragon boat competitions are also a popular activity for this festival.

5. Zongzi (粽子)

6. Zongzi (粽子)
                       

7. Dragon Boats

8. Grass Used to Hang in Front of Houses