The Dragon Boat Festival
The Dragon Boat Festival, a time-honored traditional Chinese festival, merrily arrives on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. It is said that this festival originated from the story of Qu Yuan. Qu Yuan, a patriotic poet in ancient China, was wrongly exiled. Feeling desperate and heartbroken, he finally committed suicide by jumping into the Miluo River. The local people, in order to prevent the fish from eating his body, threw zongzi into the river and rowed boats to scare the fish away. Over time, this has become a significant festival. People joyfully carry out customs like savoring zongzi, thrillingly racing dragon boats, festively hanging mugwort over doors, and cheerfully wearing sachets to prayerfully pray for good luck and vigilantly keep disasters away.
Zongzi are pyramid-shaped dumplings made of glutinous rice with various tantalizing fillings wrapped in bamboo leaves. The day before the festival, after lunch, my family happily gathered. We animatedly sat around the table with glistening, plump washed rice, fresh, vibrant green bamboo leaves, and fillings like sweet, luscious red beans and savory, mouthwatering meat. Everyone chattily chatted and merrily laughed as we began to busily wrap zongzi. My grandmother deftly spread out a bamboo leaf, gracefully placed some glutinous rice on it, added a spoonful of the filling, and then skillfully folded the leaf. She used her wrinkled hands to neatly tuck in the sides and firmly tied the string. I watched intently and tried to imitate her actions, carefully spreading the leaf, scooping up the rice, and clumsily attempting to fold and tie. My sister and brother were also eagerly excited to try, making some cute and funny-shaped zongzi with much enthusiasm. After making them, my mother boiled them, first using a big, roaring fire and then turning to a small, simmering one until they were done. When the zongzi were finally cooked, a delectable aroma temptingly wafted through the air. The steam rising from the pot carried the rich and inviting smell of the glutinous rice and the various fillings. The zongzi looked plump and inviting, their green leaves slightly darkened.
Another custom during this festival is to festively hang calamus and mugwort. On the morning of the Dragon Boat Festival, my grandmother got some fresh, lively calamus and mugwort from the vegetable field, and I prepared some red string. We tied the calamus and mugwort together with the red string and then placed them in the doorways and windows. It is said that they can powerfully exorcise evil spirits, prevent epidemics, and prayerfully pray for peace and health.
There's no doubt I had a great time during the Dragon Boat Festival. And for me, the happiest moment was when my family got together and had a big, sumptuous dinner.