农历五月初五是端午节。“端”是开始的意思，“午”与数字“五”意义相同。端午节是中国人重要的传统节日。

Duanwu Festival falls on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. “Duan” means “beginning” and “wu” is synonymous with the figure 5. It is an important traditional festival of China.

　　大约在2300年前的这一天，中国伟大的诗人屈原投江自尽。传说从那时开始，每年农历五月初五，人们就用包粽子和划龙舟来纪念屈原，后来便形成了端午节。

On this day about 2,300 years ago, the great Chinese poet Qu Yuan jumped into the Milo River and committed suicide. Ever since then, as the legend goes, on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month of every year, people would make zongzi and row dragon boats to commemorate Qu Yuan. Ages later, these commemoration activities gradually led to the celebration of Duanwu Festival.

　   端午节最普遍的习俗是吃粽子。粽子是端午节特有的节日食品，大多用植物的叶子包裹着米做成。粽叶非常新鲜，所以煮出来的粽子都有浓郁的清香。包粽子的米一般是糯米，各地区根据不同的口味，还会在米里添加枣、豆沙、肉等，形成了不同风味的粽子。

The most popular event during Duanwu Festival is eating zongzi, a unique foodstuff of the day. With fresh-picked palm leaf or reed leaf to wrap rice and filling, the cooked zongzi often gives off a rich fragrance. In making zongzi, glutinous rice is usually used, but the filling may vary greatly, ranging from dates or sweetened bean paste to meat and others. Zongzi thus may have different tastes and distinctive flavors.

　　端午节另一项重要的民俗活动是赛龙舟。农历五月，南方雨水较多，许多江河开始涨水，正是赛龙舟的好时候，因此这个习俗在江河众多的南方更加盛行。每到端午，宽阔的江面上，一排排龙舟你追我赶，争先恐后，场面非常壮观，激动人心的比赛也将端午节的气氛推向了高潮。

Another important event of the festival is the dragon boat race. Usually in the 5th lunar month, rainfall in the south is more frequent than in other months, making rivers brim with water. So this month naturally becomes the occasion for dragon boat races. In the southern part of China, crisscrossed with rivers and streams, this custom is more popular. On the day of the festival, dragon boats line up on the wide expanse of a river and begin to race hard against each other. The spectacular sight makes one’s heart throb with excitement. The dragon boat race marks the climax of festivities of the day.

　　过了端午节，天气就变得炎热起来。各种蚊虫开始大量繁殖，各种疾病也比较容易发作。所以，端午节的时候，人们都会打扫一下庭院，或把艾草或菖蒲挂在门楣上，这是两种能够驱赶蚊虫、预防疾病的中草药。就这样，在忙忙碌碌中，人们迎来了火热的夏天。

After Duanwu Festival, the temperature would get higher; mosquitoes start to breed and people are apt to have outbreaks of different diseases. So they would clean their courtyards during Duanwu Festival and hang over the lintels of their doors mugwort or calamus, which are two kinds of Chinese medicinal herbs that can drive mosquitoes away and prevent people from getting ill. Thus they are bustling around getting ready for the hot summer to come.