Podcast #005: 端午节 Traditions of the Dragon Boat Festival

Script

大家好！欢迎收听Digmandarin Podcast.
每年农历的五月初五是端午节，又叫龙舟节。这是中国的传统节日。这一天，我们有很多活动，比如，吃粽子，赛龙舟，喝雄黄酒等等。
端午节有很多传说，但是最有名的说法是为了纪念屈原。屈原是中国古代很有名的诗人，在他跳江以后，老百姓就向水里扔粽子、在水上划龙舟，驱散水里的鱼，这样就可以保护屈原的身体。从此以后，每年的农历五月初五我们都会做这些活动纪念屈原。
今年的端午节就要到了，祝大家端午节快乐！

(Dàjiā hǎo! Huānyíng shōutīng Digmandarin Podcast. 
Měinián nónglì de wǔ yuè chū wǔ shì Duānwǔ jié, yòu jiào Lóngzhōu jié. Zhè shì zhōngguó de chuántǒng jiérì. Zhè yītiān, wǒmen yǒu hěnduō huódòng, bǐrú, chī zòngzi, sài lóngzhōu, hē xiónghuángjiǔ děng děng.
Duānwǔ jié yǒu hěnduō chuánshuō, dànshì zuì yǒumíng de shuōfǎ shì wèile jìniàn qūyuán. Qūyuán shì zhōngguó gǔdài hěn yǒumíng de shīrén, zài tā tiào jiāng yǐhòu, lǎobǎixìng jiù xiàng shuǐ lǐ rēng zòngzi, zài shuǐshàng huá lóngzhōu, qūsàn shuǐ lǐ de yú, zhèyàng jiù kěyǐ bǎohù Qūyuán de shēntǐ. Cóngcǐ yǐhòu, měinián de nónglì wǔ yuè chū wǔ wǒmen dōu huì zuò zhèxiē huódòng jìniàn Qūyuán.
Jīnnián de duānwǔ jié jiù yào dàole, zhù dàjiā Duānwǔ jié kuàilè!)

English Translation

Hi everyone! Welcome to Digmandarin Podcast.

The fifth day of each May in the Lunar calendar is the Duanwu Festival, which is also called the Dragon Boat Festival. On this day, we have many  traditions, such as eating Zongzi, racing Dragon Boats, drinking Realgar wine, and  other activities.

There are many legends about the Duanwu Festival. The most famous story commemorates Qu Yuan. Qu Yuan was very famous traditional Chinese poet. After he jumped into the river, the civilians threw Zongzi into the river and raced Dragon Boats on the river to disperse the fish. In this way, they could preserve Quyuan`s body. Since then, we started to do these activities to memorialize Quyuan on May fifth of the Lunar calendar every year.

This year`s Duanwu Festival is coming soon; we wish you a happy Duanwu Festival!

Vocabulary

每年 [měinián] yearly, annually

农历 [nónglì] the lunar calendar

端午节 [duānwǔ jié] the Duanwu Festival; the Dragon Boat Festival

龙舟 [lóngzhōu] dragon boat

赛龙舟 [sài lóngzhōu] Dragon Boat Race

传统 [chuántǒng] tradition, convention

节日 [jiérì] festival

活动 [huódòng] activity

粽子 [zòngzi] zongzi; traditional Chinese rice-pudding

雄黄酒 [xiónghuángjiǔ] Realgar wine

传说 [chuánshuō] legend, tradition

说法 [shuōfǎ] way of saying a thing, version

纪念 [jìniàn] commemorate, memorialize

古代 [gǔdài] ancient, ancient times

诗人 [shīrén] poet

驱散 [qūsàn] disperse, blow away

从此以后 [cóngcǐ yǐhòu] since then, ever after, ever since

屈原 [qūyuán] Qu Yuan (famous ancient Chinese poet)

Practice

1. What do Chinese people often eat during the Dragon Boat Festival?

2. What day is the Dragon Boat Festival this year?

3. Do you know any other traditional Chinese festivals?

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