端午节的来历和习俗

 　　The Dragon Boat Festival occurs on the fifth day of the fifth moon of the lunar calendar. It is one of the three most important of the annual Chinese festivals. The other two are the Autumn Moon Festival and Chinese New Year.

　　端午节在每年阴历的五月初五与我们相遇，它是最重要的中国三大节日之一，另外两个为中秋节和农历春节。
　　The story of this colorful festival concerns a famous Chinese scholar-statesman named Chu Yuan. Who some three centuries before the birth of Christ, served the King of Chu during the Warring States period. As a loyal minister, Chu Yuan at first enjoyed the full confidence and respect of his sovereign. Eventually, through the intrigues 1 of his rivals, he was discredited 2.
　　这个丰富多彩的节日与我国历史上著名的诗人、政治家屈原息息相关。在公元前三世纪的战国时期，屈原是楚国的重臣。作为尊贵的三闾大夫，在端政初期，屈原充满自信并深得皇帝尊重，但随着政敌和小人的阴谋诋毁，屈原渐渐失去了信任
　　Chu Yuan was never able to regain 3 the emperor's favor and on the fifth day of the fifth moon in the year 278 B.C.(Before Christ), at the age of 62, Chu Yuan clasped a stone to his chest and plunged 4 into the Milo River in the Hunan Province.
　　屈原最终再没能赢得楚怀王及顷襄王的信任，最终在公元前278年五月初五在湖南省汨罗江怀石自沉江底。时年62岁。
　　Respecting the minister as an upright and honest man, the people who lived in the area jumped into their boats and rushed out in a vain search for him. This unsuccessful rescue attempt is a part of what the Dragon Boat Festival commemorates 5 every year.
　　人们为了体现对于屈原先生高尚而诚洁的品格的尊敬，在汨罗江附近的人们乘着龙舟，寻找着屈原的遗体，虽然最终没有找到，但此次不成功的营救行动却成为端午节每年的纪念活动。
　　Probably the most exciting and interesting aspect of the festival is the racing 6 of the Dragon Boats. These races not only symbolize 7 the people's attempt to save Chu Yuan, they also demonstrate the Chinese virtues 8 of cooperation and teamwork.
　　在端午节活动中最为激烈精彩的莫过于赛龙舟了，当然这已不仅仅是营救屈原的象征了，而是一种深切体现中华民族协同合作美好品质的证明。
　　Another activity of the Festival is the making and eating of a kind of dumpling called Tzungtzu (粽子). When it became known that Chu Yuan was gone forever, the people, living along the river, threw cooked rice into the water as a sacrifice to their dead hero. They wrapped rice in bamboo leaves, and stuffed(填满) it with ham, beans, bean paste(豆沙), salted egg yokes 9, sausages, nuts, and vegetables.
　　另外一种端午独特的活动是制作和品尝粽子，当屈原离世的时候，汨罗江畔人民做好粽子祭奠他们心中的英雄，他们用竹叶把糯米包好，填满细肉、豆子、豆沙、咸蛋、香肠、干果和蔬菜等等。
　　To the Chinese the fifth lunar moon is more than just the Dragon Boat Festival. Since antiquity 10, they have believed that this month is a pestilential and danger-fraught period. Children born in this month are said to be difficult to raise, and people tend to concentrate their efforts during this time attempting to protect their families from ills and misfortune. The day of the Dragon Boat Festival is customarily the time when cleaning and sanitation 11 are stressed. Most families hang calamus and artemisia above their doors, both as a decoration and as a preventive against pestilence 12.
　　在五月初五这一天，意义其实超过了赛龙舟吃粽子种种。在古代，人们认为五月是危险和病祸盛行的月份，新生儿也认为难以成活，因此这天人们会进行各种活动来保护自己的家庭远离不幸。端午节这天有很多习俗，清理打扫是重点，大多数家庭在门前悬挂菖蒲和艾草，这既是端午节的装饰也是驱除瘟疫的防范。
　　Ancient folk medicine such as realgar(雄黄酒)are added to the food eaten on the Festival day. This is believed to prevent disease and to promote a healthy digestive system The drinking of realgar in wine supposedly relieves the effects of poisons accumulated in human bodies.
　　古代人在这天还会少许饮一些雄黄的药酒，他们坚信雄黄酒可以祛除病痛，提高我们消化系统的健康。但现今科学证实，饮雄黄酒对于人体会有一定的毒害作用。
　　The sachets are very popular with children and they vie with each other to collect as many as possible. Children are not the only ones who collect Hsiang Pao. Older people are often given them as a symbol of respect, and they are highly prized because of the intricate and beautiful embroidery 13 and that adorns 14 them.
　　香包是在孩子们之间很流行的习俗，孩子们相互“攀比”是能够收集最多香包。其实收集香包的又何尝仅仅是孩子呢?老年人也经常收到香包作为一种受尊敬的象征，而且他们也会赞叹那些做工精致美丽的刺绣并装饰它们。
　　The Dragon Boat Festival is an entertaining and enjoyable event. It gives the observer an opportunity to glimpse a part of the rich Chinese cultural heritage
　　端午节是一种极具娱乐性和享受性的盛大节日，这么多习俗给予我们一个特殊的视角来领略我们伟大中国文化遗产的冰山一瞥。