Dragon Boat Festival

Today is my first Dragon Boat Festival in Singapore.
After class, a friend from Malaysia invited me to have dinner with her. Though the dinner was only a small zongzi, I felt quite warm in heart. The zongzi was made by herself and her mother. It was well shaped. Meat, peanuts, mushrooms and beans were all contained in this small zongzi, which is quite interesting.
From ancient time on, zongzi became a symbol for Dragon Boat Festival. The original story is when Quyuan, a patriotic poet, was slandered by his enemy in politics, he jumped into Miluojiang. According to modern concept, he committed suicide, but in ancient time, he was considered to sacrifice for the country. Because of his bravery and patriotism, people threw zongzi into the river to keep fish from eating his body. They also set this special day to in honor of him.
Back in China, there is a one-day holiday for Dragon Boat Festival, which is quite a good rest for working people like my parents. However, some people say the holiday is set mainly because Chinese government wants to claim that Chinese people pay much attention to Dragon Boat Festival. Years ago, Korea registered Dragon Boat Festival as one of the traditional holidays of it. In response to this, this festival’s position is highly raised. But it is really a pity that we do not realize traditions’ importance only until it is too late.
That is all I experienced and thought about Dragon Boat Festival today. I enjoyed it.