Zong-zi (粽子) is glutinous rice wrapped in reed leaves. One story tells about why rice is wrapped this way. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, there lived in Changsha a man named Ou Hui (欧回), who one day chanced to meet a man who called himself the Minister in Charge of the Affairs of Three Aristocratic Families (闾大夫). This man told Ou Hui,“It is very good of you to offer me gifts of rice, but most of them are stolen and devoured by the river dragon. In the future, please wrap them up in chinaberry leaves and tie them up with color threads. The leaves and threads will scare away the dragon, and he will never touch them again.”People did as they were told, and this is why zong-zi is made the way as it is.
Notes：1）reed芦苇；2）chinaberry楝树
10.什么是中秋节？
What is the Mid-Autumn Festival?
Every year on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month is held the Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋节). According to the ancient calendar, the eighth lunar month is in the middle of autumn, and the 15th day of the month is in the middle of the month. On that night, the moon is supposed to be brighter and fuller than in any other month and the moonlight is the most beautiful. In China, a full moon is symbolic of family reunion, so the day is also known as“The Day of Reunion.”
Notes：1）moonlight月光；2）reunion团聚
11.月饼是什么时候出现的？
What is the origin of moon cakes?
During the Mid-Autumn Festival, people eat moon cakes (月饼) that are also called“reunion cake”because they are round in shape. People began making moon cakes in the Tang Dynasty, but they became popular in the Song Dynasty, when they were available everywhere as an offering to the moon. Some people ate them after a sacrificial ceremony while others kept them until the New Year Eve. In the Ming Dynasty, it was a custom for people to exchange moon cakes as a way to express the happiness of a family reunion. In the Qing Dynasty, moon cakes came to be stuffed with walnut paste, similar to these we have now.
Notes：1）sacrificial献祭的；2）walnut胡桃
12重阳节有什么习俗？
What are the customs for the Double Ninth Festival?
The ninth day of the ninth lunar month is the Double Ninth Festival (重阳节). It occurs in the middle of autumn and peasants use the day to celebrate the harvest with varied activities:
a. Viewing chrysanthemums on the day is a delight. Chrysanthemums are flowers that smell sweet and blossom in spite of cold, frosty weather. At flower shows, thousands of chrysanthemums are on display. People appreciate them, poets write odes about them and artists paint them.
b. Drinking chrysanthemum wine is another custom. It is said that the wine is good for one’s eyes and helps bring blood pressure down.
c. People also climb mountains or go boating.
Notes：1）chrysanthemum菊花；2）ode颂歌
13.什么是七夕节？
What is the Qixi Festival (the Double Seventh Night Festival)?
The seventh lunar month in China falls in hot summer. In the evening of that day, people would look up at the starry sky and tell fairy tales. One of these tales says that at this very night every year, a Cowherd and a Weaving Maid will walk across a bridge spanned by magpies over the Heavenly River (the Milky River). It is said that the Weaving Maid is the seventh daughter of the Queen Mother. She works at her shuttle in Heaven, while the Cowherd herds cows in the human world. Once the Weaving Maid came down from Heaven and by chance met the Cowherd. They two fell in love, got married and settled down in the countryside. When the Queen Mother found this out, she brought her daughter back to Heaven, separating the pair with expanse of the Milky River. However, the true love between the Cowherd and Weaving Maid moved a kind-hearted phoenix who called on all the magpies in the universe to form a bridge across the river for the couple to cross and reunite on the evening of the seventh day of the seventh month. This story represents the wishes of people for a happier life.
Notes：1）starry布满星星的；2）cowherd牧牛者；3）magpie喜鹊；4）shuttle梭子