孤云独去闲15 In China, food eaten during festivals is particularly important. At different festivals, people partake of different fare. For example, on the eve of the Spring Festival, people in the north always eat. jiaozi, meat and vegetable dumplings, at family reunions. This is a way of bidding farewell to the old year and welcoming the New Year. The Lantern Festival is a day of
celebration, and on this day people like to eat yuanxiao, sweet dumplings made of glutinous rice flour, to symbolize family reunion and perfection. At the Duanwu Festival, people eat zongzi, glutinous rice wrapped in triangular shape in reed leaves, to commemorate the beloved poet Qu Yuan (c.1339-c. 278 BC), who drowned himself in the Miluo River after being politically wronged. Legend has it that people at the time threw zongzi into the river in the hope that the dragon would not take him away. This later gradually developed into a custom of making and eating zongzi during the Duanwu Festival.
15中国人特别在乎过节时吃什么，不同的节日吃不同的食物。比如除夕夜全家团圆时，北方人吃肉饺或菜饺，象征辞旧迎新。元宵节吃元宵，元宵是糯米粉做的甜团子，象征家庭团圆、美满。端午节吃粽子，人们用芦苇叶子把糯米包成三角形的粽子是为了纪念受人爱戴的诗人屈原。屈原因遭政治迫害自沉于汨罗江。传说古时候人们把粽子投到江中，希望水中的龙不要带走他。之后，端午节包粽子和吃粽子的习俗就慢慢形成了。
