Chinese people have been celebrating（庆祝） the Dragon Boat Festival for more than 2, 000 years. It started when the Chinese remembered the great poet（诗人）Qu Yuan. His country was lost in the war, so he jumped into the Miluo River in Hunan and killed himself on that day.
People threw zongzi into the river so the fish wouldn't cat the poet's body. Since then the Chinese have been making zongzi. Eating zongzi is, of course, a big part of the day. In the old days, nearly every family made zongzi by hand. But now, this custom changes. People hardly make zongzi at home. Most of them buy cooked zongzi in markets. It becomes a kind of fast food you can get any time you want.
There are also other customs（习俗） on this day. People go to race dragon boats, drink realgar wine（雄黄酒） and put felon herb（艾草） on the front door. But some of these have gone（消失）. But not all of the changes are bad. In the old days, women couldn't race dragon boats because people thought it made them unlucky. Today people allow（允许） women to take part in racing boats just like men.
All in all, the modern society sees many changes in how Chinese people celebrate the festival
| The Dragon Boat Festival in | ||
| History of the festival | 2, 000 years ago In honor of（纪念: ） Chinese poet—﹣ Qu Yuan | |
| in customs | Food | Making zongzi by hand in the old days |
| Buyingzongzi in markets now | ||
| Dragon boat races | Not lucky for women in the old days | |
| in racing boats like men now |
