The Lantern Festival 元宵節

The Lantern Festival (s-Chinese: 元宵节; t-Chinese: 元宵節; pinyin: Yuánxiāojié) is a Chinese festival celebrated on the fifteenth day of the first month in the Chinese calendar.It is not to be confused with the Mid-Autumn Festival, which is also sometimes known as the "Lantern Festival" in locations such as Singapore, Malaysia. During the Lantern Festival, children go out at night to temples carrying paper lanterns and solve riddles on the lanterns (s-Chinese: 猜灯谜; t-Chinese: 猜燈謎; pinyin: cāidēngmí). It officially ends the Chinese New Year.In ancient times, the lanterns were fairly simple, for only the emperor and noblemen had large ornate ones; in modern times, lanterns have been embellished with many complex designs. For example, lanterns are now often made in shapes of animals.The Lantern Festival is also known as the Little New Year since it marks the end of the series of celebrations starting from the Chinese New Year.

2008 Tainan city Lantern Festival

Prelude of Chinese culture

Chinese culture is widespread in east Asia and in most cases there are several versions of one individual tradition between different areas.
Because of the long lasting time of it, there are enormous story behide a little thing such as chopsticks.
[Here is a chinese website about chopsticks.]
Look like A long-winded article? Yeah,but it still missed something(taboo,proper manner....)
Every Taiwanese students hate their culture when they are asked to study the chinese history and philology in the mandotory education.

Hence It is a heavy load for me to elaborate whole of it entirely, I just present the part which I'm familiar with briefly.
You can find more information by internet and reference books about it.

Whatever, I will try my best to help you enjoy the interesting part of it.

Dragon Boat Festival 端午節

Dragon Boat Festival 端午節

The Duanwu Festival (also known as Dragon Boat Festival or 端午节 in Simplified Chinese) is a traditional and statutory holiday associated with Chinese cultures, though it is celebrated in other East Asian and Southeast Asian societies as well.It is a public holiday in Taiwann.In 2008, the festival was restored in China as an official national holiday. The festival is also celebrated in countries with significant Chinese populations, such as in Singapore and Malaysia.The festival occurs on the fifth day of the fifth month on the Chinese calendar. This is the source of the alternative name of Double Fifth .The focus of the celebrations includes eating zongzi, which are large rice wraps, drinking realgar wine, and racing dragon boats.Dragon boat races are traditionally held as part of the annual Duanwu Festival observance in China. 19th century European observers of the racing ritual, not understanding the significance of Duan Wu, referred to the spectacle as a "dragon boat festival". This is the term that has become known in the West.

Origins The Duanwu Festival is believed to have originated in ancient China. A number of theories exist about its origins as a number of folk traditions and explanatory myths are connected to its observance. Today the best known of these relates to the suicide in 278 BC of Qu Yuan, poet and statesman of the Chu kingdom during the Warring States period. Qu Yuan(屈原) The best-known traditional story holds that the festival commemorates the death of poet Qu Yuan (c. 340 BC - 278 BC) of the ancient state of Chu, in the Warring States Period of the Zhou Dynasty. A descendant of the Chu royal house, Qu served in high offices. However, when the king decided to ally with the increasingly powerful state of Qin, Qu was banished for opposing the alliance. Qu Yuan was accused of treason. During his exile, Qu Yuan wrote a great deal of poetry, for which he is now remembered. Twenty-eight years later, Qin conquered the Chu capital. In despair, Qu Yuan committed suicide by drowning himself in the Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth month. It is said that the local people, who admired him, threw food into the river to feed the fish so that they would not eat Qu Yuan's body. This is said to be the origin of zongzi. The local people were also said to have paddled out on boats, either to scare the fish away or to retrieve his body. This is said to be the origin of dragon boat racing.

Film: The Master of Making Dragon Boat
Film:2006 Girls Group Race