【正文】
ays are so much fun that they catch on outside of their culture. The most obvious example is probably Christmas, which is celebrated around the world by people who aren’t even Christian. Similarly, in recent years, the Dragon Boat Festival has moved beyond China to bee an international holiday celebrated by people who may know little about the holiday’s origins. The Dragon Boat Festival is one of three major Chinese holidays, along with the Spring and Moon Festivals. Of the three, it is possibly the oldest, dating back to the Warring States Period in 227 . The festival memorates Qu Yuan, a minister in the service of the Chu Emperor. Despairing over corruption at court, Qu threw himself into a river. Townspeople jumped into their boats and tried in vain to save him. Then, hoping to distract hungry fish from his body, the people scattered rice on the water. Over the years, the story of Qu’s demise transformed into the traditions of racing dragon boats an