In China, the Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated on day 5 of the fifth month every year according to the Chinese lunar calendar.
Every year on the Dragon Boat Festival day, we get up early and get down to make zongzi. We add meat or red beans into it depending on our preferences. As we are too young to make zongzi, we stand by to help the adults prepare materials like bamboo leaves, glutinous rice, and so on which are used to make zongzi.
In my hometown, the Dragon Boat Festival has a special custom——knitting "egg bag". The egg bag is composed of a diamond shaped lattice with a colorful rope, and the egg bag is packed with eggs or zongzi, which means longevity and perfection. What’s more, the Dragon Boat Festival indicates that the hot summer is coming, coupled with the humid climate, the disease and bacteria are active, so it is easy to cause many diseases. Therefore, we have the custom of eating salted duck eggs during the Dragon Boat Festival to remove poison and maintain good health. We will start to brine the duck eggs about a month in advance We make them with salt water, and cook them until the Dragon Boat Festival day.
Anyway, every activity reflects the community residents' emphasis on traditional culture and inheritance. It not only spreads the traditional festival customs, but also strengthens the bond between the residents.