Cannot think of a Chinese holiday without its traditional food. Today, we celebrate Dragon Boat Festival without zongzi, let alone the race of the dragon boats.
Laura couldn't hide her excitement after she got up this morning. She knew today she would do a needle work project --- making a holiday sachet. 
She's not new to the story of "The Legend of White Snake", which she was particularly intested in the lady-turn-into-snake-after-hsiunghuang- wine. I am not sure in what way the story reaches her, or what part of the festival she can relate to, but I still get to do my job, which is to introduce her to Chinese culture, one story at a time --- the origins of the festival, the costums of the celebration, and the traditional food. While she had hard time understanding what happened along the Miluo River over 2000 years ago, she had no problem with how the dragon boat races are done. 
And when she learned that many children wear fragrant sachets that day, to ward off evil and bring health and peace, she immediately knew what she would do today. She made it clear that this time around, the sachet is no longer for children, but Daddy (again) instead.
Zongzi is one of my all time favorites.
Every time I untie zongzi, the distinct fresh-smelling of bamboo leaves mixed with the fragrance of glutinous rice rises as the delicate shaped pyramid flops onto a plate, memories spill right out from the package. My grandmother made the most dellicious zongzi, which I remember from my childhood in Beijing. The bamboo leaves, which were saved from the previous years, were soaked in the water days before, and the smell told me that the festival was just around the corner. Pork was stewed long hours on the stove, 
as the fat in the pork leg melted into a nice soothing custard, me and my brother sitting patiently in the kitchen, wrapped in the heavenly fragrance. Now we can buy zongzi from Chinese grocery almost year round, with so many more variaties to choose from, but the taste will never be the same, just as I'll never go back to my childhood, licking every bit of flavor off the bamboo leaf wrapping while Grandmother watching me with the same heavenly smile.
Laura never liked Zongzi. I tried to introduce it to her several times, but she just didn't seem to interested in it at all. Maybe next time, we should try wrapping pepperoni and cheese in it?
Chinese Dragon Boat Festival at ChineseCultureOnline.com
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白蛇传图文故事（下）
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