The Duanwu Festival, or the Dragon Boat Festival, was celebrated on Sunday as a public holiday for the first time in China.

The Beijing News published an editorial saying that it is not only a reminder of the festival food Zongzi, but also a chance for people to cherish Chinese traditions embodied by the festival, such as making food together, working to maintain a clean environment, and enjoying flower arrangement, dragon boat games and flying kites.

The editorial says families, friends and neighbors can deepen communication by attending Duanwu Festival celebrations.

In ancient times, Duanwu festival was a time to express love and emotion. Young people visited senior citizens, who in return gave youngsters gifts to show their appreciation. The editorial says such traditions deserve to be continued in this busy era of rapid development.

The editorial emphasizes that urban people should take the festival as an opportunity to learn Chinese traditions from rural people, since they keep the traditions well.

More important, says the paper, is that rural people have closer connections with each other during traditional festivals. Learning from them, urban people can become closer and more welcoming to strangers. This is the real value of traditional festivals for modern society.