用英语介绍元宵节的来历和习俗,传播中国传统文化(双语版)!

用英语介绍元宵节的来历和习俗，传播中国传统文化（双语

版）！

元宵节的来历和习俗

The Lantern Festival falls on the 15th day of the 1st lunar

month, usually in February or March in the Gregorian calendar.

As early as the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 25), it had

become a festival with great significance.

元宵节在农历正月十五，通常是公历二月或三月，早在我国西汉

时期（公元前206年——公元25年）就成为一个重要节。

This day's important activity is watching lanterns.

Throughout the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), Buddhism

flourished in China. One emperor heard that Buddhist monks

would watch sarira, or remains from the cremation of Buddha's

body, and light lanterns to worship Buddha on the 15th day of

the 1st lunar month, so he ordered to light lanterns in the

imperial palace and temples to show respect to Buddha on this

day. Later, the Buddhist rite developed into a grandfestival

among common people and its influence expanded from the

Central Plains to the whole of China.

这一天重要的活动就是看灯啦。早在公元前206年至公元220年

的汉代，佛教就在中国盛行。有一位帝王听说僧侣可以看到舍利，也

就是佛被火化后留存在体内的东西，在阴历的正月十五这一天点灯敬

拜佛祖，于是这位帝王就命令这一天在他的宫殿和庙宇里点灯以表现

他对佛祖的尊敬。此后，这项佛教仪式发展成为普通民众的盛大节日，

它的影响力从中原地区一直蔓延到整个中国。

Till today, the lantern festival is still held each year around

the country. Lanterns of various shapes and sizes are hung in the

streets, attracting countless visitors. Children will hold lf-made

or bought lanterns to stroll with on the streets, extremely excited.

直到今天，全国上下每年都会过元宵节。不同形状和大小的灯笼

会悬挂在街上，吸引无数的游人。孩子们会拿着自制的或买来的灯笼

在街上闲逛，十分开心。

'Guessing lantern riddles'is an esntial part of the Festival.

Lantern owners write riddles on a piece of paper and post them

on the lanterns. If visitors have solutions to the riddles, they can

pull the paper out and go to the lantern owners to check their

answer. If they are right, they will get a little gift. The activity

emerged during people's enjoyment of lanterns in the Song

Dynasty (960-1279). As riddle guessing is interesting and full of

wisdom, it has become popular among all social strata.

“猜灯谜”是节日的核心部分。灯笼的主人会将谜语写在一张纸

条上并贴在灯笼上。如果游客能解开灯谜，他们就能将纸条拿下来去

灯笼的主人那看答案是否正确。如果答案是对的，他们将会得到一份

小礼物。这项活动最早在宋朝（公元960-1279）出现，当人们在赏灯

的时候开始。由于猜灯谜极具趣味性，又需要动脑筋，所以后来在全

社会各阶层中收到普遍欢迎。

People will eat yuanxiao, or rice dumplings, on this day, so it

is also called the 'Yuanxiao Festival.'Yuanxiao also has another

name, tangyuan. It is small dumpling balls made of glutinousrice

flour with ro petals, same, bean paste, jujube paste, walnut

meat, dried fruit, sugar and edible oil as filling. Tangyuan can be

boiled, fried or steamed. It tastes sweet and delicious. What's

more, tangyuan in Chine has a similar pronunciation with

'tuanyuan”, meaning reunion. So people eat them to denote

union, harmony and happiness for the family.

人们在元宵节的时候会吃元宵，因此这个节日也就叫做元宵节。

“元宵”还有另外一个名字—汤圆，用糯米粉做皮，玫瑰花瓣、芝麻、

豆酱、枣泥、胡桃肉、干果、糖和食用油做馅，做成的小面球团。汤

圆可以煮、炸或者蒸来吃。吃起来甜甜的，很美味。而且，汤圆在中

国和“团圆”这个词的发音相似，代表着团团圆圆。因此人们吃汤圆

会象征着家庭的团圆、和谐和快乐。

In the daytime of the Festival, performances such as a dragon

lantern dance, a lion dance, a land boat dance, a yangge dance,

walking on stilts and beating drums while dancing will be staged.

On the night, except for magnificent lanterns, fireworks form a

beautiful scene. Most families spare some fireworks from the

Spring Festival and let them off in the Lantern Festival. Some local

governments will even organize a fireworks party. On the night

when the first full moon enters the New Year, people become

really intoxicated by the imposing fireworks and bright moon in

the sky.

在元宵节的白天里，会有很多表演节目，例如，舞龙灯、舞狮、

采莲船、扭秧歌、踩高跷和打鼓。到了晚上，除了华丽的灯笼，烟火

也是另一道美丽的风景。很多家庭从春节开始就在放烟火，并且延续

到了元宵节。一些本地政府还会组织烟火晚会。在晚上，当新年的第

一轮满月出来后，人们就会被天空中华丽的烟火和明月所陶醉。

每年农历的一月十五日是中国人的元宵节，它正好在春节之后。

The Lantern Festival is celebrated everywhere on January

15th of the lunar calendar, right after the Spring Festival.

传统意义上元宵节也是春节活动的一部分。Traditionally, the

Lantern Festival is a part of the Spring Festival.

这天是农历新年里第一个月圆的日子。This day is always the

first full moon in the lunar New Year.

中国各地张灯结彩，家家户户歌舞游乐，人们做元宵、放烟火。

Across China, people celebrate by hanging up lanterns and

festoons, attending dancing and singing performances, making

“Yuan Xiao” or sweet rice dumplings and lighting fireworks.

这也是庆祝春节的延续。This is also a continuation of the

Spring Festival celebration.

在元宵节之夜，天上明月高照，地上彩灯万盏。On the Lantern

Festival night, the moon illuminates the dark sky while many

lanterns shine bright colors on the earth.

元宵夜观花灯的习俗开始于两千多年前的西汉时期。The

traditions of viewing decorative lanterns on this night began

more than two thousand years ago in the Western Han Dynasty.

最早只是在皇宫中点灯祈福。In the earlier times, tho

beautiful lanterns were only en in the imperial palaces.

慢慢地演变成民间最盛大的灯节。Slowly it evolved into a

celebration on the grand scale for the ordinary folks everywhere.

在元宵节前许多天，人们就开始忙着用油纸、绸布、竹子和花朵

等材料制作各式各样的灯笼。A few days before the lantern festival,

people begin gathering oiled paper, silk cloths, bamboo sticks

and flower to make all types of lanterns.

或者到热闹的灯市上挑选自己喜爱的灯笼。Some people go to

the lively streets to pick a personal favorite.

花灯的主题既有民间传说，又有节日习俗和各种吉祥物等。The

lanterns sometimes come in a ries about certain folklore,

holiday customs, or lucky mascots.

元宵节也是一个浪漫的节日。The Lantern Festival is also a

romantic holiday.

在封建社会时，年轻女孩不允许出外自由活动。In feudal society,

young girls were not allowed to go out freely.

但在元宵节晚上，她们却可以结伴出游观赏花灯。But on the

night of the Lantern Festival, they were allowed to view the

lantern lights in groups.

未婚男女也常借着赏花灯与情人相会。Sometimes couples

would go on dates strolling down the streets lit with lantern lights.

如今人们依然会在元宵夜相邀一起去赏花灯。Today people still

invite others to view lanterns together.

在中国南北各地都有风格不同的元宵灯会。Across China, the

Lantern Festival is celebrated in many different styles.

在临水的地方，人们把做好的莲花灯放进河里，让灯顺流而下，

带去自己对已逝亲人的思念。In places near water, people put Lotus

Lanterns in the river to let them flow down stream, carrying the

loss they feel for the relatives that have pasd away.

在北方，传统习俗与现代科技相结合发展成为冰灯节。In the

North, as traditional customs combined with modern science and

technology, there evolved the Ice Lantern Festival.

天然冰雪与灯光色彩巧妙结合，透过雕塑、造型、建筑和造景，

成为一个绚丽的冰雪天堂。The combination of the ice and snow

with colored lights, carvings, designs, and special scenery yield a

spectacular winter paradi.

猜灯谜是中国特有的文字游戏。The Lantern Riddle is a special

word-game played by the Chine people.

人们不仅制作出各种漂亮的灯笼供大家观赏，还设计出许多有趣

的谜语。The Chine people not only craft many types of

beautiful lanterns for the others to appreciate, but also create

many interesting riddles.

传统的灯谜是直接写在灯笼上的。The traditional riddles are

written on the lanterns.

现在，人们在灯笼的下面贴上写了谜语的纸条，供观灯的人猜。

Today, many people glue a slip of paper with the riddle at the

bottom of the lanterns for the viewers to solve.

那些猜中的人还会得到出谜者赠送的小奖品。Tho who solve

the riddles correctly will receive a prize from the riddle’s creator.

和其他的中国传统节日一样，元宵节也有自己的节日食品——

“元宵”。Just like China’s other traditional holidays, the

Lantern Festival also has its own special dish —“Yuan Xiao”, or

sweet dumpling soup.

虽然“元宵”在南北两地叫法不同，做法也不同，但它们都是用

糯米粉做皮儿。Although the sweet dumplings differ in name and

recipe from the North and South, they are always made with

glutinous rice flour as the outside.

里面包上各种果仁和糖做成的馅儿。The filling is usually

compod of different kinds of fruit kernels and sugar.

包出来的形状是一样的——圆圆的、白白的，因为它和元宵夜的

圆月一样，代表着团圆。The sweet dumplings are always round

and white, as it reprents the moon on the night of the Lantern

Festival.

元宵Sweet Dumplings Soup团圆reunion灯谜lantern riddles