英语趣谈——元宵节

英语趣谈——元宵节

大家好，又到了一年一度的元宵佳节，你知道元宵节的来历吗？

下面我们一起来看一下。

Lantern Festival falls on the fifteenth day of the first lunar

month. This is the first full moon of the new year, symbolizing

unity and perfection. Lantern Festival is an important part of

Spring Festival, and marks the official end of the long holiday.

元宵节是农历正月的第十五天，这是新年的第一次满月，象征着

和睦与团圆。元宵节是春节的一个重要组成部分，也象征着春节长假

的正式结束。

There are many legends concerning the origins of Lantern

Festival.

关于元宵节的来历有很多传说。

According to one legend, once in ancient times, a celestial

swan came into the mortal world where it was shot down by a

hunter. The Jade Emperor, the highest god in Heaven, vowed to

avenge the swan. He started making plans to nd a troop of

celestial soldiers and generals to Earth on the fifteenth day of the

first lunar month, with orders to incinerate all humans and

animals. But the other celestial beings disagreed with this cour

of action, and risked their lives to warn the people of Earth. As a

result, before and after the fifteenth day of the first month, every

family hung red lanterns outside their doors and t off

firecrackers and fireworks, giving the impression that their homes

were already burning. By successfully tricking the Jade Emperor

in this way, humanity was saved from extermination.

有一个传说是这样的。在古代，有一位神界天鹅闯入人间被猎手

误杀。天界地位最高的玉皇大帝发誓要为这只天鹅报仇。他开始制定

计划，派出一支天兵天将，于农历正月十五来到人间，命令他们火烧

所有的人和动物。但是，其他神仙并不赞同这一计划，他们冒着生命

危险提醒人间的人们。结果，在正月十五这一天前后，每一个家庭都

在门外挂起灯笼，并燃放烟花爆竹，给天兵天将造成各家各户起火的

假象。通过这种方式，人们成功骗过了玉皇大帝，人类也因此逃过了

灭绝的危险。

Although the above stories are quite fantastical, it is sure that

the origins of Lantern Festival are related toancient humanity's

u of fire to celebrate festivals and avert disaster. Since Lantern

Festival involves making offerings to the deities and is celebrated

at night, it is natural that fire would play an important role. Over

time, Lantern Festival gradually evolved into its prent form.

When Buddhism was introduced to China during the Eastern Han

Dynasty ,the emperor decreed that on the night of the full moon

of the first lunar month, lanterns should be lit to honor Buddha,

adding yet another level of significance to Lantern Festival. And

according to Daoism, Lantern Festival is associated with the

primordial deities of Heaven and Fire, who were born on the

fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

虽然上面的传说很神奇，但可以确定的是，元宵节的起源必定跟

古代人们使用火来庆祝节日、躲避灾难有关。元宵节活动包括逃避邪

神，且是在晚上庆祝，所以，火很自然地就扮演了重要的角色。随着

时间的流逝，元宵节逐渐演变为今天的形式。东汉时期，佛教传入中

国，皇帝下令，在正月第一个满月的晚上，必须点亮灯笼敬奉佛祖，

这也使元宵节平添了一份神秘的色彩。在道教，元宵节与掌管天界和

火的元神紧密相连，因为他们就诞生在正月十五。

Eating yuanxiao(sweet dumplings made with glutinous rice

flour) is one of the special traditions of Lantern Festival. Lantern

Festival is also called Yuanxiao Festival. Another name for

yuanxiao is tangyuan, which literally means"boiled spheres."

吃元宵(有糯米粉制成的甜馅儿食物)是元宵节的一个特色传统，元

宵节也因这种食物得名。元宵的另一种叫法是“汤圆”，字面意思就

是煮熟的圆球状食品，寓意团团圆圆、幸福美满。

大家还知道哪些有趣的节日传说呢？说出来和大家一起分享吧！

（供稿：李 敏 图片：网络）

（编辑：李 敏 审核：赵军耀）