元宵节来历英语带翻译

元宵节来历英语带翻译

元宵节来历英语带翻译

The 15th day of the 1st lunar month is the Chine Lantern

Festival

becau the first lunar month is called yuan-month and in

the ancient times people called night Xiao. The 15th day is the

first night to e a full moon. So the day is also called Yuan Xiao

Festival in China.

According to the Chine tradition, at the very beginning of

a new year, when there is a bright full moon hanging in the sky,

there should be thousands of colorful lanterns hung out for

people to appreciate. At this time, people will try to solve the

puzzles on the lanterns and eat yuanxiao (glutinous rice ball) and

get all their families united in the joyful atmosphere.

元宵节正月十五吃元宵的的习俗由来已久，元宵也叫“汤圆”、

“圆子”。据说元宵象征合家团圆，吃元宵意味新的一年合家幸福、

万事如意。

元宵节闹花灯的习俗起源于道教的“三元说”；正月十五日为上

元节，七月十五日为中元节，十月十五日为下元节。主管上、中、下

三元的分别为天、地、人三官，天官喜乐，故上元节要燃灯。元宵节

的节期与节俗活动，是随历史的发展而延长、扩展的。就节期长短而

言，汉代才一天，到唐代已为三天，宋代则长达五天，明代更是自初

八点灯，一直到正月十七的夜里才落灯，整整十天。与春节相接，白

昼为市，热闹非凡，夜间燃灯，蔚为壮观。特别是那精巧、多彩的灯

火，更使其成为春节期间娱乐活动的高-潮。至清代，又增加了舞龙、

舞狮、跑旱船、踩高跷、扭秧歌等“百戏”内容，只是节期缩短为四

到五天。

History

Until the Sui Dynasty in the sixth century, Emperor Yangdi

invited envoys from other countries to China to e the colorful

lighted lanterns and enjoy the gala（节日的，庆祝的）

performances.

By the beginning of the Tang Dynasty in the venth century,

the lantern displays would last three days. The emperor also lifted

the curfew（宵禁令）, allowing the people to enjoy the festive

lanterns day and night. It is not difficult to find Chine poems

which describe this happy scene.

In the Song Dynasty, the festival was celebrated for five days

and the

activities began to spread to many of the big cities in China.

Colorful glass and even jade were ud to make lanterns, with

figures from folk tales painted on the lanterns.

However, the largest Lantern Festival celebration took place

in the early part of the 15th century. The festivities continued for

ten days. Emperor Chengzu had the downtown area t aside as

a center for displaying the

lanterns. Even today, there is a place in Beijing called

Dengshikou. In Chine, Deng means lantern and Shi is market.

The area became a market where lanterns were sold during the

day. In the evening, the local people would go there to e the

beautiful lighted lanterns on display.

Today, the displaying of lanterns is still a big event on the

15th day of the first lunar month throughout China. People enjoy

the brightly lit night. Chengdu in Southwest China's Sichuan

Province, for example, holds a lantern fair each year in the

Cultural Park. During the Lantern Festival, the park is literally an

ocean of lanterns! Many new designs attract countless visitors.

The most eye-catching lantern is the Dragon Pole. This is a

lantern in the shape of a golden dragon, spiraling up a 27-meter

-high pole, spewing fireworks from its mouth. It is quite an

impressive sight!

元宵节是中国的传统节日，早在2000多年前的西汉就有了，元宵

赏灯始于东汉明帝时期，明帝提倡佛教，听说佛教有正月十五日僧人

观佛舍利，点灯敬佛的做法，就命令这一天夜晚在皇宫和寺庙里点灯

敬佛，令士族庶民都挂灯。以后这种佛教礼仪节日逐渐形成民间盛大

的节日。该节经历了由宫廷到民间，由中原到全国的发展过程。

在汉文帝时，已下令将正月十五定为元宵节。汉武帝时，“太一

神”的祭祀活动定在正月十五。（太一：主宰宇宙一切之神）。司马

迁创建“太初历”时，就已将元宵节确定为重大节日。

另有一说是元宵燃灯的习俗起源于道教的“三元说”；正月十五

日为上元节，七月十五日为中元节，十月十五日为下元节。主管上、

中、下三元的分别为天、地、人三官，天官喜乐，故上元节要燃灯。

元宵节的节期与节俗活动，是随历史的发展而延长、扩展的。就

节期长短而言，汉代才一天，到唐代已为三天，宋代则长达五天，明

代更是自初八点灯，一直到正月十七的夜里才落灯，整整十天。与春

节相接，白昼为市，热闹非凡，夜间燃灯，蔚为壮观。特别是那精巧、

多彩的灯火，更使其成为春节期间娱乐活动的高-潮。至清代，又增加

了舞龙、舞狮、跑旱船、踩高跷、扭秧歌等“百戏”内容，只是节期

缩短为四到五天。

Origin

There are many different beliefs about the origin of the

Lantern Festival. But one thing for sure is that it had something

to do with religious worship.

One legend tells us that it was a time to worship Taiyi, the

God of Heaven in ancient times. The belief was that the God of

Heaven controlled the destiny of the human world. He had

sixteen dragons at his beck and call and he decided when to

inflict drought, storms, famine or pestilence（瘟疫）upon human

beings. Beginning with Qinshihuang, the first emperor to unite

the country, all subquent emperors ordered splendid

ceremonies each year. The emperor would ask Taiyi to bring

favorable weather and good health to him and his people.

Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty directed special

attention to this event. In 104 BC, he proclaimed it one of the

most important celebrations and the ceremony would last

throughout the night.

Another legend associates the Lantern Festival with Taoism.

Tianguan is the Taoist god responsible for good fortune. His

birthday falls on the 15th day of the first lunar month. It is said

that Tianguan likes all types of entertainment. So followers

prepare various kinds of activities during which they pray for

good fortune.

The third story about the origin of the festival is like this.

Buddhism first entered China during the reign of Emperor Mingdi

of the Eastern Han Dynasty. That was in the first century. However,

it did not exert any great influence among the Chine people.

one day, Emperor Mingdi had a dream about a gold man in his

palace. At the very moment when he was about to ask the

mysterious figure who he was, the gold man suddenly ro to the

sky and

disappeared in the west. The next day, Emperor Mingdi nt

a scholar to India on a pilgrimage（朝圣）to locate Buddhist

scriptures. After journeying

thousands of miles, the scholar finally returned with the

scriptures. Emperor Mingdi ordered that a temple be built to

hou a statue of Buddha and rve as a repository for the

scriptures. Followers believe that the power of Buddha can dispel

darkness. So Emperor Mingdi ordered his subjects to display

lighted lanterns during what was to become the Lantern Festival.

关于元宵节的来历，民间还有几种有趣的传说：

关于灯的传说

传说在很久以前，凶禽猛兽很多，四处伤害人和牲畜，人们就组

织起来去打它们，有一只神鸟困为迷路而降落人间，却意外的被不知

情的猎人给射死了。天帝知道后十分震怒，立即传旨，下令让天兵于

正月十五日到人间放火，把人间的人畜财产通通烧死。天帝的女儿心

地善良，不忍心看百姓无辜受难，就冒着生命的危险，偷偷驾着祥云

来到人间，把这个消息告诉了人们。众人听说了这个消息，有如头上

响了一个焦雷。吓得不知如何是好，过了好久，才有个老人家想出个

法子，他说：“在正月十四、十五、十六日这三天，每户人家都在家

里张灯结彩、点响爆竹、燃放烟火。这样一来，天帝就会以为人们都

被烧死了”。

大家听了都点头称是，便分头准备去了。到了正月十五这天晚上，

天帝往下一看，发觉人间一片红光，响声震天，连续三个夜晚都是如

此，以为是大火燃烧的火焰，以中大快。人们就这样保住了自己的生

命及财产。为了纪念这次成功，从此每到正月十五，家家户户都悬挂

灯笼，放烟火来纪念这个日子。

Yuanxiao

Besides entertainment and beautiful lanterns, another

important part of the Lantern Festival,or Yuanxiao Festival is

eating small dumpling balls made of glutinous rice flour. We call

the balls Yuanxiao or Tangyuan. Obviously, they get the name

from the festival itlf. It is said that the custom of eating

Yuanxiao originated during the Eastern Jin Dynasty in the fourth

centuty, then became popular during the Tang and Song periods.

The fillings inside the dumplings or Yuansiao are either sweet

or salty.

Sweet fillings are made of sugar, Walnuts（胡桃）, same,

osmanthus flowers（桂花）, ro petals, sweetened tangerine

peel, bean paste, or jujube paste（枣泥）. A single ingredient or

any combination can be ud as the filling . The salty variety is

filled with minced meat, vegetables or a mixture.

The way to make Yuanxiao also varies between northern and

southern China. The usual method followed in southern

provinces is to shape the dough of rice flour into balls, make a

hole, inrt the filling, then clo the hole and smooth out the

dumpling by rolling it between your hands. In North China,

sweet or nonmeat stuffing is the usual ingredient. The fillings

are presd into hardened cores, dipped lightly in water and

rolled in a flat basket containing dry glutinous rice flour. A layer

of the flour sticks to the filling, which is then

again dipped in water and rolled a cond time in the rice

flour. And so it goes, like rolling a snowball, until the dumpling is

the desired size.

The custom of eating Yuanxiao dumplings remains. This

tradition

encourages both old and new stores to promote their

Yuanxiao products. They all try their best to improve the taste

and quality of the dumplings to attract more customers.

汉文帝时为纪念“平吕”而设

另一个传说是元宵节是汉文帝时为纪念“平吕”而设。汉高祖刘

邦死后，吕后之子刘盈登基为汉惠帝。惠帝生性懦弱，优柔寡断，大

权渐渐落再吕后手中。汉惠帝病死后吕后独揽朝政把刘氏天下变成了

吕氏天下，朝中老臣，刘氏宗室深感愤慨，但都惧怕吕后残暴而敢怒

不敢言。

吕后病死后，诸吕惶惶不安害怕遭到伤害和排挤。于是，在上吕

禄家中秘密集合，共谋作乱之事，以便彻底夺取刘氏江山。

此事传至刘氏宗室齐王刘囊耳中，刘囊为保刘氏江山，决定起兵

讨伐诸吕随后与开国老臣周勃，陈平取得联系，设计解除了吕禄，

“诸吕之乱”终于被彻底平定。

平乱之后，众臣拥立刘邦的第二个儿子刘恒登基，称汉文帝。文

帝深感太平盛世来之不易，便把平息“诸吕之乱”的正月十五，定为

与民同乐日，京城里家家张灯结彩，以示庆祝。从此，正月十五便成

了一个普天同庆的民间节日——“闹元宵”。

元宵节英语(论坛)词汇

元宵节：festival of lanterns，lantern festival dumplings

元宵： the rice glue ball

灯谜：riddles written on lanterns

灯具：lamps and lanterns

灯花 snuff

灯笼裤 bloomers galligaskins knickers pantalettes plus fours

灯笼 lantern scaldfish

灯塔 beacon lighthou pharos

灯语 lamp signal

灯油 kerone lamp oil

灯心蜻蜓 damlfly

Lantern Festival 元宵节的由来英文介绍2017-01-05 23:12 | #2

楼

The 15th day of the 1st lunar month is the Chine Lantern

Festival becau the first lunar month is called yuan-month and

in the ancient times people called night Xiao. The 15th day is the

first night to e a full moon. So the day is also called Yuan Xiao

Festival in China.

According to the Chine tradition, at the very beginning of

a new year, when there is a bright full moon hanging in the sky,

there should be thousands of colorful lanterns hung out for

people to appreciate. At this time, people will try to solve the

puzzles on the

lanterns and eat yuanxiao (glutinous rice ball) and get all

their families united in the joyful atmosphere.

元宵节正月十五吃元宵的的习俗由来已久，元宵也叫“汤圆”、

“圆子”。据说元宵象征合家团圆，吃元宵意味新的一年合家幸福、

万事如意。

元宵节闹花灯的习俗起源于道教的“三元说”；正月十五日为上

元节，七月十五日为中元节，十月十五日为下元节。主管上、中、下

三元的分别为天、地、人三官，天官喜乐，故上元节要燃灯。元宵节

的节期与节俗活动，是随历史的发展而延长、扩展的。就节期长短而

言，汉代才一天，到唐代已为三天，宋代则长达五天，明代更是自初

八点灯，一直到正月十七的夜里才落灯，整整十天。与春节相接，白

昼为市，热闹非凡，夜间燃灯，蔚为壮观。特别是那精巧、多彩的灯

火，更使其成为春节期间娱乐活动的高-潮。至清代，又增加了舞龙、

舞狮、跑旱船、踩高跷、扭秧歌等“百戏”内容，只是节期缩短为四

到五天。

History

Until the Sui Dynasty in the sixth century, Emperor Yangdi

invited envoys from other countries to China to e the colorful

lighted lanterns and enjoy the gala（节日的'，庆祝的）

performances.

By the beginning of the Tang Dynasty in the venth century,

the lantern displays would last three days. The emperor also lifted

the curfew（宵禁令）, allowing the people to enjoy the festive

lanterns day and night. It is not difficult to find Chine poems

which describe this happy scene.

In the Song Dynasty, the festival was celebrated for five days

and the activities began to spread to many of the big cities in

China. Colorful glass and even jade were ud to make lanterns,

with figures from folk tales painted on the lanterns.

However, the largest Lantern Festival celebration took place

in the early part of the 15th century. The festivities continued for

ten days. Emperor Chengzu had the downtown

资料来源：教育优选

最权威的国际教育服务平台

area t aside as a center for displaying the lanterns. Even

today, there is a place in

Beijing called Dengshikou. In Chine, Deng means lantern

and Shi is market. The area became a market where lanterns were

sold during the day. In the evening, the local people would go

there to e the beautiful lighted lanterns on display.

Today, the displaying of lanterns is still a big event on the

15th day of the first lunar month throughout China. People enjoy

the brightly lit night. Chengdu in Southwest China's Sichuan

Province, for example, holds a lantern fair each year in the

Cultural Park. During the Lantern Festival, the park is literally an

ocean of lanterns! Many new designs attract countless visitors.

The most eye-catching lantern is the Dragon Pole. This is a

lantern in the shape of a golden dragon, spiraling up a 27-meter

-high pole, spewing fireworks from its mouth. It is quite an

impressive sight!

元宵节是中国的传统节日，早在2000多年前的西汉就有了，元宵

赏灯始于东汉明帝时期，明帝提倡佛教，听说佛教有正月十五日僧人

观佛舍利，点灯敬佛的做法，就命令这一天夜晚在皇宫和寺庙里点灯

敬佛，令士族庶民都挂灯。以后这种佛教礼仪节日逐渐形成民间盛大

的节日。该节经历了由宫廷到民间，由中原到全国的发展过程。

在汉文帝时，已下令将正月十五定为元宵节。汉武帝时，“太一

神”的祭祀活动定在正月十五。（太一：主宰宇宙一切之神）。司马

迁创建“太初历”时，就已将元宵节确定为重大节日。

另有一说是元宵燃灯的习俗起源于道教的“三元说”；正月十五

日为上元节，七月十五日为中元节，十月十五日为下元节。主管上、

中、下三元的分别为天、地、人三官，天官喜乐，故上元节要燃灯。

元宵节的节期与节俗活动，是随历史的发展而延长、扩展的。就

节期长短而言，汉代才一天，到唐代已为三天，宋代则长达五天，明

代更是自初八点灯，一直到正月十七的夜里才落灯，整整十天。与春

节相接，白昼为市，热闹非凡，夜间燃灯，蔚为壮观。特别是那精巧、

多彩的灯火，更使其成为春节期间娱乐活动的高-潮。至清代，又增加

了舞龙、舞狮、跑旱船、踩高跷、扭秧歌等“百戏”内容，只是节期

缩短为四到五天。

Origin

There are many different beliefs about the origin of the

Lantern Festival. But one thing for sure is that it had something

to do with religious worship.

One legend tells us that it was a time to worship Taiyi, the

God of Heaven in ancient times. The belief was that the God of

Heaven controlled the destiny of the human world. He had

sixteen dragons at his beck and call and he decided when to

inflict drought,

storms, famine or pestilence（瘟疫）upon human beings.

Beginning with Qinshihuang, the first emperor to unite the

country, all subquent emperors ordered splendid ceremonies

资料来源：教育优选

each year. The emperor would ask Taiyi to bring favorable

weather and good health to him and his people. Emperor Wudi

of the Han Dynasty directed special attention to this event. In 104

BC, he proclaimed it one of the most important celebrations and

the ceremony would last throughout the night.

Another legend associates the Lantern Festival with Taoism.

Tianguan is the Taoist god responsible for good fortune. His

birthday falls on the 15th day of the first lunar month. It is said

that Tianguan likes all types of entertainment. So followers

prepare various kinds of activities during which they pray for

good fortune.

The third story about the origin of the festival is like this.

Buddhism first entered China during the reign of Emperor Mingdi

of the Eastern Han Dynasty. That was in the first

century. However, it did not exert any great influence among

the Chine people. one day, Emperor Mingdi had a dream about

a gold man in his palace. At the very moment when he was about

to ask the mysterious figure who he was, the gold man suddenly

ro to the sky and disappeared in the west. The next day,

Emperor Mingdi nt a scholar to India on a pilgrimage（朝圣）

to locate Buddhist scriptures. After journeying thousands of miles,

the scholar finally returned with the scriptures. Emperor Mingdi

ordered that a temple be built to hou a statue of Buddha and

rve as a repository for the scriptures. Followers believe that the

power of Buddha can dispel darkness. So Emperor Mingdi

ordered his subjects to display lighted lanterns during what was

to become the Lantern Festival. 关于元宵节的来历，民间还有几种

有趣的传说：

关于灯的传说

传说在很久以前，凶禽猛兽很多，四处伤害人和牲畜，人们就组

织起来去打它们，有一只神鸟困为迷路而降落人间，却意外的被不知

情的猎人给射死了。天帝知道后十分震怒，立即传旨，下令让天兵于

正月十五日到人间放火，把人间的人畜财产通通烧死。天帝的女儿心

地善良，不忍心看百姓无辜受难，就冒着生命的危险，偷偷驾着祥云

来到人间，把这个消息告诉了人们。众人听说了这个消息，有如头上

响了一个焦雷。吓得不知如何是好，过了好久，才有个老人家想出个

法子，他说：“在正月十四、十五、十六日这三天，每户人家都在家

里张灯结彩、点响爆竹、燃放烟火。这样一来，天帝就会以为人们都

被烧死了”。

大家听了都点头称是，便分头准备去了。到了正月十五这天晚上，

天帝往下一看，发觉人间一片红光，响声震天，连续三个夜晚都是如

此，以为是大火燃烧的火焰，以中大快。人们就这样保住了自己的生

命及财产。为了纪念这次成功，从此每到正月十五，家家户户都悬挂

灯笼，放烟火来纪念这个日子。

Yuanxiao

Besides entertainment and beautiful lanterns, another

important part of the Lantern Festival,or Yuanxiao Festival is

eating small dumpling balls made of glutinous rice flour. We call

the balls Yuanxiao or Tangyuan. Obviously, they get the name

from the festival

itlf. It is said that the custom of eating Yuanxiao originated

during the Eastern Jin Dynasty in the fourth centuty, then became

popular during the Tang and Song periods. The fillings inside the

dumplings or Yuansiao are either sweet or salty. Sweet fillings are

made of sugar, Walnuts（胡桃）, same, osmanthus flowers（桂

花）, ro petals, sweetened tangerine peel, bean paste, or jujube

paste（枣泥）. A single ingredient or any combination can be

ud as the filling . The salty variety is filled with minced meat,

vegetables or a mixture.

The way to make Yuanxiao also varies between northern and

southern China. The usual method followed in southern

provinces is to shape the dough of rice flour into balls, make a

hole, inrt the filling, then clo the hole and smooth out the

dumpling by rolling it between your hands. In North China, sweet

or nonmeat stuffing is the usual ingredient. The fillings are

presd into hardened cores, dipped lightly in water and rolled

in a flat basket containing dry glutinous rice flour. A layer of the

flour sticks to the filling, which is then again dipped in water and

rolled a cond time in the rice flour. And so it goes, like rolling a

snowball, until the dumpling is the desired size.

The custom of eating Yuanxiao dumplings remains. This

tradition encourages both old and new stores to promote their

Yuanxiao products. They all try their best to improve the taste

and quality of the dumplings to attract more customers.

汉文帝时为纪念“平吕”而设

另一个传说是元宵节是汉文帝时为纪念“平吕”而设。汉高祖刘

邦死后，吕后之子刘盈登基为汉惠帝。惠帝生性懦弱，优柔寡断，大

权渐渐落再吕后手中。汉惠帝病死后吕后独揽朝政把刘氏天下变成了

吕氏天下，朝中老臣，刘氏宗室深感愤慨，但都惧怕吕后残暴而敢怒

不敢言。

吕后病死后，诸吕惶惶不安害怕遭到伤害和排挤。于是，在上吕

禄家中秘密集合，共谋作乱之事，以便彻底夺取刘氏江山。

此事传至刘氏宗室齐王刘囊耳中，刘囊为保刘氏江山，决定起兵

讨伐诸吕随后与开国老臣周勃，陈平取得联系，设计解除了吕禄，

“诸吕之乱”终于被彻底平定。

平乱之后，众臣拥立刘邦的第二个儿子刘恒登基，称汉文帝。文

帝深感太平盛世来之不易，便把平息“诸吕之乱”的正月十五，定为

与民同乐日，京城里家家张灯结彩，以示庆祝。从此，正月十五便成

了一个普天同庆的民间节日——“闹元宵”。

元宵节由来英文介绍2017-01-05 8:43 | #3楼

Lantern Festival The 15th day of the 1st lunar month

The 15th day of the 1st lunar month is the Chine Lantern

Festival becau the first lunar month is called yuan-month and

in the ancient times people called night Xiao. The 15th day is the

first night to e a full moon. So the day is also called Yuan Xiao

Festival in China.

According to the Chine tradition, at the very beginning of

a new year, when there is a bright full moon hanging in the sky,

there should be thousands of colorful lanterns hung out for

people to appreciate. At this time, people will try to solve the

puzzles on the lanterns and eat yuanxiao (glutinous rice ball) and

get all their families united in the joyful atmosphere.

元宵节正月十五吃元宵的的习俗由来已久，元宵也叫“汤圆”、

“圆子”。据说元宵象征合家团圆，吃元宵意味新的一年合家幸福、

万事如意。

元宵节闹花灯的习俗起源于道教的“三元说”；正月十五日为上

元节，七月十五日为中元节，十月十五日为下元节。主管上、中、下

三元的分别为天、地、人三官，天官喜乐，故上元节要燃灯。元宵节

的节期与节俗活动，是随历史的发展而延长、扩展的。就节期长短而

言，汉代才一天，到唐代已为三天，宋代则长达五天，明代更是自初

八点灯，一直到正月十七的夜里才落灯，整整十天。与春节相接，白

昼为市，热闹非凡，夜间燃灯，蔚为壮观。特别是那精巧、多彩的灯

火，更使其成为春节期间娱乐活动的高-潮。至清代，又增加了舞龙、

舞狮、跑旱船、踩高跷、扭秧歌等“百戏”内容，只是节期缩短为四

到五天。

History

Until the Sui Dynasty in the sixth century, Emperor Yangdi

invited envoys from other countries to China to e the colorful

lighted lanterns and enjoy the gala（节日的，庆祝的）

performances.

By the beginning of the Tang Dynasty in the venth century,

the lantern displays would last three days. The emperor also lifted

the curfew（宵禁令）, allowing the people to enjoy the festive

lanterns day and night. It is not difficult to find Chine poems

which describe this happy scene.

In the Song Dynasty, the festival was celebrated for five days

and the activities began to spread to many of the big cities in

China. Colorful glass and even jade were ud to make lanterns,

with figures from folk tales painted on the lanterns.

However, the largest Lantern Festival celebration took place

in the early part of the 15th century. The festivities continued for

ten days. Emperor Chengzu had the downtown area t aside as

a center for displaying the

lanterns. Even today, there is a place in Beijing called

Dengshikou. In Chine, Deng means lantern and Shi is market.

The area became a market where lanterns were sold during the

day. In the evening, the local people would go there to e the

beautiful lighted lanterns on display.

Today, the displaying of lanterns is still a big event on the

15th day of the first lunar month throughout China. People enjoy

the brightly lit night. Chengdu in Southwest China's Sichuan

Province, for example, holds a lantern fair each year in the

Cultural Park. During the Lantern Festival, the park is literally an

ocean of lanterns! Many new designs attract countless visitors.

The most eye-catching lantern is the Dragon Pole. This is a

lantern in the shape of a golden dragon, spiraling up a 27-meter

-high pole, spewing fireworks from its mouth. It is quite an

impressive sight!

元宵节是中国的传统节日，早在2000多年前的西汉就有了，元宵

赏灯始于东汉明帝时期，明帝提倡佛教，听说佛教有正月十五日僧人

观佛舍利，点灯敬佛的做法，就命令这一天夜晚在皇宫和寺庙里点灯

敬佛，令士族庶民都挂灯。以后这种佛教礼仪节日逐渐形成民间盛大

的节日。该节经历了由宫廷到民间，由中原到全国的发展过程。

在汉文帝时，已下令将正月十五定为元宵节。汉武帝时，“太一

神”的祭祀活动定在正月十五。（太一：主宰宇宙一切之神）。司马

迁创建“太初历”时，就已将元宵节确定为重大节日。

另有一说是元宵燃灯的习俗起源于道教的“三元说”；正月十五

日为上元节，七月十五日为中元节，十月十五日为下元节。主管上、

中、下三元的分别为天、地、人三官，天官喜乐，故上元节要燃灯。

元宵节的节期与节俗活动，是随历史的发展而延长、扩展的。就

节期长短而言，汉代才一天，到唐代已为三天，宋代则长达五天，明

代更是自初八点灯，一直到正月十七的夜里才落灯，整整十天。与春

节相接，白昼为市，热闹非凡，夜间燃灯，蔚为壮观。特别是那精巧、

多彩的灯火，更使其成为春节期间娱乐活动的高-潮。至清代，又增加

了舞龙、舞狮、跑旱船、踩高跷、扭秧歌等“百戏”内容，只是节期

缩短为四到五天。

Origin

There are many different beliefs about the origin of the

Lantern Festival. But one thing for sure is that it had something

to do with religious worship.

One legend tells us that it was a time to worship Taiyi, the

God of Heaven in ancient times. The belief was that the God of

Heaven controlled the destiny of the human world. He had

sixteen dragons at his beck and call and he decided when to

inflict drought, storms, famine or pestilence（瘟疫）upon human

beings. Beginning with Qinshihuang, the first emperor to unite

the country, all subquent emperors ordered splendid

ceremonies each year. The emperor would ask Taiyi to bring

favorable weather and good health to him and his people.

Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty directed special

attention to this event. In 104 BC, he proclaimed it one of the

most important celebrations and the ceremony would last

throughout the night.

Another legend associates the Lantern Festival with Taoism.

Tianguan is the Taoist god responsible for good fortune. His

birthday falls on the 15th day of the first lunar month. It is said

that Tianguan likes all types of entertainment. So followers

prepare various kinds of activities during which they pray for

good fortune.

The third story about the origin of the festival is like this.

Buddhism first entered China during the reign of Emperor Mingdi

of the Eastern Han Dynasty. That was in the first century. However,

it did not exert any great influence among the Chine people.

one day, Emperor Mingdi had a dream about a gold man in his

palace. At the very moment when he was about to ask the

mysterious figure who he was, the gold man suddenly ro to the

sky and

disappeared in the west. The next day, Emperor Mingdi nt

a scholar to India on a pilgrimage（朝圣）to locate Buddhist

scriptures. After journeying

thousands of miles, the scholar finally returned with the

scriptures. Emperor Mingdi ordered that a temple be built to

hou a statue of Buddha and rve as a repository for the

scriptures. Followers believe that the power of Buddha can dispel

darkness. So Emperor Mingdi ordered his subjects to display

lighted lanterns during what was to become the Lantern Festival.

关于元宵节的来历，民间还有几种有趣的传说：

关于灯的传说

传说在很久以前，凶禽猛兽很多，四处伤害人和牲畜，人们就组

织起来去打它们，有一只神鸟困为迷路而降落人间，却意外的被不知

情的猎人给射死了。天帝知道后十分震怒，立即传旨，下令让天兵于

正月十五日到人间放火，把人间的人畜财产通通烧死。天帝的女儿心

地善良，不忍心看百姓无辜受难，就冒着生命的危险，偷偷驾着祥云

来到人间，把这个消息告诉了人们。众人听说了这个消息，有如头上

响了一个焦雷。吓得不知如何是好，过了好久，才有个老人家想出个

法子，他说：“在正月十四、十五、十六日这三天，每户人家都在家

里张灯结彩、点响爆竹、燃放烟火。这样一来，天帝就会以为人们都

被烧死了”。

大家听了都点头称是，便分头准备去了。到了正月十五这天晚上，

天帝往下一看，发觉人间一片红光，响声震天，连续三个夜晚都是如

此，以为是大火燃烧的火焰，以中大快。人们就这样保住了自己的生

命及财产。为了纪念这次成功，从此每到正月十五，家家户户都悬挂

灯笼，放烟火来纪念这个日子。

Yuanxiao

Besides entertainment and beautiful lanterns, another

important part of the Lantern Festival,or Yuanxiao Festival is

eating small dumpling balls made of glutinous rice flour. We call

the balls Yuanxiao or Tangyuan. Obviously, they get the name

from the festival itlf. It is said that the custom of eating

Yuanxiao originated during the Eastern Jin Dynasty in the fourth

centuty, then became popular during the Tang and Song periods.

The fillings inside the dumplings or Yuansiao are either sweet

or salty. Sweet fillings are made of sugar, Walnuts（胡桃）,

same, osmanthus flowers（桂花）, ro petals, sweetened

tangerine peel, bean paste, or jujube paste（枣泥）. A single

ingredient or any combination can be ud as the filling . The

salty variety is filled with minced meat, vegetables or a mixture.

The way to make Yuanxiao also varies between northern and

southern China. The usual method followed in southern

provinces is to shape the dough of rice flour into balls, make a

hole, inrt the filling, then clo the hole and smooth out the

dumpling by rolling it between your hands. In North China, sweet

or nonmeat stuffing is the usual ingredient. The fillings are

presd into hardened cores, dipped lightly in water and rolled

in a flat basket containing dry glutinous rice flour. A layer of the

flour sticks to the filling, which is then again dipped in water and

rolled a cond time in the rice flour. And so it goes, like rolling a

snowball, until the dumpling is the desired size.

The custom of eating Yuanxiao dumplings remains. This

tradition

encourages both old and new stores to promote their

Yuanxiao products. They all try their best to improve the taste

and quality of the dumplings to attract more customers.

汉文帝时为纪念“平吕”而设

另一个传说是元宵节是汉文帝时为纪念“平吕”而设。汉高祖刘

邦死后，吕后之子刘盈登基为汉惠帝。惠帝生性懦弱，优柔寡断，大

权渐渐落再吕后手中。汉惠帝病死后吕后独揽朝政把刘氏天下变成了

吕氏天下，朝中老臣，刘氏宗室深感愤慨，但都惧怕吕后残暴而敢怒

不敢言。

吕后病死后，诸吕惶惶不安害怕遭到伤害和排挤。于是，在上吕

禄家中秘密集合，共谋作乱之事，以便彻底夺取刘氏江山。

此事传至刘氏宗室齐王刘囊耳中，刘囊为保刘氏江山，决定起兵

讨伐诸吕随后与开国老臣周勃，陈平取得联系，设计解除了吕禄，

“诸吕之乱”终于被彻底平定。

平乱之后，众臣拥立刘邦的第二个儿子刘恒登基，称汉文帝。文

帝深感太平盛世来之不易，便把平息“诸吕之乱”的正月十五，定为

与民同乐日，京城里家家张灯结彩，以示庆祝。从此，正月十五便成

了一个普天同庆的民间节日——“闹元宵”。