用英語介紹元宵節的來歷和習俗,傳播中國傳統文化(雙語版)!

用英語介紹元宵節的來歷和習俗，傳播中國傳統文化（雙語

版）！

元宵節的來歷和習俗

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.

元宵節在農歷正月十五，通常是公歷二月或三月，早在我國西漢

時期（公元前206年——公元25年）就成為一個重要節。

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.

這一天重要的活動就是看燈啦。早在公元前206年至公元220年

的漢代，佛教就在中國盛行。有一位帝王聽說僧侶可以看到舍利，也

就是佛被火化后留存在體內的東西，在陰歷的正月十五這一天點燈敬

拜佛祖，于是這位帝王就命令這一天在他的宮殿和廟宇里點燈以表現

他對佛祖的尊敬。此后，這項佛教儀式發展成為普通民眾的盛大節日，

它的影響力從中原地區一直蔓延到整個中國。

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，全國上下每年都會過元宵節。不同形狀和大小的燈籠

會懸掛在街上，吸引無數的游人。孩子們會拿著自制的或買來的燈籠

在街上閑逛，十分開心。

'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.

“猜燈謎”是節日的核心部分。燈籠的主人會將謎語寫在一張紙

條上并貼在燈籠上。如果游客能解開燈謎，他們就能將紙條拿下來去

燈籠的主人那看答案是否正確。如果答案是對的，他們將會得到一份

小禮物。這項活動最早在宋朝（公元960-1279）出現，當人們在賞燈

的時候開始。由于猜燈謎極具趣味性，又需要動腦筋，所以后來在全

社會各階層中收到普遍歡迎。

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.

人們在元宵節的時候會吃元宵，因此這個節日也就叫做元宵節。

“元宵”還有另外一個名字—湯圓，用糯米粉做皮，玫瑰花瓣、芝麻、

豆醬、棗泥、胡桃肉、干果、糖和食用油做餡，做成的小面球團。湯

圓可以煮、炸或者蒸來吃。吃起來甜甜的，很美味。而且，湯圓在中

國和“團圓”這個詞的發音相似，代表著團團圓圓。因此人們吃湯圓

會象征著家庭的團圓、和諧和快樂。

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.

在元宵節的白天里，會有很多表演節目，例如，舞龍燈、舞獅、

采蓮船、扭秧歌、踩高蹺和打鼓。到了晚上，除了華麗的燈籠，煙火

也是另一道美麗的風景。很多家庭從春節開始就在放煙火，并且延續

到了元宵節。一些本地政府還會組織煙火晚會。在晚上，當新年的第

一輪滿月出來后，人們就會被天空中華麗的煙火和明月所陶醉。

每年農歷的一月十五日是中國人的元宵節，它正好在春節之后。

The Lantern Festival is celebrated everywhere on January

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

傳統意義上元宵節也是春節活動的一部分。Traditionally, the

Lantern Festival is a part of the Spring Festival.

這天是農歷新年里第一個月圓的日子。This day is always the

first full moon in the lunar New Year.

中國各地張燈結彩，家家戶戶歌舞游樂，人們做元宵、放煙火。

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.

這也是慶祝春節的延續。This is also a continuation of the

Spring Festival celebration.

在元宵節之夜，天上明月高照，地上彩燈萬盞。On the Lantern

Festival night, the moon illuminates the dark sky while many

lanterns shine bright colors on the earth.

元宵夜觀花燈的習俗開始于兩千多年前的西漢時期。The

traditions of viewing decorative lanterns on this night began

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

最早只是在皇宮中點燈祈福。In the earlier times, tho

beautiful lanterns were only en in the imperial palaces.

慢慢地演變成民間最盛大的燈節。Slowly it evolved into a

celebration on the grand scale for the ordinary folks everywhere.

在元宵節前許多天，人們就開始忙著用油紙、綢布、竹子和花朵

等材料制作各式各樣的燈籠。A few days before the lantern festival,

people begin gathering oiled paper, silk cloths, bamboo sticks

and flower to make all types of lanterns.

或者到熱鬧的燈市上挑選自己喜愛的燈籠。Some people go to

the lively streets to pick a personal favorite.

花燈的主題既有民間傳說，又有節日習俗和各種吉祥物等。The

lanterns sometimes come in a ries about certain folklore,

holiday customs, or lucky mascots.

元宵節也是一個浪漫的節日。The Lantern Festival is also a

romantic holiday.

在封建社會時，年輕女孩不允許出外自由活動。In feudal society,

young girls were not allowed to go out freely.

但在元宵節晚上，她們卻可以結伴出游觀賞花燈。But on the

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

lantern lights in groups.

未婚男女也常借著賞花燈與情人相會。Sometimes couples

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

如今人們依然會在元宵夜相邀一起去賞花燈。Today people still

invite others to view lanterns together.

在中國南北各地都有風格不同的元宵燈會。Across China, the

Lantern Festival is celebrated in many different styles.

在臨水的地方，人們把做好的蓮花燈放進河里，讓燈順流而下，

帶去自己對已逝親人的思念。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，傳統習俗與現代科技相結合發展成為冰燈節。In the

North, as traditional customs combined with modern science and

technology, there evolved the Ice Lantern Festival.

天然冰雪與燈光色彩巧妙結合，透過雕塑、造型、建筑和造景，

成為一個絢麗的冰雪天堂。The combination of the ice and snow

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

spectacular winter paradi.

猜燈謎是中國特有的文字游戲。The Lantern Riddle is a special

word-game played by the Chine people.

人們不僅制作出各種漂亮的燈籠供大家觀賞，還設計出許多有趣

的謎語。The Chine people not only craft many types of

beautiful lanterns for the others to appreciate, but also create

many interesting riddles.

傳統的燈謎是直接寫在燈籠上的。The traditional riddles are

written on the lanterns.

現在，人們在燈籠的下面貼上寫了謎語的紙條，供觀燈的人猜。

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

bottom of the lanterns for the viewers to solve.

那些猜中的人還會得到出謎者贈送的小獎品。Tho who solve

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

和其他的中國傳統節日一樣，元宵節也有自己的節日食品——

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

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

sweet dumpling soup.

雖然“元宵”在南北兩地叫法不同，做法也不同，但它們都是用

糯米粉做皮兒。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.

里面包上各種果仁和糖做成的餡兒。The filling is usually

compod of different kinds of fruit kernels and sugar.

包出來的形狀是一樣的——圓圓的、白白的，因為它和元宵夜的

圓月一樣，代表著團圓。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團圓reunion燈謎lantern riddles