英語趣談——元宵節

英語趣談——元宵節

大家好，又到了一年一度的元宵佳節，你知道元宵節的來歷嗎？

下面我們一起來看一下。

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.

元宵節是農歷正月的第十五天，這是新年的第一次滿月，象征著

和睦與團圓。元宵節是春節的一個重要組成部分，也象征著春節長假

的正式結束。

There are many legends concerning the origins of Lantern

Festival.

關于元宵節的來歷有很多傳說。

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.

有一個傳說是這樣的。在古代，有一位神界天鵝闖入人間被獵手

誤殺。天界地位最高的玉皇大帝發誓要為這只天鵝報仇。他開始制定

計劃，派出一支天兵天將，于農歷正月十五來到人間，命令他們火燒

所有的人和動物。但是，其他神仙并不贊同這一計劃，他們冒著生命

危險提醒人間的人們。結果，在正月十五這一天前后，每一個家庭都

在門外掛起燈籠，并燃放煙花爆竹，給天兵天將造成各家各戶起火的

假象。通過這種方式，人們成功騙過了玉皇大帝，人類也因此逃過了

滅絕的危險。

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.

雖然上面的傳說很神奇，但可以確定的是，元宵節的起源必定跟

古代人們使用火來慶祝節日、躲避災難有關。元宵節活動包括逃避邪

神，且是在晚上慶祝，所以，火很自然地就扮演了重要的角色。隨著

時間的流逝，元宵節逐漸演變為今天的形式。東漢時期，佛教傳入中

國，皇帝下令，在正月第一個滿月的晚上，必須點亮燈籠敬奉佛祖，

這也使元宵節平添了一份神秘的色彩。在道教，元宵節與掌管天界和

火的元神緊密相連，因為他們就誕生在正月十五。

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(有糯米粉制成的甜餡兒食物)是元宵節的一個特色傳統，元

宵節也因這種食物得名。元宵的另一種叫法是“湯圓”，字面意思就

是煮熟的圓球狀食品，寓意團團圓圓、幸福美滿。

大家還知道哪些有趣的節日傳說呢？說出來和大家一起分享吧！

（供稿：李 敏 圖片：網絡）

（編輯：李 敏 審核：趙軍耀）