(完整版)二月二龙抬头(中英双语)

The Double-Second Festival

二月二

The Double-Second Festival (or the Spring Dragon Festival) is traditionally named the Dragon Head Festival, which is also called “the Day of Legendary Birth of Flowers”, “the Spring Outing Day”, or “the Vegetables-Picking Day”. It came into existence in the Tang Dynasty (618AD --- 907 AD). The poet, Bai Juyi wrote a poem entitled The Second Day of the Second Lunar Month:” The first rain stops, sprout grass and vegetables. In light clothes are young lads, and in lines as they cross the streets.” On this special day, people send gifts to each other, pick vegetable, welcome wealth and go on a spring outing, etc. After the Ming Dynasty (1368 AD --- 1644 AD), the custom of spreading ashes to attract a dragon was called “dragon lifting its head”.

二月二，又称“花朝节”、“踏青节”、“挑菜节”，俗称“龙抬头日”。大约在唐代就已形成。白居易有《二月二日》诗：“二月二日新雨晴，草芽菜甲一时生。轻衫细马春年少，十字津头一字行。”在这一天，民间相互送礼，还有挑菜、迎富、踏青等活动。明代以后，又有撒灰引龙的习俗，称为“龙抬头”。

Why is it called “dragon lifting its head”? There is a folktale in northern China.

为什么叫“龙抬头”呢？北方民间有这么一个传说。

It is said that once the Jade Emperor ordered the four Sea Dragon Kings not to rain on the earth in three years’ time. At a time, life for the people was intolerable and the people suffered untold misery and hardship. One of the four Dragon Kings --- the jade dragon was sympathetic with the people and secretly dropped a soaking rain on the earth, which was soon discovered by the Jade Emperor, who banished him to the mortal world and put him under a huge mountain. On it was a tablet, which said the jade dragon would not go back to Heaven unless golden beans blossomed.

说是有一年，玉帝传谕四海龙王，三年内不得向人间降雨，一时间民不聊生，百姓苦不堪言。有一条玉龙不忍心了，就私自向人间下了一场透雨。这事很快就被玉帝发觉，便把玉龙打下凡间，压在一座大山下受罪。山上立了块碑，说是除非金豆开花，玉龙才能重新上天。

People went around telling the news and were thinking of ways to save the dragon. One day, an old woman carried a sack of corn for sale on the street. The sack opened and the golden corn for scattered on the ground. It occurred to people that seeds of corn were the gold beans, which

would blossom if they were roasted. Therefore, people coordinated their efforts to roast popcorn and place it in the yards on the second day of the second lunar month. The God Venus had dim eyesight with old age. He was under the impression that golden beans blossomed, so he released the dragon.

老百姓知道了，奔走相告，大家都在想办法要拯救玉龙。一天，一个老婆婆背了一袋玉米，上街去卖，不小心袋口松开，金黄金黄的玉米籽撒了满地。人们心头一亮，心想，玉米籽不就是金豆吗，炒炒不就开花了吗？于是大家齐心协力，约定在二月二这天，家家炒玉米花，放在庭院里，太白金星人老眼花，一看，果然是金豆开花了，就把玉龙给放了出来。

From then on there was a custom on the earth that on the second day of the second lunar month, every family would roast popcorn. Some people sang while roasting:”The dragon lifts its head on the second day of the second lunar month. Large barns will be full and small ones will overflow.”

从此以后，民间便有了这个风俗，每年二月二这天，家家户户都要炒玉米花。有的还边炒边唱：“二月二，龙抬头，大仓满，小仓流。”

While the Hani ethnic group inhabiting in Mount Ailao on the southern bank of the Red River referred to third day as the Day of Worshipping Dragons, with a moving folktale of two brave young men slaughtering a demon.

聚居在红河南岸哀牢山中的哈尼族，则把二月二当做“祭龙日”，这一带民间传颂着两个勇敢的小伙子诛杀恶魔，为百姓除害的动人故事。

The festival is also know as the Day of the Legendary Birth of Flowers, which falls on the 12th or 15th of the second lunar month in some other places. Since spring is round the corner and all flowers will soon be in bloom, the day is set as the birthday of the Flower God, which is believed to be in spring. It later gets an elegant name of the Day of the Legendary Birth of Flowers from men of letters.

人们又把二月二叫做花朝节。也有些地方把二月十二，或是二月十五叫做花朝节的。总之，意思是说春天快要到了，百花又要争相开放了。人们以为掌管百花的花神应该是有生日的，她的生日就应该在春天，如果就把某一天定做“百花生日”。民间说是百花生日，在了文人嘴里，说得雅一些，就成了花朝节。