传统节日相关翻译

元宵节的起源
The Yuanxiao Festival is on the 15th day of the first Chinese lunar month. It is closely related to the Spring Festival. In the old days, people began preparing for the Spring Festival about 20 days before. However, the Yuanxiao Festival marks the end of the New Year celebrations. And after the Yuanxiao Festival, everything returns to normal.
农历正月十五日是元宵节，紧随春节之后。

古时候，人们提前二十天为“春节”做准备，然而，元宵节为春节画上了句号，元宵之后，一切归于平常。

Yuan literally means first, while Xiao refers to night. Yuanxiao is the first time when we see the full moon in the New year. It is traditionally a time for family reunion. The most prominent activity of the Yuanxiao Festival is the display of all types of beautiful lanterns. So the occasion is also called the Lantern Festival.
“元”是第一的意思，“霄”指夜晚。

元宵就是新年首个夜晚，元宵节是家庭团聚的传统佳节，最隆重的活动就是展挂各种各样美丽的灯笼，故此，元宵节又叫“灯节”。

There are many beliefs about the origin of the Lantern Festival. But one thing for sure is that it had something to do with religious worship.
关于元宵节的起源之说多种多样，但是最确切的一种说它跟宗教信仰有关。

One legend tells 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 back and call. It was him who decided when to inflict drought, storms, famine or pestilence upon human beings. Beginning with Qinshihuang, the first emperor united the country, all subsequent emperors ordered splendid ceremonies each year. The emperor would ask Taiyi to bring favorable weather and good health to him and to 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.
有这样一个传说，元宵节是拜“太乙”神的日子，太乙是古代的天神。

古人认为天神掌管着人类世界的命运，太乙手下有九条龙听他使唤，他决定人间什么时候遭遇饥荒瘟疫之祸，什么时候受旱灾水涝之苦。

从统一中国的第一个皇帝秦始皇开始，每年都举行盛大的仪式，皇帝祈求“太乙”神赐予他和臣民们风调雨顺、健康长寿。

汉武帝对元宵灯会特别重视，元封七年（公元前104年），他把元宵钦定为最重要的佳庆之一,庆祝仪式通宵进行。

Another legend associated with the Lantern Festival is 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 his followers prepare various kinds of activities during which they pray for good fortune.
另一个传说认为“灯节”与道教有关。

“天官”是道教的神，专管人间祥运，他出生于农历正月十五。

相传“天官”喜乐，所以他的信徒们就准备了各种各样的活动，祈求好运。

The third story about the origin of the festival goes 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 Chinese 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 rose to the
sky and disappeared in the west. The next day, Emperor Mingdi sent a scholar to India on a pilgrimage 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 house a statue of Buddha and serve 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.
还有一种传说认为元宵节与佛教有关。

东汉明帝时期，佛教进入中国，这也是佛教首次传入中国，然而，佛教并没有对中国人产生多大影响。

一日，明帝做了个梦，梦见皇宫里有个金人，正当他准备问清这个神秘人物的身世时，金人突然升入天空，消失在西面。

次日，明帝委派一位学士去印度开始了他的取经之旅，经过几千里的长途跋涉，学士终于带回了经卷。

汉明帝下令建造一所寺庙供佛雕安身、收藏经书。

佛徒们相信佛能驱走黑暗，所以汉明帝宣昭他的臣民们张灯结彩，这样就形成了“灯节”。

The custom of lighting lanterns continued. However, the lanterns would develop from simple ones to those of various color and shape. The scale of the celebration also increased greatly.
张灯的习俗得以延续传承，然而，灯盏由简朴到华贵，样式繁多，庆贺的规模也愈来愈大。

中秋节赏月吃月饼
"Zhong Qiu Jie", which is also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival, is celebrated on the
15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar. It is a time for family members and loved ones to congregate and enjoy the full moon - an auspicious symbol of abundance, harmony and luck. Adults will usually indulge in fragrant mooncakes of many varieties with a good cup of piping hot Chinese tea, while the little ones run around with their brightly-lit lanterns.
农历八月十五日是中国的传统节日——中秋节。

在这天，每个家庭都团聚在一起，一家人共同观赏象征丰裕、和谐和幸运的圆月。

此时，大人们吃着美味的月饼，品着热腾腾的香茗，而孩子们则在一旁拉着兔子灯尽情玩耍。

"Zhong Qiu Jie" probably began as a harvest festival. The festival was later given a mythological flavour with legends of Chang-E, the beautiful lady in the moon.
中秋节最早可能是一个庆祝丰收的节日。

后来，月宫里美丽的仙女嫦娥的神话故事赋予了它神话色彩。

According to Chinese mythology, the earth once had 10 suns circling over it. One day, all 10 suns appeared together, scorching the earth with their heat. The earth was saved when a strong archer, Hou Yi, succeeded in shooting down 9 of the suns. Yi stole the elixir of life to save the people from the tyrannical rule, but his wife, Chang-E drank it. Thus started the legend of the lady in the moon to whom young Chinese girls would pray at the Mid-Autumn Festival.
传说古时候，天空曾有10个太阳。

一天，这10个太阳同时出现，酷热难挡。

弓箭手后翌射下了其中9个太阳，拯救了地球上的生灵。

他偷了长生不死药，却被妻子嫦娥偷偷喝下。

此
后，每年中秋月圆之时，少女们都要向月宫仙女嫦娥祈福的传说便流传开来。

In the 14th century, the eating of mooncakes at "Zhong Qiu Jie" was given a new significance. The story goes that when Zhu Yuan Zhang was plotting to overthrow the Yuan Dynasty started by the Mongolians, the rebels hid their messages in the
Mid-Autumn mooncakes. Zhong Qiu Jie is hence also a commemoration of the overthrow of the Mongolians by the Han people. Today, moon cakes are eaten to commemorate this event.
在14世纪，中秋节吃月饼又被赋予了一层特殊的含义。

传说在朱元璋带兵起义推翻元朝时，将士们曾把联络信藏在月饼里。

因此，中秋节后来也成为汉人推翻蒙古人统治的纪念日。

今天，人们吃月饼纪念此事。

端午节习俗大餐
he Dragon Boat Festival, the 5th day of the 5th lunar month, has had a history of more than 2,000 years. It is usually in June in the Gregorian calendar.
端午节（农历五月初五）是中国古老的传统节日，始于春秋战国时期，至今已有2000多年历史。

通常在阳历的六月份。

端午节吃什么？“粽包分两髻，艾束著危冠。

旧俗方储药，羸躯亦点丹。

”端午节不可不吃的美味食物就是tsung-tse（粽子），这种传统源于汨罗江边的渔夫，将米丢入江中平息江中的蛟龙，希望它们不要伤害屈原。

粽子tsung-tse：Glutinous rice（糯米）filled with meat, nuts or bean paste（豆酱）and wrapped in bamboo leaves. It is associated with Dragon Boat Festival with historical meaning.The custom of eating tsung-tse is also popular in North and South Korea, Japan and Southeast Asian nations.
端午节喝什么？“樱桃桑椹与菖蒲，更买雄黄酒一壶。

”端午节尝试一下雄黄酒吧。

端午节这天，人们把雄黄倒入酒中饮用，并把雄黄酒涂在小孩儿的耳、鼻、额头、手、足等处，希望这样可以使孩子们不受蛇虫的伤害。

Adults drink realgar wine, which can fend off evil spirits.
端午节玩什么？“鼓声三下红旗开，两龙跃出浮水来。

棹影斡波飞万剑，鼓声劈浪鸣千雷。

”端午节最应景的节目就是赛龙舟。

Dragon boat racing is an indispensable part of the festival, held all over the country. As the gun is fired, people will see racers in dragon-shaped canoes pulling the oars harmoniously and hurriedly, accompanied by rapid drums, speeding toward their destination.
端午节戴什么？端午节最有特色的饰物就是香包（sachet）。

小孩佩戴香包，传说有避邪驱
瘟之意。

用含有多种香味的药用植物做成的香包也可以预防疾病。

On Dragon Boat Festival, parents also need to dress their children up with a sachet. They first sew little bags with colorful silk cloth, then fill the bags with perfumes or herbal medicines（草药）, and finally string them with silk threads. The sachet will be hung around the neck or tied to the front of a garment as an ornament. They are said to be able to ward off evil.
端午节挂什么？“不效艾符趋习俗，但祈蒲酒话升平。

”许多人相信五月是一年中容易引发疾病的危险时节，因此必须有许多防备家人生病的措施。

端午节时，人们会将一种特别的植物-艾草挂在门口，作为保护之用。

在门上挂艾叶和菖蒲hang branches of moxa and calamus around the doors of their homes 和悬钟馗像display portraits of evil's nemesis, Chung Kuei都是为了驱疾避凶，讨个吉利。

春节
Chinese Spring Festival, also called Lunar New Year, has more than 4,000 years of history. Being one of the traditional Chinese festivals, it is the grandest and the most important festival for Chinese people. It is also the time for the whole families to get together, which is similar with Christmas Day to the westerners. Originating during the Shang Dynasty (about 17th - 11th century BC), Spring Festival, which celebrates family reunion, is full of rich and colorful activities, and hopes with the advent of spring and flowers blossoming. People from different regions and different ethnic groups celebrate it in their unique ways.
中国春节又名农历新年，已有四千多年历史。

作为传统中国节日之一，春节是中国人最盛大、最重要的节日。

春节与西方的圣诞节类似，是全家相聚的日子。

春节起源于商朝（公元前17至前11世纪），旨在庆祝全家团圆，节日期间活动丰富多样，满溢着春暖花开的美好憧憬。

不同地区、不同民族的人们以各种独特的方式庆祝春节。

Festival Time
It comes on the first day of Chinese lunar calendar and lasts for almost half of a month. But in folk custom, this traditional holiday lasts from the 23rd day of the twelfth month to the 15th day of the first month (Lantern Festival) in the lunar calendar. Among these days, the New Year’s Eve and the first day of the New Year is the peak time. The exact days are different in every year according to the lunar calendar. Schedule of Spring Festival in recent years is offered in the following table. History
节日时间
春节起自中国农历新年第一天，历时半个月左右。

但是按照民间习俗，春节从农历12月23号持续至第二年的农历1月15号，也就是元宵节那天。

在此期间，春节在大年三十和大年初一达到高潮。

按照农历，每年的具体日子有所不同。

近几年春节的具体时间如下表所示。

History
It is said that the custom of Spring Festival started in when people offered sacrifice to ancestors in the last month of Chinese lunar calendar. At that time, people prepared the sacrifice by doing thorough cleaning, having bathes and so on. Later, people began to worship different deities as
well on that day. It is the time that almost all the farm works were done and people have free time. The sacrificing time changed according to the farming schedule and was not fixed until the Han Dynasty (202BC-220AD). The customs of worshipping deities and ancestors remains even though the ceremonies are not as grand as before. It is also the time that spring is coming, so people held all kinds of ceremonies to welcome it.
历史
中国人在农历最后一个月祭祀祖先，据说春节习俗由此而来。

当时，人们在准备祭祀时会进行大清扫、洗澡等。

后来，人们也开始在那一天祭拜不同的神灵。

此时几乎所有的农活都已收尾，人们有了空闲时间。

祭祀时间随耕种时间而变，直到汉代才固定下来（公元前202年至公元220年）。

祭祀神灵和祖先的习俗至今仍有，但是并没有以前那么盛大。

又因为此时正值冬春交际之时，所以人们会举办各种庆祝活动迎接春天的到来。

Legends
There are many legends about Spring Festival in Chinese culture. In folk culture, it is also called “guonian”(meaning “passing a year”). It is said that the “nian”(year) was a strong monster which was fierce and cruel and ate one kind of animal including human being a day. Human beings were scared about it and had to hide on the evening when the “nian”came out. Later, people found that “nian”was very scared about the red color and fireworks. So after that, people use red color and fireworks or firecrackers to drive away “nian”. As a result, the custom of using red color and setting off fireworks remains.
传说
中国文化中关于春节的传说有很多。

在中国民间文化中，春节又被称为“过年”（意为“过了一年”）。

据说“年”是一头凶猛残忍的强大的怪兽，每天都会吃一种动物，包括人类。

人们都很害怕它，晚上“年”出来活动时，大家都不得不躲起来。

后来，人们发现“年”很怕红色和烟花。

所以人们从此都用红色和烟花或鞭炮来驱赶“年”。

因此，使用红色和放烟花的习俗就流传了下来。

Festivities Schedule
Preparing the New Year starts 7 days before the New Year’s Eve. According to Chinese lunar calendar, people start to clean the house on Dec. 24, butcher on Dec. 26th and so on. People have certain things to do on each day. These activities will end Jan. 15th of the lunar calendar.
节日安排
春节的准备开始于大年三十前的第七天。

按照中国农历，人们在12月24号扫屋，26号杀猪割年肉。

人们每天都有特定的事做。

各种活动在农历1月15号结束。

Customs and Practices
Every family does a thorough house cleaning and purchases enough food, including fish, meat, roasted nuts and seeds, all kinds of candies and fruits, etc, for the festival period. Also, new clothes must be bought, especially for children. Red scrolls with complementary poetic couplets, one line on each side of the gate, are pasted at every gate. The Chinese character 'Fu' is pasted on the center of the door and paper-cut pictures adorn windows.
习俗惯例
每家每户都会全面地打扫房子，并采购足够的食物包括鱼、猪肉、炒货、各种糖果等，供节日所用。

同时，还要办置新衣，尤其是小孩的新衣。

大门两侧贴着写有对联的红色横幅，每
个门上都有一副对联。

门正央贴着汉字“福”字，窗上装饰着剪纸。

Taboos
The Spring Festival is a start for a new year, so it is regarded as the omen of a year. People have many taboos during this period. Many bad words related to “death”, “broken”, “killing”, “ghost”and “illness”or “sickness”are forbidden during conversations. In some places, there are more specific details. They consider it unlucky if the barrel of rice is empty, because they think they will have nothing to eat in the next year. Taking medicine is forbidden on this day, otherwise, people will have sick for the whole year and take medicine constantly.
禁忌
春节是一年的开始，被认为预示着一年的运气。

节日期间有很多禁忌。

很多与“死”、“破碎”、“杀”、“鬼”和“病”有关的不吉利的话都是禁止谈到的。

一些地方的禁忌更为具体。

在那些地方，空米桶被认为不吉利，因为他们觉得来年将无米可食。

吃药也是禁止的，否则整年都会生病、都得吃药。

Festival Food
Food during this happy event has its characteristics, which is the representative of Chinese festival food culture. Dumplings and the reunion dinner are indispensable at this time. Cold and hot dishes are all served. Fish is always an important dish then, which expresses people’s hope of having a wealthy year.
节日食物
春节的食物有自己的特色，是中国节日食物文化的代表。

团圆饭必定离不开饺子，冷盘热菜皆有。

鱼一直是一道重要的菜，体现了人们希望来年有余的愿望。

Best Places to Go
In China, different places have their own traditions and activities to celebrate the Spring Festival. Beijing, Guangzhou, Xian and Pingyao are some good places to go if one intends to come during the time period. If one does not want to travel so long, but still want to enjoy the atmosphere of Chinese New Year, the local Chinatown is the best place.
最值得一去的地方
在中国，不同的地方有各自的传统和庆祝春节的活动。

如果想在春节期间游中国，北京、广州、西安和平遥是值得一去的几个地方。

如果无缘来中国，但仍然想感受中国春节气氛的话，当地的唐人街是不错的地方。

节日名Greeting season
传统节日相关词汇
春节The Spring Festival
农历lunar calendar
正月lunar January; the first month by lunar calendar
除夕New Year's Eve; eve of lunar New Year
初一the beginning of New Year
元宵节The Lantern Festival
习俗Customs
过年Guo-nian; have the Spring Festival
对联poetic couplet: two successive rhyming lines in poetry
春联Spring Festival couplets
剪纸paper-cuts
年画New Year paintings
买年货special purchases for the Spring Festival ; do Spring Festival shopping
敬酒propose a toast
灯笼lantern: a portable light
烟花fireworks
爆竹firecrackers (People scare off evil spirits and ghosts with the loud pop.)
舞狮lion dance (The lion is believed to be able to dispel evil and bring good luck.)
舞龙dragon dance (to expect good weather and good harvests)
戏曲traditional opera
杂耍variety show; vaudeville
灯谜riddles written on lanterns
灯会exhibit of lanterns
守岁staying-up
拜年pay New Year's call; give New Year's greetings; New Year's visit
禁忌taboo
去晦气get rid of the ill- fortune
祭祖宗offer sacrifices to one's ancestors
压岁钱gift money; money given to children as a lunar New Year gift
Culture Note: In the old days, New Year's money was given in the form of one hundred copper coins strung together on a red string and symbolized the hope that one would live to be a hundred years old. Today, money is placed inside red envelopes in denominations considered auspicious and given to represent luck and wealth
辞旧岁bid farewell to the old year
扫房spring cleaning; general house-cleaning
祝福语Blessings
金玉满堂Treasures fill the home
生意兴隆Business flourishes
岁岁平安Peace all year round
恭喜发财Wishing you prosperity
和气生财Harmony brings wealth
心想事成May all your wishes come true
吉祥如意Everything goes well
国泰民安The country flourishes and people live in peace
招财进宝Money and treasures will be plentiful
一帆风顺Wishing you every success
步步高升Promoting to a higher position
出入平安Safe trip wherever you go
祝您新的一年快乐幸福！Wish you happiness and prosperity in the coming year!
祝您事业成功，家庭美满Wish you success in your career and happiness of your family!
食品Food
年糕Nian-gao; rise cake; New Year cake
团圆饭family reunion dinner
年夜饭the dinner on New Year's Eve
饺子Jiao-zi; Chinese meat ravioli
汤圆Tang-yuan; dumplings made of sweet rice, rolled into balls and stuffed with either sweet or spicy fillings
糖果盘candy tray
什锦糖assorted candies - sweet and fortune
蜜冬瓜candied winter melon - growth and good health
金桔cumquat - prosperity
糖莲子candied lotus seed - many descendents to come
糖藕candied lotus root - fulfilling love relationship
红枣red dates - prosperity
花生糖peanut candy - sweet。