2024年2月27日发(作者：)

中国传统节日六级翻译

Spring Festival

The Spring Festival falls on the 1st day of the 1st lunar month,

often one month later than the Gregorian calendar. It originated

in the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600 BC-c. 1100 BC) from the people's

sacrifice to gods and ancestors at the end of an old year and the

beginning of a new one. Strictly speaking, the Spring Festival

starts every year in the early days of the 12th lunar month and

will last till the mid 1st lunar month of the next year. Of them, the

most important days are Spring Festival Eve and the first three

days. The Chinese government now stipulates people have seven

days off for the Chinese Lunar New Year. Many customs

accompany the Spring Festival. Some are still followed today, but

others have weakened. Spring Festival .Before the New Year

comes, the people completely clean the indoors and outdoors of

their homes as well as their clothes, bedclothes and all their

utensils. Then people begin decorating their clean rooms

featuring an atmosphere of rejoicing and festivity. All the door

panels will be pasted with Spring Festival couplets, highlighting

Chinese calligraphy with black characters on red paper. The

content varies from house owners' wishes for a bright future to

good luck for the New Year. Also, pictures of the god of doors

and wealth will be posted on front doors to ward off evil spirits

and welcome peace and abundance. The Chinese character "fu"

(meaning blessing or happiness) is a must. The character put on

paper can be pasted normally or upside down, for in Chinese the

"reversed fu" is homophonic with "fu comes", both being

pronounced as "fudaole." What's more, two big red lanterns can

be raised on both sides of the front door. Red paper-cuttings can

be seen on window

glass and brightly colored New Year paintings with

auspicious meanings may be put on the wall.

Lantern Festival

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. 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

grand festival among common people and its influence

expanded from the Central Plains to the whole of China. Lantern

Festival. Guessing lantern riddles is an essential 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. 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 glutinous rice flour

with rose petals, sesame, 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 Chinese has a

similar pronunciation with "tuanyuan”, meaning reunion. So

people eat them to denote union, harmony and happiness for

the family. Qingming Festival

The Qingming (Pure Brightness) Festival is one of the 24

seasonal division points in China, falling on April 4-6 each year.

After the festival, the temperature will rise up and rainfall

increases. It is the high time for spring plowing and sowing. But

the Qingming Festival is not only a seasonal point to guide farm

work, it is more a festival of commemoration.? The Qingming

Festival sees a combination of sadness and Hanshi

(Cold Food) Festival was usually one day before the Qingming

Festival. As our ancestors often extended the day to the

Qingming, they were later combined. On each Qingming Festival,

all cemeteries are crowded with people who came to sweep

tombs and offer sacrifices. Traffic on the way to the cemeteries

becomes extremely jammed. The customs have been greatly

simplified today. After slightly sweeping the tombs, people offer

food, flowers and favorites of the dead, then burn incense and

paper money and bow before the memorial tablet. Dragon Boat

Festival

The 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. 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.

Folk tales say the game originates from the activities of seeking

Qu Yuan's body, but experts, after painstaking and meticulous

research, conclude that dragon boat racing is a semi-religious,

semi-entertaining program from the Warring States Period (475-221 BC). In the following thousands of years, the game spread to

Japan, Vietnam and Britain as well as China's Taiwan and Hong

Kong. Now dragon boat racing has developed into an aquatic

sports item which features both Chinese tradition and modern

sporting spirit. In 1980, it was listed into the state sports

competition programs and has since been held every year. The

award is called "Qu Yuan Cup."

Double Seventh Festival

The Double Seventh Festival, on the 7th day of the 7th lunar

month, is a traditional festival full of romance. It often goes into

August in the Gregorian calendar. This festival is in mid-summer

when the weather is warm and the grass and trees reveal their

luxurious greens. At night when the sky is dotted with stars, and

people can see the Milky Way spanning from the north to the

south. On each bank of it is a bright star, which see each other

from afar. They are the Cowherd and Weaver Maid, and about

them there is a beautiful love story passed down from generation

to generation.

Long, long ago, there was an honest and kind-hearted fellow

named Niu Lang (Cowhand).

His parents died when he was a child. Later he was driven out

of his home by his sister-in-law. So he lived by himself herding

cattle and farming. One day, a fairy from heaven Zhi Nu (Weaver

Maid) fell in love with him and came down secretly to earth and

married him. The cowhand farmed in the field and the Weaver

Maid wove at home. They lived a happy life and gave birth to a

boy and a girl. Unfortunately, the God of Heaven soon found out

the fact and ordered the Queen Mother of the Western Heavens

to bring the Weaver Maid back.

With the help of celestial cattle, the Cowhand flew to heaven

with his son and daughter. At the time when he was about to

catch up with his wife, the Queen Mother took off one of her gold

hairpins and made a stroke. One billowy river appeared in front

of the Cowhand. The Cowhand and Weaver Maid were separated

on the two banks forever and could only feel their tears. Their

loyalty to love touched magpies, so tens of thousands of magpies

came to build a bridge for the Cowhand and Weaver Maid to

meet each other. The Queen Mother was eventually moved

and?allowed them to meet each year on the 7th of the 7th lunar

month. Hence their meeting date has been called "Qi Xi" (Double

Seventh).

Mid-Autumn Festival

The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the 8th

lunar month, usually in October in Gregorian calendar.

Folklore about the origin of the festival go like this: In remote

antiquity, there were ten suns rising in the sky, which scorched all

crops and drove people into

dire poverty. A hero named Hou Yi was much worried about

this, he ascended to the top of the Kunlun Mountain and,

directing his superhuman strength to full extent, drew his

extraordinary bow and shot down the nine superfluous suns one

after another. He also ordered the last sun to rise and set

according to time. For this reason, he was respected and loved

by the people and lots of people of ideals and integrity came to

him to learn martial arts from him. A person named Peng Meng

lurked in them. Hou Yi had a beautiful and kindhearted wife

named Chang E. One day on his way to the Kunlun Mountain to

call on friends, he ran upon the Empress of Heaven Wangmu who

was passing by. Empress Wangmu presented to him a parcel of

elixir, by taking which, it was said, one would ascend immediately

to heaven and become a celestial being. Hou Yi, however, hated

to part with his wife. So he gave the elixir to Chang E to treasure

for the time being. Chang E hid the parcel in a treasure box at her

dressing table when, unexpectedly, it was seen by Peng Meng.

One day when Hou Yi led his disciples to go hunting, Peng

Meng, sword in hand, rushed into the inner chamber and forced

Chang E to hand over the elixir. Aware that she was unable to

defeat Peng Meng, Chang E made a prompt decision at that

critical moment. She turned round to open her treasure box, took

up the elixir and swallowed it in one gulp. As soon as she

swallowed the elixir her body floated off the ground, dashed out

of the window and flew towards heaven. Peng Meng escaped.

When Hou Yi returned home at dark, he knew from the

maidservants what had happened. Overcome with grief, Hou Yi

looked up into the night sky and called out the name of his

beloved wife when, to his surprise, he found that the moon was

especially

clear and bight and on it there was a swaying shadow that

was exactly like his wife. He tried his best to chase after the moon.

But as he ran, the moon retreated; as he withdrew, the moon

came back. He could not get to the moon at ng of his

wife day and night, Hou Yi then had an incense table arranged in

the back garden that Chang E loved. Putting on the table

sweetmeats and fresh fruits Chang E enjoyed most, Hou Yi held

at a distance a memorial ceremony for Chang E who was

sentimentally attached to him in the palace of the moon.

When people heard of the story that Chang E had turned into

a celestial being, they arranged the incense table in the

moonlight one after another and prayed kindhearted Chang E for

good fortune and peace. From then on the custom of worshiping

the moon spread among the people.?

People in different places follow various customs, but all

show their love and longing for a better life. Today people will

enjoy the full moon and eat moon cakes on that day.

Double Ninth Festival

The 9th day of the 9th lunar month is the traditional

Chongyang Festival, or Double Ninth Festival. It usually falls in

October in the Gregorian calendar. In an ancient and mysterious

book Yi Jing, or The Book of Changes, number "6" was thought

to be of Yin character, meaning feminine or negative, while

number "9" was thought to be Yang, meaning masculine or

positive. So the number nine in both month and day create the

Double Ninth Festival, or Chongyang Festival. Chong in Chinese

means

"double." Also, as double ninth was pronounced the same as

the word to signify "forever", both are "Jiu Jiu," the Chinese

ancestors considered it an auspicious day worth celebration.

That's why ancient Chinese began to celebrate this festival long

time ago.

The custom of ascending a height to avoid epidemics was

passed down from long time ago. Therefore, the Double Ninth

Festival is also called "Height Ascending Festival". The height

people will reach is usually a mountain or a tower. Ancient literary

figures have left many poems depicting the activity. Even today,

people still swarm to famous or little known mountains on this

day In 1989, the Chinese government decided the Double Ninth

Festival as Seniors' Day. Since then, all government units,

organizations and streets communities will organize an autumn

trip each year for those who have retired from their posts. At the

waterside or on the mountains, the seniors will find themselves

merged into nature. Younger generations will bring elder ones to

suburban areas or send gifts to them on this day.

Winter Solstice Festival

As early as 2,500 years ago, about the Spring and Autumn

Period (770-476 BC), China had determined the point of Winter

Solstice by observing movements of the sun with a sundial. It is

the earliest of the 24 seasonal division points. The time will be

each December 22 or 23 according to the Gregorian calendar.

The Northern hemisphere on this day experiences the

shortest daytime and longest

nighttime. After the Winter Solstice, days will become longer

and longer. As ancient Chinese thought, the yang, or muscular,

positive things will become stronger and stronger after this day,

so it should be some parts of Northern China,

people eat dumpling soup on this day; while residents of some

other places eat dumplings, saying doing so will keep them from

frost in the upcoming winter. But in parts of South China, the

whole family will get together to have a meal made of red-bean

and glutinous rice to drive away ghosts and other evil things. In

other places, people also eat tangyuan, a kind of stuffed small

dumpling ball made of glutinous rice flour. The Winter Solstice

rice dumplings could be used as sacrifices to ancestors, or gifts

for friends and relatives. The Taiwan people even keep the

custom of offering nine-layer cakes to their ancestors. They make

cakes in the shape of chicken, duck, tortoise, pig, cow or sheep

with glutinous rice flour and steam them on different layers of a

pot. These animals all signify auspiciousness in Chinese tradition.

People of the same surname or family clan gather at their

ancestral temples to worship their ancestors in age order. After

the sacrificial ceremony, there is always a grand banquet.