历正月十五元宵节，又称为“上元节”（Lantern Festival）、上元佳节、小正月、元夕或灯节，是春节之后的第一个重要节日，是中国亦是汉字文化圈的地区和海外华人的传统节日之一。正月是农历的元月，古人称夜为“宵”，所以把一年中第一个月圆之夜正月十五称为元宵节，这也是中国古往今来的狂欢节。

 

元宵节相关的英文知识，你知道多少？我们来涨涨姿势~     

 

the Lantern Festival 元宵节

rice glue ball 元宵

glutinous rice 糯米

lion / dragon dance 舞龙/舞狮

guess lantern riddles 猜灯谜

play couplets game 对对联

enjoy beautiful lanterns 赏花灯

snuff 灯花

exhibit of lanterns 灯会

dragon lantern dancing 耍龙灯

walking on stilts 踩高跷

land boat dancing 划旱船

yangko/yangge dance 扭秧歌

beating drums while dancing 打太平鼓

drum dance 腰鼓舞

fireworks party 焰火大会

traditional opera 戏曲

variety show/vaudeville 杂耍

Lantern Festival's temple fair 元宵庙会

colored lanterns' temple fair 彩灯庙会

 

 

How shall we celebrate the Festival of Lanterns?

我们怎么庆祝元宵节呢?

 

A:How shall we celebrate the Festival of Lanterns?

甲:我们怎么庆祝元宵节呢?

B:Let's enjoy the colorful lanterns in the evening.

乙:我们晚上去赏彩灯吧。

A:I prefer to go to the dragon dances.

甲:我更想去看舞龙。

 

We eat yuanxiao in this festival.

我们在这个节日吃元宵。

 

A:What do you eat in the Festival of Lanterns?

甲:你们在元宵节吃什么呢?

B：We eat yuanxiao in this festival.

乙:我们在这个节日吃元宵。

A:Is that the rice glue ball?

甲:就是用糯米粉做的元宵?

B:Yes, it's delicious. We have other activities like the lantern riddles.

乙:是的，很好吃。我们还有其他的活动，比如猜灯谜。

A:it's so interesting.

甲:真有趣。

元宵节的习俗

中国传统的过年，一般要持续到元宵节，元宵节一过也象征过年的结束，人们就要恢复正常的生产和生活了。在元宵节期间，人们举行各种民俗活动，赏月、观花灯、猜灯谜、放烟花、舞龙灯、舞狮子、跑旱船、踩高跷、扭秧歌，普天同庆，其乐融融。元宵节也成为中国诸多传统节日当中最热闹的一个，可以称为中国的“狂欢节”。

 

 

Yuanxiao is the special food for the Lantern Festival. It is believed that Yuanxiao is named after a palace maid, Yuanxiao, of Emperor Wu Di of the Han Dynasty. Yuanxiao is a kind of sweet dumpling, which is made with sticky rice flour filled with sweet stuffing. And the Festival is named after the famous dumpling. It is very easy to cook - simply dump them in a pot of boiling water for a few minutes - and eaten as a dessert.

 

元宵是元宵节的特色食品。据说，元宵是因汉武帝时期的一位名叫元宵的宫女而得名。元宵是一种带馅儿的甜食，是由糯米粉加上甜的馅料制成。元宵节就是因此食品得名。元宵的烹制方法非常简单，将元宵倒入装满沸水的锅中煮几分钟就可以了。

 

 

"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.

 

猜灯谜也是元宵节活动的一个基本组成部分。灯笼的所有者将谜语写在一张纸条上，然后将纸条展示在灯笼上。如果赏灯者猜出谜语，就将纸条取出，然后找灯笼所有者确认答案。打对的话，他们就可以领取一份小礼品。这个活动起源于宋朝（960——1279）。猜灯谜活动极富情趣和智慧，因此在全社会广受欢迎。

 

 

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.

 

元宵节的白天会有舞龙舞狮、划旱船、扭秧歌、踩高跷。而在晚上，除了各种大型灯会，灿烂的焰火也是一幅美丽的画卷。很多家庭在春节时会留下一部分烟花等着元宵节放。有的地方政府甚至会组织焰火晚会。当新年的第一轮圆月升上夜空时，人们都会因燃放的烟火和空中的明月而兴奋。 

 

 

在元宵节来临之际，祝你平安，快乐，幸福。万事圆！

Wishing you peace, joy and happiness and everything all the best through Lantern ! 

 

致以热烈的祝贺和良好的祝福，元宵节快乐！

Warm greetings and best wishes for Lantern Festival!

 

快乐的元宵之际，谨致我的想念与祝福。

Thinking of you and wish you a Happy Lantern Festival.

 

愿你元宵节幸福无尽。

May Lantern Festival be filled with happiness for you .

来源：海词词典