春節(jié)英語
Spring Festival is the most important holiday for Chinese people. Excitement and happiness are palpable this time of the year, and they reach the peak on lunar new year‘s eve.
春節(jié)對于中國人來說是最重要的節(jié)日。在每年的春節(jié)都讓人興高采烈,尤其是大年三十那晚,更是達到了高潮。
Though the 15-day period, which starts with the first day of the lunar new year and ends on the 15th day (known as Lantern Festival), is relatively long, it is the busiest time of the year for Chinese people. The arrangements they have to make for family reunions, buying necessities and preparing food keeps them busy throughout the holiday. Many of them travel back home and meet friends over dinner and drinks. The celebrations include decorating the house and setting off fireworks.
春節(jié)歷時15天,也就從大年初一開始,到元月十五元宵節(jié)結(jié)束。這段比較長的時間是中國人最忙的時候。他們?yōu)榧彝ゾ蹠靼才牛少從曦,?zhǔn)備豐盛的食物,以至于整個春節(jié)假期都忙忙碌碌的。許多人在春季期間都要回老家過年,跟朋友碰碰頭,聚個餐。慶祝春節(jié)也包括大掃除和放煙火。
But we are talking about a tradition that seems to be fading.
但是我們現(xiàn)在要談的是越來越淡的年味。
Spring Festival, as it is celebrated today, has undergone many changes, thanks to the country‘s economic development and globalization.
現(xiàn)在的春節(jié)已經(jīng)因為我國經(jīng)濟的發(fā)展和全球化的影響而改變了很多。
Yet no Spring Festival is complete without food. People could not get good food whenever they desired in earlier times, something that does not apply to society today. More often than not, people faced the risk of famine. The best time for people to celebrate was when food was available in plenty, and that was possible in spring, or the beginning of the lunar new year. That was the main reason why Spring Festival acquired such great importance among Chinese people.
但是沒有哪個春節(jié)是完全離得開“吃”的。從前,不論人們提前多久想要買年貨,總是不能如愿,而現(xiàn)在早已今非昔比。過去常常還要鬧饑荒。人們最好的慶祝時間就是他們能得到食物豐盛的時候,也就是春天或是元月初的那段時間。那也是為什么春節(jié)對于中國人如此重要的主要原因。
But three decades of economic growth has ensured that people in China, except for those who are still poor, can enjoy a good meal whenever they want. Such has been the change in people‘s fortune that some have to be treated for obesity and other health problems associated with excessive eating.
但是三十年來的經(jīng)濟發(fā)展已經(jīng)讓中國人,除了那些仍然窮苦的人以外,隨時都能享受美食。這得益于人民財富的增長,但是后者也導(dǎo)致一些人吃得太多而受到肥胖威脅和健康問題。
In the past, celebrations were limited to events like song-and-dance duets in North China, dragon/lion dances in South China and fireworks, which required the joint efforts of the entire community. But economic development and urbanization seems to have weakened the social links among people. Many, especially those living in cities, are not interested in celebrating the festival with people they hardly know.
在過去,慶祝春節(jié)還只停留在北方的二人轉(zhuǎn)和南方的舞龍舞獅等形式。那些慶;顒油枰S多人合力才能辦得起來。但是經(jīng)濟的發(fā)展和國際化程度的提升似乎已經(jīng)將這種社會聯(lián)系弱化了。許多人,特別是城市居民,不太愿意與不相識的人一起共度春節(jié)。
Many customs associated with Spring Festival have changed, too. In the past, people used to visit relatives and friends with gifts and lots of good wishes. Today, many people, especially the youth, use their cell phones or the Internet to send their good wishes and even "gifts" to their relatives and friends. Some may say this a sign that people have become less caring about their near and dear ones, but we should see this development as a time- and energy-saving exercise granted by the information age.
與春節(jié)相關(guān)的許多習(xí)俗也被改變了。在過去,人們常常會帶著禮物走親訪友,互道祝福。今天許多人,特別是年輕人,用手機或是網(wǎng)絡(luò)向親朋好友發(fā)去“禮物”和祝福。有些人或許會說,這說明人們已經(jīng)沒有那么關(guān)心至愛親朋了,但是我們應(yīng)該把這種變化看作信息化時代省錢省力的好辦法。
In recent times, many people have started praying for a career promotion or more money instead of invoking God or the Buddha for a healthy and long life and the welfare of their family. But the number of such people is decreasing now, which shows that people are becoming more reasonable.
最近幾年,許多人開始祈禱事業(yè)高升,財源滾滾,而不是求神拜佛,他們身體健康,長命百歲,家庭美滿。但是這樣的人數(shù)現(xiàn)在正在減少,說明人們開始變得更加理性。
春節(jié)習(xí)俗英文簡介Customs of the Spring Festival
The Spring Festival is a traditional Chinese festival and also the most important one of the whole year. Through the evolvement of thousands of years, a series of customs are spreading far and wide.
掃塵 Sweeping the Dust
“Dust” is homophonic with "chen”(塵)in Chinese, which means old and past. In this way, "sweeping the dust” before the Spring Festival means a thorough cleaning of houses to sweep away bad luck in the past year. This custom shows a good wish of putting away old things to welcome a new life. In a word, just before the Spring Festival comes, every household will give a thorough cleaning to bid farewell to the old year and usher in the new.
貼春聯(lián) Pasting Spring Couplets
“The Spring Couplet”, also called "couplet” and "a pair of antithetical phrases”, is a special form of literature in China. The Spring Couplet is composed of two antithetical sentences on both sides of the door and a horizontal scroll bearing an inscription, usually an auspicious phrase, above the gate. The sentence pasting on the right side of the door is called the first line of the couplet and the one on the left the second line. On the eve of the Spring Festival, every household will paste on doors a spring couplet written on red paper to give a happy and prosperous atmosphere of the Festival. In the past, the Chinese usually wrote their own spring couplet with a brush or asked others to do for them, while nowadays, it is common for people to buy the printed spring couplet in the market.
貼窗花和“福”字 Pasting Paper-cuts and "Up-sided Fu”
Paper-cuts, usually with auspicious patterns, give a happy and prosperous atmosphere of the Festival and express the good wishes of Chinese people looking forward to a good life. In addition to pasting paper-cuts on windows, it is common for Chinese to paste the character "fu(福)”, big and small, on walls, doors and doorposts around the houses. "Fu(福)” shows people’s yearning toward a good life. Some people even invert the character "fu(福)” to signify that blessing has arrived because "inverted” is a homonym for "arrive” in Chinese. Now many kinds of paper-cuts and "fu(福)” can be seen in the market before the Festival.
守歲 Staying Up Late on New Year‘s Eve
The tradition of staying up late to see New Year in originated from an interesting folk tale. In ancient China there lived a monster named Year, who was very ferocious. Year always went out from its burrow on New Year’s Eve to devour people. Therefore, on every New Year’s Eve, every household would have supper together. After dinner, no one dared go to sleep and all the family members would sit together, chatting and emboldening each other. Gradually the habit of staying up late on New Year’s Eve is formed. Thus in China, "celebrating the Spring Festival” is also called "passing over the year (guo nian)”。 However, now there are less and less people in cities who will stay up late to see New Year in.
貼年畫 Pasting New Year Prints
The custom of pasting New Year Prints originated from the tradition of placing Door Gods on the external doors of houses. With the creation of board carvings, New Year paintings cover a wide range of subjects. The most famous ones are Door Gods, Surplus Year after Year, Three Gods of Blessing, Salary and Longevity, An Abundant Harvest of Crops, Thriving Domestic Animals and Celebrating Spring. Four producing areas of New Year Print are Tɑohuɑwu of Suzhou, Yɑngliuqing of Tianjin, Wuqiɑng of Hebei and Weifang of Shangdong. Now the tradition of pasting New Year paintings is still kept in rural China, while it is seldom followed in cities.
吃餃子 Having Jiaozi
On New Year’s Eve, the whole family will sit together to make jiaozi and celebrate the Spring Festival. The shape of jiaozi is like gold ingot from ancient China. So people eat them and wish for money and treasure. The tradition of having jiaozi is very important during the Spring Festival. You cannot have a complete Spring Festival without having jiaozi. (See page 82 for more information about "jiaozi”)
看春節(jié)聯(lián)歡晚會 The CCTV New Year‘s Gala
The New Year’s Gala is a variety show held by China Central Television (CCTV) since 1983. For every year since then at the turn of the Lunar New Year, the program begins at 8:00PM and lasts five or six hours. It brings laughter to billions of people, creates many popular words and produces lots of TV phenomena meriting attention. For over twenty years, its value has gone far beyond a variety show. It is essential entertainment for the Chinese both at home and abroad. Many Chinese would like to watch the gala while having the dinner on New Year’s Eve.
放鞭炮 Setting off Firecrackers
The firecracker is a unique product in China. In ancient China, the sound of burning bamboo tubes was used to scare away wild animals and evil spirits. With the invention of the gunpowder, "firecracker” is also called "鞭炮biānpào” (“炮” in Chinese means gun) and used to foster a joyful atmosphere. The first thing every Chinese household does is to set off firecrackers and fireworks, which are meant to bid farewell to the old year and usher in the new. In the past few years, such an activity was completely or partially forbidden in big cities including Beijing due to fire and personal casualty caused by burning firecrackers. However, some Chinese thought that a Spring Festival without firecrackers was not lively enough and they burned firecrackers by stealth. So in recent years, the ban was canceled again. This shows that burning firecrackers is a very important activity during the Spring Festival.
拜年和壓歲錢 New Year‘s Visit and Gift Money
On the first day of the Chinese lunar year, everybody puts on their best clothes and pays ceremonial calls on their relatives and friends, wishing them all the luck in the coming year. Juniors will greet seniors, wishing them health and longevity, while seniors will give juniors some gift money as a wish for their safety in the coming year. When friends meet, they will wish each other happiness and prosperity with a big smile. With the development of the new technology, there is a change on the way of giving New Years greetings. In recent year, it is common to send New Years greetings by such modern means of communication as telephones, emails and text messages.
逛廟會 Temple Fair
Temple fair, usually held outside temples, is a kind of folk custom in China. During the Spring Festival, temple fair is one of the most important activities, in which there are such performances as acrobatics and Wushu, numerous kinds of local snacks and many kinds of things for everyday life. In recent years, the temple fair has become a place for people to appreciate the traditional art and experience the traditional life.
Festival Greetings
Traditional Festival Greetings:
恭賀新禧 | Happy New Year
吉祥如意 | Everything Goes Well
恭喜發(fā)財 | Wishing You Prosperity
年年有余 | Surplus Year after Year
歲歲平安 | Peace All Year Round
新春大吉 | Good Luck in the New Year
In the past two years, it has become a vogue for relatives and friends to send short messages to greet each other during the Spring Festival. With best wishes, the warm greetings of text messages give a happy and joyful atmosphere of the Festival.
Festival Greetings via Text Message
、 送你一件外套,前面是平安,后面是幸福,領(lǐng)子是吉祥,袖子是如意,扣子是快樂,口袋里滿是溫暖,穿上吧,讓它伴你每一天!新春快樂!
I will give you a coat as a present. The front is safety, the back happiness, the collar auspiciousness, the sleeves satisfaction, the buttons enjoyment and the pockets warmness. Wear every day. Wish you a happy New Year.
、 新年到了,不打算送給你太多,只給你五千萬:千萬要快樂!千萬要健康!千萬要平安!千萬要知足!千萬不要忘記我!
As the New Year comes, I will only give you five "do’s” as a present. Do be merry! Do be healthy! Do be safe! Do be satisfied! Do remember me!
介紹中國新年除夕習(xí)俗的英語文章
Before New Year‘s Eve
The celebration actually starts on New Year‘s Eve with the
family reunion dinner. By New Year‘s Eve, you should have
done the following:
Clean the entire home to get rid of all the things that are
associated with the old year.
Put away all brooms and brushes.
Pay all your debts.
Resolve differences with family members, friends, neighbors and business associates.
Buy the following:
Red money envelopes,
Oranges and/or tangerines,
Fill a "Cheun hup(a circular red tray separated in eight compartments) with melon seedslotuschocolate coinsnuts etc.
Flowers (especially plum blossoms, peach blossoms, water lilies),
A new set of clothes and shoes for children, preferably something red or orange.
Get new dollar bills from the bank. Insert the new dollar bills into the red envelopes. Now the red envelope is called a lai see or lucky money envelope.
On New Year‘s Eve
Get together with close family members (not including married daughters and their families) for the "reunion” dinner.
Pay respect to ancestors and household gods. Acknowledge the presence of ancestors because they are responsible for the fortunes of future generations.
Open every door and window in your home at midnight to let go of the old year.
On New Year‘s Day
Decorate your home with symbols of good fortune. Here are some suggestions:
Colors: Bright red (happiness); gold/orange (wealth &; happiness)。
Fruits: Oranges and tangerines (good health &; long life); tangerines with leaves intact (long lasting relationships; being fruitful and multiply); persimmons (happiness and wealth)。
“Chuen Hup” circular candy tray (candy for sweet and circular for togetherness and continuity)。
Flowers: If flowers bloom on New Year‘s Day, it will be a prosperous year.
Red banners or couplets with New Year wishes and symbols of good fortune in gold.
中國傳統(tǒng)節(jié)日中英對照:春節(jié)
春節(jié),是農(nóng)歷正月初一,又叫陰歷年,俗稱“過年”。這是我國民間最隆重、最熱鬧的一個傳統(tǒng)節(jié)日。春節(jié)的歷史很悠久,它起源于殷商時期年頭歲尾的祭神祭祖活動。按照我國農(nóng)歷,正月初一古稱元日、元辰、元正、元朔、元旦等,俗稱年初一,到了民國時期,改用公歷,公歷的一月一日稱為元旦,把農(nóng)歷的一月一日叫春節(jié)。
春節(jié)到了,意味著春天將要來臨,萬象復(fù)蘇草木更新,新一輪播種和收獲季節(jié)又要開始。人們剛剛度過冰天雪地草木凋零的漫漫寒冬,早就盼望著春暖花開的日子,當(dāng)新春到來之際,自然要充滿喜悅載歌載舞地迎接這個節(jié)日。 千百年來,人們使年俗慶祝活動變得異常豐富多彩,每年從農(nóng)歷臘月二十三日起到年三十,民間把這段時間叫做“迎春日”,也叫“掃塵日”,在春節(jié)前掃塵搞衛(wèi)生,是我國人民素有的傳統(tǒng)習(xí)慣。
然后就是家家戶戶準(zhǔn)備年貨,節(jié)前十天左右,人們就開始忙于采購物品,年貨包括雞鴨魚肉、茶酒油醬、南北炒貨、糖餌果品,都要采買充足,還要準(zhǔn)備一些過年時走親訪友時贈送的禮品,小孩子要添置新衣新帽,準(zhǔn)備過年時穿。
在節(jié)前要在住宅的大門上粘貼紅紙黃字的新年寄語,也就是用紅紙寫成的春聯(lián)。屋里張貼色彩鮮艷寓意吉祥的年畫,心靈手巧的姑娘們剪出美麗的窗花貼在窗戶上,門前掛大紅燈籠或貼福字及財神、門神像等,福字還可以倒貼,路人一念福倒了,也就是福氣到了,所有這些活動都是要為節(jié)日增添足夠的喜慶氣氛。
春節(jié)的另一名稱叫過年。在過去的傳說中,年是一種為人們帶來壞運氣的想象中的動物。年一來。樹木凋蔽,百草不生;年一過,萬物生長,鮮花遍地。年如何才能過去呢?需用鞭炮轟 ,于是有了燃鞭炮的習(xí)俗,這其實也是烘托熱鬧場面的又一種方式。
春節(jié)是個歡樂祥和的節(jié)日,也是親人團聚的日子,離家在外的孩子在過春節(jié)時都要回家歡聚。過年的前一夜,就是舊年的臘月三十夜,也叫除夕,又叫團圓夜,在這新舊交替的時候,守歲是最重要的年俗活動之一,除夕晚上,全家老小都一起熬年守歲,歡聚酣飲,共享天倫之樂,北方地區(qū)在除夕有吃餃子的習(xí)俗,餃子的作法是先和面,和字就是合;餃子的餃和交諧音,合和交有相聚之意,又取更歲交子之意。在南方有過年吃年糕的習(xí)慣,甜甜的粘粘的年糕,象征新一年生活甜蜜蜜,步步高。 待第一聲雞啼響起,或是新年的鐘聲敲過,街上鞭炮齊鳴,響聲此起彼伏,家家喜氣洋洋,新的一年開始了,男女老少都穿著節(jié)日盛裝,先給家族中的長者拜年祝壽,節(jié)中還有給兒童壓歲錢,吃團年飯,初二、三就開始走親戚看朋友,相互拜年,道賀祝福,說些恭賀新喜、恭喜發(fā)財、恭喜、過年好等話,祭祖等活動。
節(jié)日的熱烈氣氛不僅洋溢在各家各戶,也充滿各地的大街小巷,一些地方的街市上還有舞獅子,耍龍燈,演社火,游花市,逛廟會等習(xí)俗。這期間花燈滿城,游人滿街,熱鬧非凡,盛況空前,直要鬧到正月十五元宵節(jié)過后,春節(jié)才算真正結(jié)束了。
春節(jié)是漢族最重要的節(jié)日,但是滿、蒙古,瑤、壯、白、高山、赫哲、哈尼、達斡爾、侗、黎等十幾個少數(shù)民族也有過春節(jié)的習(xí)俗,只是過節(jié)的形式更有自己的民族特色,更蘊味無窮。
Spring Festival
The Spring Festival is the most important festival for the Chinese people and is when all family members get together, just like Christmas in the West. All people living away from home go back, becoming the busiest time for transportation systems of about half a month from the Spring Festival. Airports, railway stations and long-distance bus stations are crowded with home returnees.
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.
On the 8th day of the 12th lunar month, many families make laba porridge, a delicious kind of porridge made with glutinous rice, millet, seeds of Job‘s tears, jujube berries, lotus seeds, beans, longan and gingko.
The 23rd day of the 12th lunar month is called Preliminary Eve. At this time, people offer sacrifice to the kitchen god. Now however, most families make delicious food to enjoy themselves.
After the Preliminary Eve, people begin preparing for the coming New Year. This is called "Seeing the New Year in“。
Store owners are busy then as everybody goes out to purchase necessities for the New Year. Materials not only include edible oil, rice, flour, chicken, duck, fish and meat, but also fruit, candies and kinds of nuts. What‘s more, various decorations, new clothes and shoes for the children as well as gifts for the elderly, friends and relatives, are all on the list of purchasing.
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.
People attach great importance to Spring Festival Eve. At that time, all family members eat dinner together. The meal is more luxurious than usual. Dishes such as chicken, fish and bean curd cannot be excluded, for in Chinese, their pronunciations, respectively "ji“, "yu" and "doufu," mean auspiciousness, abundance and richness. After the dinner, the whole family will sit together, chatting and watching TV. In recent years, the Spring Festival party broadcast on China Central Television Station (CCTV) is essential entertainment for the Chinese both at home and abroad. According to custom, each family will stay up to see the New Year in.
Waking up on New Year, everybody dresses up. First they extend greetings to their parents. Then each child will get money as a New Year gift, wrapped up in red paper. People in northern China will eat jiaozi, or dumplings, for breakfast, as they think "jiaozi" in sound means "bidding farewell to the old and ushering in the new”。 Also, the shape of the dumpling is like gold ingot from ancient China. So people eat them and wish for money and treasure.
Southern Chinese eat niangao (New Year cake made of glutinous rice flour) on this occasion, because as a homophone, niangao means "higher and higher, one year after another." The first five days after the Spring Festival are a good time for relatives, friends, and classmates as well as colleagues to exchange greetings, gifts and chat leisurely.
Burning fireworks was once the most typical custom on the Spring Festival. People thought the spluttering sound could help drive away evil spirits. However, such an activity was completely or partially forbidden in big cities once the government took security, noise and pollution factors into consideration. As a replacement, some buy tapes with firecracker sounds to listen to, some break little balloons to get the sound too, while others buy firecracker handicrafts to hang in the living room.
The lively atmosphere not only fills every household, but permeates to streets and lanes. A series of activities such as lion dancing, dragon lantern dancing, lantern festivals and temple fairs will be held for days. The Spring Festival then comes to an end when the Lantern Festival is finished.
China has 56 ethnic groups. Minorities celebrate their Spring Festival almost the same day as the Han people, and they have different customs.
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春節(jié)的介紹(英文)
Far and away the most important holiday in China is Spring Festival, also known as the Chinese New Year. To the Chinese people it is as important as Christmas to people in the West. The dates for this annual celebration are determined by the lunar calendar rather than the Gregorian calendar, so the timing of the holiday varies from late January to early February.
To the ordinary Chinese, the festival actually begins on the eve of the lunar New Years Day and ends on the fifth day of the first month of the lunar calendar. But the 15th of the first month, which normally is called the Lantern Festival, means the official end of the Spring Festival in many parts of the country.
Preparations for the New Year begin the last few days of the last moon, when houses are thoroughly cleaned, debts repaid, hair cut and new clothes purchased. Houses are festooned with paper scrolls bearing auspicious antithetical couplet (as show on both side of the page) and in many homes, people burn incense at home and in the temples to pay respects to ancestors and ask the gods for good health in the coming months.
“Guo Nian," meaning ”passing the year," is the common term among the Chinese people for celebrating the Spring Festival. It actually means greeting the new year. At midnight at the turn of the old and new year, people used to let off fire-crackers which serve to drive away the evil spirits and to greet the arrival of the new year. In an instant the whole city would be engulfed in the deafening noise of the firecrackers.
On New Years Eve, all the members of families come together to feast. Jiaozi, a steamed dumpling as pictured below, is popular in the north, while southerners favor a sticky sweet glutinous rice pudding called nian gao
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