Chinese-festival中國傳統(tǒng)佳節(jié)英文介紹

ChineseValentine'sDay（七巧節(jié)）RaiseyourheadonAugust19andgazeatthestars,youwillfindsomethingromanticgoingoninthesky.VALENTINE'SDayinChina,theseventhdayoftheseventhlunarmonth,fallsonAugust

19thisyear.Thatis,onSundayevening,NiuLangandZhiNuwillmeetonabridgeofmagpies（鵲橋）acrosstheMilkyWay（銀河）.Chinesegrannieswillremindchildrenthattheywouldnotbeabletoseeanymagpiesonthateveningbecauseallthemagpieshavelefttoformabridgeintheheavenswiththeirwings.ChineseceremoniesTheseventhdayoftheseventhlunarmonthistheonlyChinesefestivaldevotedtoloveintheLunarcalendar.UnlikeSt.Valentine'sDayinWesterncountriesthereisnotsomuchemphasisongivingchocolates,flowersandkisses.Instead,Chinesegirlspreparefruits,melonsandincense（熏香）asofferingstoZhiNu,theweavingmaiden,prayingtoacquirehighskillsinneedlecraft（裁縫）,aswellashopingtofindsatisfactoryhusbands.Intheevening,peoplesitoutdoorstoobservethestars.Chinesegrannieswouldsaythat,ifyoustandunderagrapevine,youcanprobablyoverhearwhatZhiNuandNiuLangaretalkingabout.HungryGhostFestival（中元節(jié)）The14thand15thoftheseventhlunarmonthUnlikeothercelebrationsofthedeadinEasternculturesthatseektohonordeadancestors,theHungryGhostFestivalseekstopacifythehungryghosts,theghostsofstrangersandtheun-cared-fordead.Thesearetheghostsofthosewhodiedbytheirownhands,byaccidents,bydrowningorhangingwhohavebeendeniedentryintoheaven.Angrybecausetheyareforcedtodwellinhellwithoutfoodorcomfort,whenreleased,theysearchforsoulstotaketheirplaceinmisery.Themostimportantdaysofthismontharethe14thand15th,thedaysofthegreatfeasts.Onthe14th,agreatfeastwouldbeheldtohonorfamilyancestors.Prayersandofferingswouldbemadeatfamilyaltars.Onthefollowingnight,the15th,theywouldfeastforthehungryghosts.Heldoutsideunderthefullmoon,thesefeastsfeedtheevilspiritssothattheywillleavethelivingaloneandbribe（賄賂）theancestorsforluckwithmoneyandtheharvest.ChongYangFestival重陽節(jié)The9thdayofSeptemberinthelunarcalendaris"theChineseChongYangFestival"andahappyoccasioninautumn.Accordingtothetraditionaltheoryof"Yin"and"Yang",boththe9thmonthandthe9thdayofthemonthbelongto"Yang",whichmeanspositiveandmasculine,and"Chong"meansdouble,thusitiscalled"ChongYang".Peopleoftengatherforaparty,appreciatechrysanthemums,pintheleavesofCornusonclothes.Andthecustomofclimbingmountainsandeatingaspecialcakealsofeaturestheday.InthegoldenSeptember,chrysanthemumblooms,remindingpeopleofthefolktale.Andlateraspecialcakewithdates,chestnutsandmeatwasmadetoaddmorefestivitytothespecialday.Wintersolstice（冬至）WintersolsticeisaveryimportantsolarterminChineseLunarcalendar.Beingatraditionalholidayaswell,itisstillnowcelebratedquiteofteninmanyregions.EarlyduringtheSpringandAutumnperiod,2500oddyearsfromnow,WintersolsticewasfirstdeterminedastheChinesetraditionalsolartermamongthetotal24terms.InGregoriancalendar,itisaroundDec22ndor23rd.Ancientchinadidpaygreatattentiontothisholiday,regardingitasabigevent.Therewasthesayingthat"Wintersolsticeholidayisgreaterthanthespringfestival".Nowadays,manyregionsstillcelebrateitasabigholiday.Northernersmayhavedumplingsandraviolisthatdaywhilesouthernersmayhavedumplingsmadebyriceandlongnoodles.Someplacesevenhavethetraditiontooffersacrificestotheheavenandearth.SpringFestival（春節(jié)）TheNewMoononthefirstdayofthenewyear--thefullmoon15dayslaterChineseNewYearstartswiththeNewMoon（新月）onthefirstdayofthenewyearandendsonthefullmoon（滿月）15dayslater.The15thdayofthenewyeariscalledtheLanternFestival（元宵節(jié)）,whichiscelebratedatnightwithlanterndisplaysandchildrencarryinglanternsinaparade.TheOriginofChineseNewYearTheChineseNewYearisnowpopularlyknownastheSpringFestivalbecauseitstartsfromtheBeginingofSpring(thefirstofthetwenty-fourtermsincoodinationwiththechangesofNature).Itsoriginistoooldtobetraced.Severalexplanationsarehangingaround.Allagree,however,thatthewordNian,whichinmodernChinesesolelymeans"year",wasoriginallythenameofamonsterbeastthatstartedtopreyonpeoplethenightbeforethebeginningofanewyear.TraditionalNewYearFoodsProbablymorefoodisconsumedduringtheNewYearcelebrationsthananyothertimeoftheyear.Vastamountsoftraditionalfoodispreparedforfamilyandfriends,aswellasthoseclosetouswhohavedied.OnNewYear'sDay,theChinesefamilywilleatavegetariandishcalledjai.Althoughthevariousingredientsinjaiarerootvegetablesorfibrousvegetables,manypeopleattributevarioussuperstitiousaspectstothem.Otherfoodsincludeawholefish,torepresenttogethernessandabundance,andachickenforprosperity.Thechickenmustbepresentedwithahead,tailandfeettosymbolizecompleteness.Noodlesshouldbeuncut,astheyrepresentlonglife.InsouthChina,thefavoriteandmosttypicaldisheswereniangao,sweetsteamedglutinousrice（糯米）puddingandzongzi(glutinousricewrappedupinreed（蘆葦）leaves),anotherpopulardelicacy.Inthenorth,steamed-wheatbread(mantou)andsmallmeatdumplingswerethepreferredfood.Thetremendousamountoffoodpreparedatthistimewasmeanttosymbolizeabundanceandwealthforthehousehold.LanternFestival元宵The15thdayofthe1stlunarmonthistheChineseLanternFestivalbecausethefirstlunarmonthiscalledyuan-monthandintheancienttimespeoplecallednightXiao.The15thdayisthefirstnighttoseeafullmoon.SothedayisalsocalledYuanXiaoFestivalinChina.

AccordingtotheChinesetradition,attheverybeginningofanewyear,whenthereisabrightfullmoonhanginginthesky,thereshouldbethousandsofcolorfullanternshungoutforpeopletoappreciate.Atthistime,peoplewilltrytosolvethepuzzlesonthelanternsandeatyuanxiao(glutinousriceball)andgetalltheirfamiliesunitedinthejoyfulatmosphere.Besidesentertainmentandbeautifullanterns,anotherimportantpartoftheLanternFestival,orYuanxiaoFestivaliseatingsmalldumplingballsmadeofglutinousriceflour.WecalltheseballsYuanxiaoorTangyuan.Obviously,theygetthenamefromthefestivalitself.ItissaidthatthecustomofeatingYuanxiaooriginatedduringtheEasternJinDynastyinthefourthcentuty,thenbecamepopularduringtheTangandSongperiods.ThefillingsinsidethedumplingsorYuansiaoareeithersweetorsalty.Sweetfillingsaremadeofsugar,Walnuts（胡桃）,sesame,osmanthusflowers（桂花）,rosepetals,sweetenedtangerinepeel,beanpaste,orjujubepaste（棗泥）.Asingleingredientoranycombinationcanbeusedasthefilling.Thesaltyvarietyisfilledwithmincedmeat,vegetablesoramixture.ThewaytomakeYuanxiaoalsovariesbetweennorthernandsouthernChina.Theusualmethodfollowedinsouthernprovincesistoshapethedoughofriceflourintoballs,makeahole,insertthefilling,thenclosetheholeandsmoothoutthedumplingbyrollingitbetweenyourhands.InNorthChina,sweetornonmeatstuffingistheusualingredient.Thefillingsarepressedintohardenedcores,dippedlightlyinwaterandrolledinaflatbasketcontainingdryglutinousriceflour.Alayeroftheflourstickstothefilling,whichisthenagaindippedinwaterandrolledasecondtimeinthericeflour.Andsoitgoes,likerollingasnowball,untilthedumplingisthedesiredsize.ThecustomofeatingYuanxiaodumplingsremains.ThistraditionencouragesbotholdandnewstorestopromotetheirYuanxiaoproducts.Theyalltrytheirbesttoimprovethetasteandqualityofthedumplingstoattractmorecustomers.QingMing（TombSweepingDay）Celebratedtwoweeksafterthevernalequinox,TombSweepingDayisoneofthefewtraditionalChineseholidaysthatfollowsthesolarcalendar--typicallyfallingonApril4,5,or6.ItsChinesename"QingMing"literallymeans"ClearBrightness,"hintingatitsimportanceasacelebrationofSpring.Similartothespringfestivalsofothercultures,TombSweepingDaycelebratestherebirthofnature,whilemarkingthebeginningoftheplantingseasonandotheroutdooractivities.TheTombSweepingDayasCelebratedTodayWiththepassingoftime,thiscelebrationoflifebecameadaytothehonorpastancestors.Followingfolkreligion,theChinesebelievedthatthespiritsofdeceasedancestorslookedafterthefamily.Sacrificesoffoodandspiritmoneycouldkeepthemhappy,andthefamilywouldprosperthroughgoodharvestsandmorechildren.Today,Chinesevisittheirfamilygravestotendtoanyunderbrushthathasgrown.Weedsarepulled,anddirtsweptaway,andthefamilywillsetoutofferingsoffoodandspiritmoney.Unlikethesacrificesatafamily'shomealtar,theofferingsatthetombusuallyconsistofdry,blandfood.Onetheoryisthatsinceanynumberofghostsromearoundagravearea,thelessappealingfoodwillbeconsumedbytheancestors,andnotbeplunderedbystrangers.DuanWuFestivalThe5thdayofthe5thmonthofthelunaryearisanimportantdayfortheChinesepeople.ThedayiscalledDuanWuFestival,orDragonBoatFestival,celebratedeverywhereinChina.Thecustomsvaryalotindifferentareasofthecountry,butmostofthefamili