和老外如何聊“元宵节”

正月是农历的元月，古人称夜为“宵”，所以称正月十五为元宵节。元宵节重要的传统习俗之一是挂灯笼，故元宵节也有“灯节”之称，所以元宵节被翻译成“The Lantern Festival”。在元宵节这一天，除了赏灯、吃元宵、猜灯谜，踩高跷、敲大鼓和舞龙狮也是元宵节主要的娱乐活动。那么你知道以上这些习俗用英语怎么说吗？

Enjoy the Beautiful Lanterns 赏灯

Let's enjoy the beautiful lanterns this evening. 我们今晚去赏灯吧。

Decorating and hanging lanterns is the main tradition of the festival, with lanterns big and small hung around households, parks, streets and other public spaces. Red lanterns of various shape and type will attract countless visitors to watch.

正月十五赏花灯是元宵节必有的另一项习俗。人们把大大小小的花灯悬挂于家门口、公园、街道或者其他公共场所。各式各样的红灯笼将会吸引无数游客前来观赏。

Have/Eat Sweet Dumpings 吃汤圆

I like eating sweet dumpings. 我喜欢吃汤圆。

Eating sweet dumpings is an important tradition for the Lantern Festival. Tangyuan, also known as yuanxiao, is a Chinese food made from glutinous rice flour mixed with a small amount of water to form balls and is then cooked and served in boiling water.

吃汤圆是元宵节的一项重要习俗。汤圆又名“元宵”，是由糯米粉等做的球形食品，一般有馅料，煮熟带汤吃。

Guess Lantern Riddles 猜灯谜

"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).

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。答对的话，可以领取一份小礼品。这个活动起源于宋朝(960—1279)。

小耐姐给大家出几个英语灯谜，看看你能答对几个吧？

1. What man cannot live in a house?

2. What's full of holes but still holds water?

3. What kind of dog doesn't bite or bark?

4. What month do soldiers hate?

5.What flies without wings?

6.How to open the world?

答案见文末。

Watch Fireworks 看烟火

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. 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。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。

Dragon Lantern Dance 舞龙灯

Dragon dance is a form of traditional dance and performance in Chinese culture. Like the lion dance it is most often seen in festival celebration. The dance is performed by a team of dancers who manipulate a long flexible figure of a dragon using poles positioned at regular intervals along the length of the dragon.

舞龙灯是中国独具特色的民俗活动。与舞狮子一样，每逢佳节，人们都要舞龙灯。表演者由数十人组成，每人用一杆间隔支撑起一条长龙。

Chinese dragons are a symbol of China, and they are believed to bring good luck to people, therefore the longer the dragon in the dance, the more luck it will bring to the community.

龙是中国的象征，相传龙能够带来吉祥和好运。耍的龙灯越长，就越能给当地人民带来好运。因此，每逢春节、元宵节，人们都会举行舞龙灯的活动。

Walk on Stilts 踩高跷

Walking on stilts is another popular traditional performance for the Lantern Festival, especially in Northern China. According to the archives, our Chinese ancestors began using stilts to help them gather fruits from trees. This practical use of stilts gradually developed into a kind of folk dance.

踩高跷是元宵节的另一项重要民俗，尤其在中国北方。据记载，我们的祖先踩高跷是为了从树上摘果子。之后，高跷逐渐发展成为一种群众性技艺表演艺术。

跟着小耐姐学最实用的商务英语！提前祝大家Happy Lantern Festival! 你还有哪些“压箱底”的灯谜，快快来评论区分享！

猜灯谜 答案：

1. snowman        2. a sponge（海绵）        3. hot dog        4. March（三月；因为March还有“行军”之意）

5. time （时间）        6.Through English Learning