中国春节风俗习惯 第7期:中国新年习俗(3)

 　　"Dao" so you have the banner spring posted upside down, it implies that spring has arrived, "chundao".

　　“到”，这样你把春联颠倒着贴就意味着春天到了，“春到”。

　　A common Chinese saying which is seen on many banners also contains a play on words "niannianyouyu ", when read aloud sounds like have fish every year.

　　常见的中国说这是看到很多横幅还包含一个文字游戏“年年有鱼”，大声念起来像每天都有鱼吃。

　　The meaning of this saying actually comes from another homophone Chinese characters "yu" which means fish sounds exactly like the Chinese character that means of abundance, the banner means abundance throughout the year.

　　这话的意思其实是来自另一个同音汉字“余”，这意味着“鱼”听起来就像“丰富”的汉字，这春联意味着一年富足。

　　Sometimes it's written as abundance and sometimes as fish, usually accompanied by fish swimming around the poster.

　　有时写“鱼”或“余”的时候通常伴随着鱼在游动的海报。

　　Whether it's an abundance through the year or just an abundance of fish through the year, the Chinese have always liked paste these banners come holiday season.

　　无论是一年富足还只是一年富足的鱼，中国人总是喜欢在假期将至时粘贴这些对联。

　　Though there is no longer the looming¹ threat of Nian the beast, people still hang these posters wish people joy, prosperity and good fortune throughout the year.

　　虽然再没有野兽“年”迫在眉睫的威胁，人们仍然贴这些海报，祈盼一年欢乐、繁荣和好运。

　　So, Alina, for Westerners, Christmas is our most important celebration and we get lots of presents, what do you guys get at Chinese New Year?

　　爱丽娜，对西方人来说，圣诞节是我们最重要的庆祝活动，我们会收到很多礼物，你们在中国新年会收到什么呢？

　　Well, Ben, in Chinese families we give each other red packets with money inside.

　　本，在中国家庭中，我们给彼此装着钱的红包。

　　Unlike the Western custom of giving presents, during Chinese New Year, it is customary practice to give and receive red packets a hong bao in Chinese.

　　不同于西方送礼物的习俗，在中国新年期间，惯常的做法是派发和接收红包。

　　This is a small red rectangular envelope for putting money even to give away as a gift.

　　这是一个小的红色矩形的信封，把钱放在里面作为礼物赠送。

　　The envelope is red because in traditional Chinese culture, red is considered a lucky color, it's believed to wipe off evil spirits and to bring good fortune to the receiver.

　　信封之所以是红色的，是因为在中国传统文化中，红色被认为是幸运的颜色，它被认为除去恶灵，给接受者带来好运。

　　Hence most red packets are decorated with our species Chinese symbols or characters such as happiness and prosperity.

　　因此大多数红包都装饰着人类幸福和繁荣等中文符号或文字。

　　Today, red packets come in all kinds of different designs besides the more traditional ones.

　　今天，红包除了传统的种类，还有各种不同的设计。

　　Traditionally the older generation gives the red packet to the younger generation, parents, grandparents and married members of the family would give the red packet to the children and grandchildren and unmarried family members.

　　在传统中，老一辈给年轻的一代红包，父母、祖父母和已婚家庭的成员会给子孙后代和未婚家庭成员红包。

　　Nowadays these practice exchange to close friends, neighbors and even some companies give away year-end bonuses in an red packet.

　　现在，这些红包的交换使得朋友和邻居更加亲近，甚至有些公司用红包派发年终奖。

　　The amount of money placed inside to red packet varies depending on the relationship between a giver and the receiver, but it must be in even numbers.

　　红包里的钱数多少取决于给予者和接受者之间的关系，但它必须是偶数。

　　Amount starting or ending with 8 are common, 8 or "ba" in Chinese symbolizes² prosperity, because its rhyme with character "fa" that uses in a phrase "facai", which means generate wealth.

　　8是常见的开始或结尾，8或八在中国象征着繁荣，因为它的韵律与短语“发财”中的字符“发”相同，这意味着创造财富。

　　It is also customary to use brand new notes for the red packets.

　　钱包也通常习惯使用红包的崭新的纸币。

1 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

2 symbolizes   

v.象征，作为…的象征( symbolize的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The use of light and dark symbolizes good and evil. 用光明与黑暗来象征善与恶。
• She likes olive because It'symbolizes peace. 她喜欢橄榄色因为它象征着和平。 来自《简明英汉词典》