元宵佳节的各种习俗

 　　Eating Yuanxiao

　　吃元宵

　　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.

　　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。

　　Yuanxiao is a kind of sweet dumpling, which is made with sticky rice flour filled with sweet stuffing.

　　元宵是一种带馅儿的甜食，是由糯米粉加上甜的馅料制成。

　　And the Festival is named after the famous dumpling.

　　元宵节就是因此食品得名。

　　It is very easy to cook - simply dump them in a pot of boiling water for a few minutes - and eaten as a desert.

　　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 riddles²

　　猜灯谜

　　"Guessing lantern riddles"is an essential part of the Festival.

　　猜灯谜也是元宵节活动的一个基本组成部分。

　　Lantern owners write riddles on a piece of paper and post them on the lanterns.

　　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。

　　If visitors have solutions to the riddles, they can pull the paper out and go to the lantern owners to check their answer.

　　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。

　　If they are right, they will get a little gift.

　　答对的话，他们就可以领取一份小礼品。

　　The activity emerged during people's enjoyment³ of lanterns in the Song Dynasty (960-1279).

　　这个活动起源于宋朝（960——1279）。

　　As riddle¹ guessing is interesting and full of wisdom, it has become popular among all social strata⁴.

　　猜灯谜活动极富情趣和智慧，因此在全社会广受欢迎。

　　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 stilts⁵ and beating drums while dancing will be staged.

　　元宵节的白天会有舞龙舞狮、划旱船、扭秧歌、踩高跷。

　　On the night, except for magnificent lanterns, fireworks form a beautiful scene.

　　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。

　　Most families spare some fireworks from the Spring Festival and let them off in the Lantern Festival.

　　很多家庭在春节时会留下一部分烟花等着元宵节放。

　　Some local governments will even organize a fireworks party.

　　有的地方政府甚至会组织焰火晚会。

　　On the night when the first full moon enters the New Year, people become really intoxicated⁶ by the imposing⁷ fireworks and bright moon in the sky.

　　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。

1 riddle   

n.谜，谜语，粗筛；vt.解谜，给…出谜，筛，检查，鉴定，非难，充满于；vi.出谜

参考例句：

• The riddle couldn't be solved by the child.这个谜语孩子猜不出来。
• Her disappearance is a complete riddle.她的失踪完全是一个谜。

2 riddles   

n.谜（语）( riddle的名词复数 )；猜不透的难题，难解之谜

参考例句：

• Few riddles collected from oral tradition, however, have all six parts. 但是据收集的情况看，口头流传的谜语很少具有这完整的六部分。 来自英汉非文学 - 民俗
• But first, you'd better see if you can answer riddles. 但是你首先最好想想你会不会猜谜语。 来自辞典例句

3 enjoyment   

n.乐趣；享有；享用

参考例句：

• Your company adds to the enjoyment of our visit. 有您的陪同，我们这次访问更加愉快了。
• After each joke the old man cackled his enjoyment.每逢讲完一个笑话，这老人就呵呵笑着表示他的高兴。

4 strata   

n.地层（复数）；社会阶层

参考例句：

• The older strata gradually disintegrate.较老的岩层渐渐风化。
• They represent all social strata.他们代表各个社会阶层。

5 stilts   

n.（支撑建筑物高出地面或水面的）桩子，支柱( stilt的名词复数 )；高跷

参考例句：

• a circus performer on stilts 马戏团里踩高跷的演员
• The bamboo huts here are all built on stilts. 这里的竹楼都是架空的。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 intoxicated   

喝醉的，极其兴奋的

参考例句：

• She was intoxicated with success. 她为成功所陶醉。
• They became deeply intoxicated and totally disoriented. 他们酩酊大醉，东南西北全然不辨。

7 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。