chinese_festivals中国节日(英文介绍)

Flag-raisingceremonies•NationalDayiscommemoratedeveryyearbyspecialflag-raisingceremonies.CrowdsgathereatTian'anmenSqaureinBeijingearlymorningforthisevent.ItwaspartoftheNationalDaycelebrationsforthebirthdayofthePeople'sRepublicofChina.HappytheNationalDayInchinaTheChinesecapitalofBeijingwillbecomeamulti-coloredbeaconoflightwithspectacularoutdoorilluminationsSpringFestivalTheSpringFestivalfallsonthe1stdayofthe1stlunarmonth。ItoriginatedintheShangDynasty(c.1600BC-c.1100BC)fromthepeople'ssacrificetogodsandancestorsattheendofanoldyearandthebeginningofanewone.Strictlyspeaking,theSpringFestivalstartseveryyearintheearlydaysofthe12thlunarmonthandwilllasttillthemid1stlunarmonthofthenextyear.Ofthem,themostimportantdaysareSpringFestivalEveandthefirstthreedays.TheChinesegovernmentnowstipulatespeoplehavesevendaysofffortheChineseLunarNewYear.ManycustomsaccompanytheSpringFestival.Somearestillfollowedtoday,butothershaveweakened.SpringFestivalBeforetheNewYearcomes,thepeoplecompletelycleantheindoorsandoutdoorsoftheirhomesaswellastheirclothes,bedclothesandalltheirutensils.Thenpeoplebegindecoratingtheircleanroomsfeaturinganatmosphereofrejoicingandfestivity.AllthedoorpanelswillbepastedwithSpringFestivalcouplets,highlightingChinesecalligraphywithblackcharactersonredpaper.Thecontentvariesfromhouseowners'wishesforabrightfuturetogoodluckfortheNewYear.Also,picturesofthegodofdoorsandwealthwillbepostedonfrontdoorstowardoffevilspiritsandwelcomepeaceandabundance.TheChinesecharacterfu(meaningblessingorhappiness)isamust.Thecharacterputonpapercanbepastednormallyorupsidedown,forinChinesethereversedfuishomophonicwithfucomes,bothbeingpronouncedasfudaole.What'smore,twobigredlanternscanberaisedonbothsidesofthefrontdoor.Redpaper-cuttingscanbeseenonwindowglassandbrightlycoloredNewYearpaintingswithauspiciousmeaningsmaybeputonthewall.(有利的,吉利的,有帮助的)LanternFestivalTheLanternFestivalfallsonthe15thdayofthe1stlunarmonth.AsearlyastheWesternHanDynasty(206BC-AD25),ithadbecomeafestivalwithgreatsignificance.Thisday'simportantactivityiswatchinglanterns.ThroughouttheHanDynasty(206BC-AD220),BuddhismflourishedinChina.OneemperorheardthatBuddhistmonkswouldwatchremainsfromthecremationofBuddha'sbody,andlightlanternstoworshipBuddhaonthe15thdayofthe1stlunarmonth,soheorderedtolightlanternsintheimperialpalaceandtemplestoshowrespecttoBuddhaonthisday.Later,theBuddhistritedevelopedintoagrandfestivalamongcommonpeopleanditsinfluenceexpandedfromtheCentralPlainstothewholeofChina.LanternFestivalGuessinglanternriddlesisanessentialpartoftheFestival.Lanternownerswriteriddlesonapieceofpaperandpostthemonthelanterns.Ifvisitorshavesolutionstotheriddles,theycanpullthepaperoutandgotothelanternownerstochecktheiranswer.Iftheyareright,theywillgetalittlegift.Theactivityemergedduringpeople'senjoymentoflanternsintheSongDynasty(960-1279).Asriddleguessingisinterestingandfullofwisdom,ithasbecomepopularamongallsocialstrata.Peoplewilleatyuanxiao,orricedumplings,onthisday,soitisalsocalledtheYuanxiaoFestival.Yuanxiaoalsohasanothername,tangyuan.Itissmalldumplingballsmadeofglutinousriceflourwithrosepetals,sesame,beanpaste,jujubepaste,walnutmeat,driedfruit,sugarandedibleoilasfilling.Tangyuancanbeboiled,friedorsteamed.Ittastessweetanddelicious.What'smore,tangyuaninChinesehasasimilarpronunciationwithtuanyuan”,meaningreunion.Sopeopleeatthemtodenoteunion,harmonyandhappinessforthefamily.(芝麻,脂麻)(枣)QingmingFestivalTheQingmingFestivalisoneofthe24seasonaldivisionpointsinChina,fallingonApril4-6eachyear.Afterthefestival,thetemperaturewillriseupandrainfallincreases.Itisthehightimeforspringplowingandsowing.ButtheQingmingFestivalisnotonlyaseasonalpointtoguidefarmwork,itismoreafestivalofcommemoration.TheQingmingFestivalseesacombinationofsadnessandhappiness.TheHanshi(ColdFood)FestivalwasusuallyonedaybeforetheQingmingFestival.AsourancestorsoftenextendedthedaytotheQingming,theywerelatercombined.OneachQingmingFestival,allcemeteriesarecrowdedwithpeoplewhocametosweeptombsandoffersacrifices.Trafficonthewaytothecemeteriesbecomesextremelyjammed.Thecustomshavebeengreatlysimplifiedtoday.Afterslightlysweepingthetombs,peopleofferfood,flowersandfavoritesofthedead,thenburnincenseandpapermoneyandbowbeforethememorialtablet.DragonBoatFestivalTheDragonBoatFestival,the5thdayofthe5thlunarmonth,hashadahistoryofmorethan2,000years.Dragonboatracingisanindispensablepartofthefestival,heldalloverthecountry.Asthegunisfired,peoplewillseeracersindragon-shapedcanoespullingtheoarsharmoniouslyandhurriedly,accompaniedbyrapiddrums,speedingtowardtheirdestination.FolktalessaythegameoriginatesfromtheactivitiesofseekingQuYuan'sbody,butexperts,afterpainstakingandmeticulousresearch,concludethatdragonboatracingisasemi-religious,semi-entertainingprogramfromtheWarringStatesPeriod(475-221BC).Inthefollowingthousandsofyears,thegamespreadtoJapan,VietnamandBritainaswellasChina'sTaiwanandHongKong.NowdragonboatracinghasdevelopedintoanaquaticsportsitemwhichfeaturesbothChinesetraditionandmodernsportingspirit.In1980,itwaslistedintothestatesportscompetition