正月十五元就是今天，隨著元宵節(jié)的到來意味著這個年也就過完了，在這節(jié)日最后一天就來和大家分享一些關于元宵節(jié)的英文翻譯表達。元宵節(jié)可不能譯為Yuanxiao Festival，正確的表達是Lantern Festival，這里的 lantern 指的就是元宵節(jié)的標志之一花燈。另外，你知道元宵節(jié)是怎么來的嗎?又有哪些習俗呢?

　　鬧元宵

　　Celebrated on the 15th day of the first Chinese lunar month, the Lantern Festival traditionally marks the end of the Chinese New Year (Spring Festival) period. It's Tuesday, February 19 in 2019.

　　元宵節(jié)在農(nóng)歷正月十五慶祝，傳統(tǒng)上標志著中國新年(春節(jié))的結(jié)束。2019年的元宵節(jié)是2月19日。

　　People will go out to look at the moon, send up flying lanterns, have a meal, and enjoy time together with family and friends in parks and natural areas.

　　元宵節(jié)這天，人們會到戶外賞月、放天燈、聚餐，享受和家人、朋友在一起的時光。

　　The Origin of the Lantern Festival

　　元宵節(jié)的起源

　　The Lantern Festival can be traced back to 2,000 years ago.

　　元宵節(jié)可以追溯到2000年前。

　　In the beginning of the Eastern Han Dynasty (25–220), Emperor Hanmingdi was an advocate of Buddhism. He heard that some monks lit lanterns in the temples to show respect to Buddha on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

　　東漢初期(25-220)，漢明帝倡導佛教。他聽說正月十五這天，一些僧人會在寺廟里點燈敬佛。

　　Therefore, he ordered that all the temples, households, and royal palaces should light lanterns on that evening.

　　因此，漢明帝就命令這一天夜晚在皇宮和寺廟里點燈敬佛，令士族庶民都掛燈。

　　This Buddhist custom gradually became a grand festival among the people.

　　這一佛教習俗逐漸成為民間的盛大節(jié)日。

　　How Do Chinese Celebrate the Lantern Festival?

　　中國人怎樣慶祝元宵節(jié)?

　　According to China's various folk customs, people get together on the night of the Lantern Festival to celebrate with different activities.

　　根據(jù)中國的各種民俗，人們在元宵節(jié)的晚上聚在一起，用不同的活動來慶祝。

　　The most important and prevalent customs are enjoying lanterns, guessing lantern riddles, eating tangyuan(yuanxiao), and lion dances.

　　最重要、最流行的習俗是賞燈、猜燈謎、吃湯圓(元宵)和舞獅。

　　1. Lighting and Watching Lanterns

　　點燈和賞燈

　　Lighting and appreciating lanterns is the main activity of the festival.

　　點亮和賞燈是元宵節(jié)的重要活動。

　　When the festival comes, lanterns of various shapes and sizes are seen everywhere including households, shopping malls, parks, and streets, attracting numerous viewers. Children may hold small lanterns while walking the streets.

　　當元宵節(jié)來臨時，各種形狀和大小的燈籠在住戶、商場、公園、街道隨處可見，吸引了無數(shù)看客。孩子們也會提著小燈籠走上街頭。

　　The lanterns' artwork vividly demonstrates traditional Chinese images and symbols such as fruits, flowers, birds, animals, people, and buildings.

　　燈籠藝術品生動地展示了中國的傳統(tǒng)形象和象征，如水果、花、鳥、動物、人、建筑等。

　　In the Taiwanese dialect, the Chinese word for lantern (燈 dēng) is pronounced similarly to (丁 dīng), which means 'a new-born baby boy'. Therefore lighting lanterns there means illuminating the future and giving birth.

　　在臺灣方言中，漢字燈的發(fā)音類似丁，意味著新生男嬰。因此，在中國臺灣點花燈有照亮未來和孕育新生命之意。

　　Lighting lanterns is a way for people to pray that they will have smooth futures and express their best wishes for their families. Women who want to be pregnant would walk under a hanging lantern praying for a child.

　　人們通過點燈祈求未來一帆風順，表達對家人的美好祝愿。想要懷寶寶的婦女會在懸掛的花燈下求子。

　　2. Guessing Lantern Riddles

　　猜燈謎

　　Lantern owners write riddles on paper notes and pasted them upon the colorful lanterns. People crowd round to guess the riddles. Guessing (solving) lantern riddles, starting in the Song Dynasty (960–1279), is one of the most important and popular activities of the Lantern Festival.

　　花燈主人會將謎語寫在紙上，并貼在五顏六色的花燈上。人們聚集在花燈周圍猜謎。猜燈謎這項傳統(tǒng)始于宋代(960–1279)，是元宵節(jié)最重要且最受歡迎的活動之一。

　　If someone thinks they have the right answer, they can pull the riddle off and go to the lantern owner to check their answer. If the answer is right, there is usually a small gift as a prize.

　　如果有人覺得自己猜中了，就可以把謎面揭下來，向花燈主人求證。答對了的話，通常會得到一個小禮物作為獎勵。

　　As riddle guessing is interesting and informative, it has become popular among all social strata.

　　猜燈謎由于寓教于樂而受到各個社會階層的喜愛。

　　3. Lion Dances

　　舞獅

　　The lion dance is one of the most outstanding traditional folk dances in China. It can be dated back to the Three Kingdoms Period (220–280).

　　舞獅是中國最廣為流傳的傳統(tǒng)民間舞蹈之一。這一習俗起源于三國時期(220-280)。

　　Ancient people regarded the lion as a symbol of bravery and strength, and thought that it could drive away evil and protect people and their livestock. Therefore, lion dances are performed at important events, especially the Lantern Festival, to ward off evil and pray for good fortune and safety.

　　古人認為獅子象征著勇敢和力量，認為它能驅(qū)鬼、保平安。因此，人們常常在重大場合進行舞獅表演，特別是在元宵節(jié)，以驅(qū)邪避鬼、祈求好運平安。

　　The lion dance requires two highly-trained performers in a lion suit. One acts as the head and forelegs, and the other the back and rear legs. Under the guidance of a choreographer, the "lion" dances to the beat of a drum, gong, and cymbals. Sometimes they jump, roll, and do difficult acts such as walking on stilts.

　　舞獅需要兩名訓練有素的表演者裝扮成獅子的樣子。一人扮演獅子的頭和前腿，一人扮演獅子的后身和后腿。在引獅郎的指引下，獅子跟隨鼓、鑼、镲的節(jié)奏舞動。他們或跳或滾，還會做踩高蹺等高難度動作。

　　In one lion dance, the "lion" moves from place to place looking for some green vegetables, in which red envelopes with money inside are hidden. The acting is very amusing and spectators enjoy it very much.

　　在舞獅表演中，獅子到處尋找綠色蔬菜，里面藏著帶錢的紅包。表演非常有趣，觀眾很喜歡。

　　Nowadays, the lion dance has spread to many other countries with overseas Chinese, and it is quite popular in countries like Malaysia and Singapore. In many Chinese communities of Europe and America, Chinese people use lion dances or dragon dances to celebrate every Spring Festival and other important events.

　　如今，舞獅已經(jīng)傳到了很多有海外華人的國家，在馬來西亞、新加坡等國家也很流行。在歐洲和美國的許多華人社區(qū)，中國人通過舞獅或舞龍來慶祝春節(jié)及其他重要節(jié)日。

　　4. Eating Tangyuan (Yuanxiao)

　　吃湯圓(元宵)

　　Eating tangyuan (Yuanxiao) is an important custom of the Lantern Festival.

　　吃湯圓(元宵)是元宵節(jié)的重要傳統(tǒng)。

　　These ball-shaped dumplings are made of glutinous rice flour and are stuffed with different fillings such as white sugar, brown sugar, sesame seeds, peanuts, walnuts, rose petals, bean paste, and jujube paste or a combination of ingredients. They are usually sweet.

　　這些球形餃子由糯米粉做成，里面塞上白糖、紅糖、芝麻、花生、核桃、玫瑰花、綠豆泥、棗泥等餡，或是各種餡摻雜在一塊。元宵通常是甜的。

　　Yuanxiao can be boiled, fried, or steamed, and are customarily served in fermented rice soup, called tianjiu (甜酒 tián jiǔ /tyen-jyoh/ 'sweet liquor').

　　元宵可以水煮、油炸或清蒸，通常會伴上酒釀(也叫甜酒)作湯。

　　As tangyuan is pronounced similarly to tuanyuan (團圓 /twan-ywen/ 'group round'), which means the whole family gathering together happily, Chinese people believe that the round shape of the balls and their bowls symbolize wholeness and togetherness.

　　由于湯圓和團圓諧音，所以湯圓也意味著闔家歡聚，中國人認為這種食物和碗的圓形象征著完整和團圓。

　　Therefore, eating tangyuan on the Lantern Festival is a way for Chinese people to express their best wishes for their family and their future lives.

　　所以，在元宵節(jié)吃湯圓/元宵是中國人表達對家庭和未來生活美好祝愿的一種方式。

　　It is believed that the custom of eating tangyuan originated during the Song Dynasty, and became popular during the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1911) periods.

　　吃湯圓/元宵這一習俗起源于宋代，流行于明代(1368–1644)和清代(1644–1911)。

　　關于元宵節(jié)的小知識大家都get了嗎?最后，祝大家，元宵節(jié)快樂!

　　Happy Lantern Festival!