正月是農歷的元月，古人稱夜為“宵”，所以稱正月十五為元宵節。元宵節又稱為“上元節”。按中國民間的傳統，在這天人們要點彩燈、猜燈謎、吃元宵。小伙伴們知道元宵節相關的英語表達嗎?一起來學習吧!

theLanternFestival元宵節

riceglueball元宵

glutinousrice糯米

lions/dragonsdancing舞龍/舞獅

guesslanternriddles猜燈謎

playcoupletsgame對對聯

enjoybeautifullanterns賞花燈

snuff燈花

exhibitoflanterns燈會

dragonlanterndancing耍龍燈

walkingonstilts踩高蹺

landboatdancing劃旱船

yangko/yanggedance扭秧歌

drumdance腰鼓舞

fireworksparty焰火大會

traditionalopera戲曲

varietyshow/vaudeville雜耍

LanternFestival'stemplefair元宵廟會

colored lanterns'templefair彩燈廟會

元宵節的意義

The Lantern Festival falls on the 15th day of the 1st lunar month. It is the first full moon of the new year, symbolizing unity and perfection.

元宵節在農歷第一個月的十五號，它是新的一年的第一次滿月，象征著團圓和美。

元宵節的起源

the Han Dynasty(206BC-220AD), Buddhism flourished all over China. One emperor heard that Buddhism monks would watch sarira , or remains from the cremation of Buddha's body , and light laterns to worship buddha on the 15th day of the 1st lunar month, so he ordered to light laterns in the imperial palace and temples to show respect to Buddha on this day. Later, the Buddhist rite developed into a grand festival among common people and its influence expanded form the Central Plains to the whole China.

東漢明帝時期，明帝提倡佛教，聽說佛教有正月十五日僧人觀舍利，點燈敬佛的做法，就命令這一天夜晚在皇宮和寺廟里點燈敬佛，令士族和庶民都掛燈。以后這種佛教禮儀節日逐漸演變為民間盛大的節日。元宵節經歷了由宮廷到民間，由中原到全國的發展過程。

元宵節的習俗

中國傳統的過年，一般要持續到元宵節，元宵節一過也象征過年的結束，人們就要恢復正常的生產和生活了。在元宵節期間，人們舉行各種民俗活動，賞月、觀花燈、猜燈謎、放煙花、舞龍燈、舞獅子、跑旱船、踩高蹺、扭秧歌，普天同慶，其樂融融。元宵節也成為中國諸多傳統節日當中最熱鬧的一個，可以稱為中國的“狂歡節”。

元宵習俗

guess the riddle 猜燈謎

play the dragon latern 耍龍燈

lion dance 舞獅子

a land boat dance 劃旱船

stilt walk 踩高蹺

yangko 扭秧歌

enjoy the beautiful laterns 賞花燈

set off fire works 放煙花

play couples game 對對聯

have tangyuan/yuanxiao 吃湯圓/元宵

元宵節常用英語

the Lantern Festival 元宵節

rice glue ball 元宵

glutinous rice 糯米

lions/dragons dancing 舞龍/舞獅

guess lantern riddles 猜燈謎

play couplets game 對對聯

enjoy beautiful lanterns 賞花燈

snuff 燈花

exhibit of lanterns 燈會

dragon lantern dancing 耍龍燈

walking on stilts 踩高蹺

land boat dancing 劃旱船

yangko/yangge dance 扭秧歌

beating drums while dancing 打太平鼓

drum dance 腰鼓舞

fireworks party 焰火大會

traditional opera 戲曲

variety show/vaudeville 雜耍

Lantern Festival's temple fair 元宵廟會

colored lanterns' temple fair 彩燈廟會

吃元宵

People will eat yuanxiao, or rice dumplings, on the Lantern Festival, so it is aslo called the “Yuanxiao Festival”, Yuanxiao also has another name, tangyuan. It is small dumpling balls made of glutionous rice with rose petals, sesame, bean paste, walnut meat, dried fruit, sugar and edible oil as filling. Tangyuan can be boiled, fried or steamed. It tastes sweet and has the meaning of reunion. So people eat them to denote union, harmony and happiness for the family.

民間過元宵節都會吃元宵。元宵由糯米制成，或實心，或帶餡，餡有豆沙、白糖、山楂、各類果料等。食用時煮、炸、蒸皆可。起初，人們把這種食物叫作“浮圓子”，后來又叫湯團或湯圓，這些名稱與“團圓”字音相近，取團圓之意，象征全家人團團圓圓和睦幸福。

猜燈謎

"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). As riddle guessing is interesting and full of wisdom, it has become popular among all social strata.

猜燈謎也是元宵節活動的一個基本組成部分。燈籠的所有者將謎語寫在一張紙條上，然后將紙條展示在燈籠上。如果賞燈者猜出謎語，就將紙條取出，然后找燈籠所有者確認答案。打對的話，他們就可以領取一份小禮品。這個活動起源于宋朝(960——1279)。猜燈謎活動極富情趣和智慧，因此在全社會廣受歡迎。