Chinese festival中国传统佳节英文介绍_英文介绍中国传统
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Chinese Valentine's Day（七巧节）
Raise your head on August 19 and gaze at the stars, you will find something romantic going on in the sky.VALENTINE'S Day in China, the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, falls on August 19 this year.That is, on Sunday evening, Niu Lang and Zhi Nu will meet on a bridge of magpies（鹊桥）acro the Milky Way（银河）.Chinese grannies will remind children that they would not be able to see any magpies on that evening because all the magpies have left to form a bridge in the heavens with their wings.Chinese ceremonies
The seventh day of the seventh lunar month is the only Chinese festival devoted to love in the Lunar calendar.Unlike St.Valentine's Day in Western countries there is not so much emphasis on giving chocolates, flowers and kies.Instead, Chinese girls prepare fruits, melons and incense（熏香）as offerings to Zhi Nu, the weaving maiden, praying to acquire high skills in needlecraft（裁缝）, as well as hoping to find satisfactory husbands.In the evening, people sit outdoors to observe the stars.Chinese grannies would say that, if you stand under a grapevine, you can probably overhear what Zhi Nu and Niu Lang are talking about.Hungry Ghost Festival（中元节）The 14th and 15th of the seventh lunar month Unlike other celebrations of the dead in Eastern cultures that seek to honor dead ancestors, the Hungry Ghost Festival seeks to pacify the hungry ghosts, the ghosts of strangers and the un-cared-for dead.These are the ghosts of those who died by their own hands, by accidents, by drowning or hanging who have been denied entry into heaven.Angry because they are forced to dwell in hell without food or comfort, when released, they search for souls to take their place in misery.The most important days of this month are the 14th and 15th, the days of the great feasts.On the 14th, a great feast would be held to honor family ancestors.Prayers and offerings would be made at family altars.On the following night, the 15th, they would feast for the hungry ghosts.Held outside under the full moon, these feasts feed the evil spirits so that they will leave the living alone and bribe（贿赂）the ancestors for luck with money and the harvest.Chong Yang Festival重阳节
The 9th day of September in the lunar calendar is “the Chinese Chong Yang Festival” and a happy occasion in autumn.According to the traditional theory of “Yin” and “Yang”, both the 9th month and the 9th day of the month belong to “Yang”, which means positive and masculine, and “Chong” means double, thus it is called “Chong Yang”.People often gather for a party, appreciate chrysanthemums, pin the leaves of Cornus on clothes.And the custom of climbing mountains and eating a special cake also features the day.In the golden September, chrysanthemum blooms, reminding people of the folktale.And later a special cake with dates, chestnuts and meat was made to add more festivity to the special day.Winter solstice（冬至）
Winter solstice is a very important solar term in Chinese Lunar calendar.Being a traditional holiday as well, it is still now celebrated quite often in many regions.Early during the Spring and Autumn period, 2500 odd years from now, Winter solsticewas first determined as the Chinese traditional solar term among the total 24 terms.In Gregorian calendar, it is around Dec 22nd or 23rd.Ancient china did pay great attention to this holiday, regarding it as a big event.There was the saying that “Winter solstice holiday is greater than the spring festival”.Nowadays, many regions still celebrate it as a big holiday.Northerners may have dumplings and raviolis that day while southerners may have dumplings made by rice and long noodles.Some places even have the tradition to offer sacrifices to the heaven and earth.Spring Festival（春节）
The New Moon on the first day of the new year--the full moon 15 days later Chinese New Year starts with the New Moon（新月）on the first day of the new year and ends on the full moon（满月）15 days later.The 15th day of the new year is called the Lantern Festival（元宵节）, which is celebrated at night with lantern displays and children carrying lanterns in a parade.The Origin of Chinese New Year The Chinese New Year is now popularly known as the Spring Festival because it starts from the Begining of Spring(the first of the twenty-four terms in coodination with the changes of Nature).Its origin is too old to be traced.Several explanations are hanging around.All agree, however, that the word Nian, which in modern Chinese solely means “year”, was originally the name of a monster beast that started to prey on people the night before the beginning of a new year.Traditional New Year Foods Probably more food is consumed during the New Year celebrations than any other time of the year.Vast amounts of traditional food is prepared for family and friends, as well as those close to us who have died.On New Year's Day, the Chinese family will eat a vegetarian dish called jai.Although the various ingredients in jai are root vegetables or fibrous vegetables, many people attribute various superstitious aspects to them.Other foods include a whole fish, to represent togetherne and abundance, and a chicken for prosperity.The chicken must be presented with a head, tail and feet to symbolize completene.Noodles should be uncut, as they represent long life.In south China, the favorite and most typical dishes were nian gao, sweet steamed glutinous rice（糯米）pudding and zong zi(glutinous rice wrapped up in reed（芦苇）leaves), another popular delicacy.In the north, steamed-wheat bread(man tou)and small meat dumplings were the preferred food.The tremendous amount of food prepared at this time was meant to symbolize abundance and wealth for the household.Lantern Festival元宵
The 15th day of the 1st lunar month is the Chinese Lantern Festival because the first lunar month is called yuan-month and in the ancient times people called night Xiao.The 15th day is the first night to see a full moon.So the day is also called Yuan Xiao Festival in China.According to the Chinese tradition, at the very beginning of a new year, when there is a bright full moon hanging in the sky, there should be thousands of colorful lanterns hung out for people to appreciate.At this time, people will try to solve the puzzles on the lanterns and eat yuanxiao(glutinous rice ball)and get all their families united in the joyful atmosphere.Besides entertainment and beautiful lanterns, another important part of the Lantern Festival,or Yuanxiao Festival is eating small dumpling balls made of glutinous rice flour.We call these balls Yuanxiao or Tangyuan.Obviously, they get the name from the festival itself.It is said that the custom of eating Yuanxiao originated during the Eastern Jin Dynasty in the fourth centuty, then became popular during the Tang and Song periods.The fillings inside the dumplings or Yuansiao are either sweet or salty.Sweet fillings are made of sugar, Walnuts（胡桃）, sesame, osmanthus flowers（桂花）, rose petals, sweetened tangerine peel, bean paste, or jujube paste（枣泥）.A single ingredient or any combination can be used as the filling.The salty variety is filled with minced meat, vegetables or a mixture.The way to make Yuanxiao also varies between northern and southern China.The usual method followed in southern provinces is to shape the dough of rice flour into balls, make a hole, insert the filling, then close the hole and smooth out the dumpling by rolling it between your hands.In North China, sweet or nonmeat stuffing is the usual ingredient.The fillings are preed into hardened cores, dipped lightly in water and rolled in a flat basket containing dry glutinous rice flour.A layer of the flour sticks to the filling, which is then again dipped in water and rolled a second time in the rice flour.And so it goes, like rolling a snowball, until the dumpling is the desired size.The custom of eating Yuanxiao dumplings remains.This tradition encourages both old and new stores to promote their Yuanxiao products.They all try their best to improve the taste and quality of the dumplings to attract more customers.Qing Ming（Tomb Sweeping Day）
Celebrated two weeks after the vernal equinox, Tomb Sweeping Day is one of the few traditional Chinese holidays that follows the solar calendar--typically falling on April 4, 5, or 6.Its Chinese name “Qing Ming” literally means “Clear Brightne,” hinting at its importance as a celebration of Spring.Similar to the spring festivals of other cultures, Tomb Sweeping Day celebrates the rebirth of nature, while marking the beginning of the planting season and other outdoor activities.The Tomb Sweeping Day as Celebrated Today With the paing of time, this celebration of life became a day to the honor past ancestors.Following folk religion, the Chinese believed that the spirits of deceased ancestors looked after the family.Sacrifices of food and spirit money could keep them happy, and the family would prosper through good harvests and more children.Today, Chinese visit their family graves to tend to any underbrush that has grown.Weeds are pulled, and dirt swept away, and the family will set out offerings of food and spirit money.Unlike the sacrifices at a family's home altar, the offerings at the tomb usually consist of dry, bland food.One theory is that since any number of ghosts rome around a grave area, the le appealing food will be consumed by the ancestors, and not be plundered by strangers.Duan Wu Festival The 5th day of the 5th month of the lunar year is an important day for the Chinese people.The day is called Duan Wu Festival, or Dragon Boat Festival, celebrated everywhere in China.The customs vary a lot in different areas of the country, but most of the families would hang the picture of Zhong Kui(a ghost that can exorcise), calamus and moxa in their houses.People have Dragon Boat Races, eat Zong Zi(dumpling made of glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves)and carry a spice bag around with them.Dragon Boat Race The main event of the festivities is the Dragon Boat Race.These boats are long and thin with dragon heads on the bow of the ships.The boat races are said to represent the search for Qu's body, with racing boats in a forward rowing motion, to the rhythm of beating drums.The Culture of Zongzi Qu Yuan drowned on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month in 277 BC.Since ancient times, Chinese people threw into the water dumpling made of glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves on the day.Therefore the fish would eat the rice rather than the hero poet.This later on turned into the custom of eating Zong Zi.Realgar Wine It is a very popular practice to drink this kind of Chinese liquor seasoned with realgar at the Dragon Boat Festival.This is for protection from evil and disease for the rest of the year.
