中国不同节日的风俗（英文）

Question

中国不同节日的风俗（英文）

Answer 1

鑺侟br/>The joyous Mid-Autumn Festival,the third and last festival for the living,was celebrated on the fifteenth day of the eighth moon,around the time of the autumn equinox.Many referred to it simply as the "Fifteenth of the Eighth Moon".In the Western calar,the day of the festival usually occurred sometime between the second week of September and the second week ofOctober.
This day was also considered a harvest festival since fruits,vegetables and grain had been harvested by this time and food was abundant.With delinquent accounts settled prior to the festival ,it was a time for relaxation and celebration.Food offerings were placed on an altar set up in the courtyard.Apples,pears,peaches,grapes,pomegranates ,melons,oranges and pomelos might be seen.Special foods for the festival included moon cakes,cooked taro,edible snails from the taro patches or rice paddies cooked with sweet basil,and water caltrope,a type of water chestnut resembling black buffalo horns.Some people insisted that cooked taro be included because at the time of creation,taro was the first food discovered at night in the moonlight.Of all these foods,it could not be omitted from the Mid-Autumn Festival.
The round moon cakes,measuring about three inches in diameter and one and a half inches in thickness,resembled Western fruitcakes in taste and consistency.These cakes were made with melon seeds,lotus seeds,almonds,minced meats,bean paste,orange peels and lard.A golden yolk from a salted duck egg was placed at the center of each cake,and the golden brown crust was decorated with symbols of the festival.Traditionally,thirteen moon cakes were piled in a pyramid to symbolize the thirteen moons of a "complete year," that is,twelve moons plus one intercalary moon.
Moon Cakes
There is this story about the moon-cake.during the Yuan dynasty (A.D.1280-1368) China was ruled by the Mongolian people.Leaders from the preceding Sung dynasty (A.D.960-1280) were unhappy at submitting to the foreign rule,and set how to coordinate the rebellion without being discovered.The leaders of the rebellion,knowing that the Moon Festival was drawing near,ordered the making of special cakes.Backed into each moon caked was a message with the outline of the attack.On the night of the Moon Festival,the rebels successfully attached and overthrew the government.Today,moon cakes are eaten to commemorate this leg and was called the Moon Cake.
For generations,moon cakes have been made with sweet fillings of nuts,mashed red beans,lotus-seed paste or Chinese dates,wrapped in a pastry.Sometimes a cooked egg yolk can be found in the middle of the rich tasting dessert.People compare moon cakes to the plum pudding and fruit cakes which are served in the English holiday seasons.
Nowadays,there are hundreds varieties of moon cakes on sale a month before the arrival of Moon Festival.
Different Celebrated Forms
For thousands of years,the Chinese people have related the vicissitudes of life to changes of the moon as it waxes and wanes; joy and sorrow,parting and reunion.Because the full moon is round and symbolizes reunion,the Mid-Autumn Festival is also known as the festival of reunion.All family members try to get together on this special day.Those who can not return home watch the bright moonlight and feel deep longing for their loved ones.
Today,festivities centered about the Mid-Autumn Festival are more varied.After a family reunion dinner,many people like to go out to att special perfomances in parks or on public squares.
People in different parts of China have different ways to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival.In Guangzhou in South China,a huge lantern show is a big attraction for local citizens.Thousands of differently shaped lanterns are lit,forming a fantastic contrast with the bright moonlight.
鏄ヨ妭
On the first day of the Spring Festival,many families make a sweet porridge of glutinous rice,millet,seeds of Job's tears,jujubes,lotus seeds,beans,longan and ginko,called 'laba'.'Laba' is used to worship the Buddha and is offered to relatives and neighbors.
December 23rd or 24th of the lunar calendar is 'preliminary eve',when people offer sacrifices to the kitchen god.The story goes that the kitchen god reports back to the Jade Emperor in the heavens on the family's behavior on this day,so in order to keep him quiet,the offer sacrifices to stuff his mouth full to keep him from talking or telling the Jade Emperor bad things about the family.If he makes a good report to the Emperor,the family will have a good harvest,good health,and good luck in the coming year.
On December 24th of the lunar calendar people often do 'spring cleaning',wiping and cleaning out everything in the house - clothes,bedclothes and utensils - in order to get rid of bad luck for the coming year.Debts are also settled on this day.
Shopkeepers are busy as everyone buys what they need for the New Year,such as oil,rice,flour,chicken,duck,fish,meat,fruit,candies and nuts.People also buy various decorations,new clothes and shoes for children and gifts for the elderly.
The day before the Spring Festival starts,people wake up and put on their new clothes,replace their door gods,Spring Festival couplets,and paper cuts.They also pay respects to their ancestors and household gods for the fortunes of future generations.In the evening the family dines together,eating chicken ('ji'),fish ('yu') and tofu ('doufu'),as the characters for 'ji','yu' and 'doufu' mean auspiciousness,abundance and richness.The young greet the elderly,and the elderly give the young money in red envelopes.After dinner people stay up late to greet the New Year.It is believed that the longer people stay up,the longer the elderly will live.The deafening sounds of firecrackers going off continue throughout the night.The first five days of January on the lunar calendar are the time when friends,relatives,classmates and colleagues exchange greetings and visit with each other.