LanternFestival演講介紹.doc

1Lantern Festival falls on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. This is the first full moon of the new year, symbolizing unity and perfection. Lantern Festival is an important part of Spring Festival , and marks the official end of the long holiday. The Lantern Festival falls on the 15th day of the 1st lunar month, usually in February or March in the Gregorian calendar. As early as the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 25), it had become a festival with great significance.There are many legends concerning the origins of Lantern Festival.元宵節(jié)是農(nóng)歷正月的第十五天，這是新年的第一次滿月，象征著和睦和團(tuán)圓。元宵節(jié)是春節(jié)的一個(gè)重要組成部分，也象征著春節(jié)長假的正式結(jié)束。每年農(nóng)歷的正月十五日，春節(jié)剛過，迎來的就是中國的傳統(tǒng)節(jié)日-元宵節(jié)關(guān)于元宵節(jié)的來歷有很多傳說。2According to one legend, once in ancient times, a celestial swan came into the mortal world where it was shot down by a hunter. The Jade Emperor, the highest god in Heaven, vowed to avenge the swan. He started making plans to send a troop of celestial soldiers and generals to Earth on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, with orders to incinerate all humans and animals. But the other celestial beings disagreed with this course of action, and risked their lives to warn the people of Earth. As a result, before and after the fifteenth day of the first month, every family hung red lanterns outside their doors and set off firecrackers and fireworks, giving the impression that their homes were already burning. By successfully tricking the Jade Emperor in this way, humanity was saved from extermination.有一個(gè)傳說是這樣的，在古代，有一位神界天鵝闖入人間被獵手誤殺。天界最高的神玉皇大帝因此發(fā)誓為這只天鵝報(bào)仇。他開始制定計(jì)劃，派出一支天兵天將于農(nóng)歷正月十五來到人間，命令他們火燒所有的人和動(dòng)物。但是其他神仙并不贊同這一計(jì)劃，他們冒著生命危險(xiǎn)提醒人間的人們。結(jié)果，在正月十五這一天前后，每一個(gè)家庭在門外掛起燈籠，并燃放煙花爆竹，給天兵天將造成各家各戶起火的假象。通過這種方式，人們成功騙過了玉皇大帝，人類也因此逃過滅絕的危險(xiǎn)。3According to another legend, during the time of Emperor Han Wudi of the Han Dynasty , a palace woman named Yuanxiao was prevented from carrying out her filial duty of visiting her parents on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Distraught, she said she would kill herself by jumping into a well. In order to help Yuanxiao fulfill her duty as a filial daughter, the scholar Dongfang Shuo came up with a scheme. He told Emperor Han Wudi that the Jade Emperor, the highest god in Heaven, had ordered the Fire God to burn down the capital city of Changan on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month. Anxious to find a way to save his city, the emperor asked Dongfang Shuo what he should do. Dongfang Shuo replied that the Fire God loved red lanterns more than anything. He advised that the streets be hung with red lanterns, and the emperor, empress, concubines, and court officials come out of the palace to see them. In this way, the Fire God would be distracted and disaster averted. The emperor followed Dongfang Shuos advice, and while everyone was out viewing the lanterns, Yuanxiao was able to sneak out of the palace and be reunited with her parents.另外一個(gè)傳說發(fā)生在漢武帝時(shí)期。一位名叫元宵的宮女因身處深宮，沒法在正月十五與父母團(tuán)聚盡孝。為此，她欲跳井自盡。為了幫助元宵姑娘為父母盡孝，智者東方朔想出了一個(gè)計(jì)劃。他告訴漢武帝，天界最高的神玉皇大帝下令在正月十六火燒長安都。為了拯救長安城，漢武帝問東方朔該怎么辦。東方朔回答說火神最愛大紅燈籠。他建議在街道上懸掛大紅燈籠，皇帝、皇后、六宮嬪妃和朝廷大臣都要外出觀賞燈籠。這樣，火神的注意力就會(huì)被分散，災(zāi)難也就可以避免了?；实鄄杉{了東方朔的建議，當(dāng)所有人都外出賞燈時(shí)，元宵得以有機(jī)會(huì)溜出皇宮，和家人團(tuán)圓。4Although the above stories are quite fantastical, it is sure that the origins of Lantern Festival are related to ancient humanitys use of fire to celebrate festivals and avert disaster. Since Lantern Festival involves making offerings to the deities and is celebrated at night, it is natural that fire would play an important role. Over time, Lantern Festival gradually evolved into its present form. When Buddhism was introduced to China during the Eastern Han Dynasty , the emperor decreed that on the night of the full moon of the first lunar month, lanterns should be lit to honor Buddha, adding yet another level of significance to Lantern Festival. And according to Daoism, Lantern Festival is associated with the primordial deities of Heaven and Fire, who were born on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.雖然上述的傳說很神奇，但可以確定的是元宵節(jié)的起源必定跟古代人們使用火來慶祝節(jié)日、躲避災(zāi)難有關(guān)。元宵節(jié)活動(dòng)包括逃避邪神，且是在晚上慶祝，所以很自然地，火就扮演了很重要的角色。隨著時(shí)間的流逝，元宵節(jié)逐漸演變?yōu)榻裉斓男问?。東漢時(shí)期，佛教傳入中國，皇帝下令，在正月第一個(gè)滿月的晚上，必須點(diǎn)亮燈籠敬佛，這也使元宵節(jié)更增添了一份意義。而在道教里，元宵節(jié)是與掌管天界和火的元神緊密相連的，因?yàn)樗麄兙驼Q生在正月十五。5 This days important activity is watching lanterns. Throughout the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), Buddhism flourished in China. One emperor heard that Buddhist monks would watch sarira, or remains from the cremation of Buddhas body, and light lanterns to worship Buddha on the 15th day of the 1st lunar month, so he ordered to light lanterns 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 from the Central Plains to the whole of China.元宵主要的活動(dòng)就是看燈。東漢明帝時(shí)期，明帝提倡佛教，聽說佛教有正月十五日僧人觀佛舍利，點(diǎn)燈敬佛的做法，就命令這一天夜晚在皇宮和寺廟里點(diǎn)燈敬佛，令士族庶民都掛燈。以后這種佛教禮儀節(jié)日逐漸形成民間盛大的節(jié)日。該節(jié)經(jīng)歷了由宮廷到民間，由中原到全國的發(fā)展過程。 Till today, the lantern festival is still held each year around the country. Lanterns of various shapes and sizes are hung in the streets, attracting countless visitors. Children will hold self-made or bought lanterns to stroll with on the streets, extremely excited. Guessing lantern riddlesis an essential part of the Festival.直到今天，元宵點(diǎn)燈的習(xí)俗仍然在中國的各地流傳的，各式各樣美麗的花燈在這一天都會(huì)點(diǎn)亮，孩子們提著自制的燈籠走街串巷，非常高興。6 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 peoples 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(jié)的一項(xiàng)重要活動(dòng)，花燈的主人會(huì)將謎面寫在燈籠上，掛在門口，如果有人可以猜中，就能得到小小的禮物。這項(xiàng)活動(dòng)最早起源于宋朝，因?yàn)橹i語能啟迪智慧又饒有興趣，所以流傳過程中深受社會(huì)各階層的歡迎。 People will eat yuanxiao, or rice dumplings, on this day, so it is also called the Yuanxiao Festival.Yuanxiao also has another name, tangyuan. It is small dumpling balls made of glutinous rice flour with rose petals, sesame, bean paste, jujube paste, walnut meat, dried fruit, sugar and edible oil as filling. Tangyuan can be boiled, fried or steamed. It tastes sweet and delicious. Whats more, tangyuan in Chinese has a similar pronunciation with tuanyuan”, meaning reunion. So people eat them to denote union, harmony and happiness for the family. 民間過元宵節(jié)吃元宵的習(xí)俗。元宵由糯米制成，或?qū)嵭?，或帶餡。餡有豆沙、白糖、山楂、各類果料等，食用時(shí)煮、煎、蒸、炸皆可。起初，人們把這種食物叫“浮圓子”，后來又叫“湯團(tuán)”或“湯圓”，這些名稱“團(tuán)圓”字音相近，取團(tuán)圓之意，象征全家人團(tuán)團(tuán)圓圓，和睦幸福，人們也以此懷念離別的親人,寄托了對未來生活的美好愿望。1 In the daytime of the Festival, per