2018羊年新春到！我们一起来学学那些关于春节的英文表达
徐金亮
【关于春节，你必须知道的几件事】
Far and away the most important holiday in China is the Spring Festival,also known as the Chinese New Year.很久以来，中国最盛大的节日就是春节，也就是中国年。
To the Chinese people it is as important as Christmas to people in the West.这一节日对中国人来说就像圣诞节对西方人一样重要。
The dates for this annual celebration are determined by the lunar calendar rather than the Gregorian calendar,so the timing of the holiday varies from late January to early February.节日以中国农历而不是公历确定的，因此春节可能是1月底或2月初。
To the ordinary Chinese,the festival actually begins on the eve of the lunar New Year’s Day and ends on the fifth day of the first month of the lunar calendar.一般说来春节真正开始于新年除夕而于正月十五结束。
But the 15th of the first month,which normally is called the Lantern Festival,means the official end of the Spring Festival in many parts of the country.正月十五，也叫元宵节，也是我国大部分地区正式结束春节的那一天。
Preparations for the New Year begin in the last few days of the last moon，when houses are thoroughly cleaned,debts repaid, hair cut and new clothes purchased.新年准备始于旧年最后一月的几天,此时通常是房子也打扫过，欠的债也清了，理发并买了新衣服。 Houses are festooned with paper scrolls bearing auspicious antithetical couplet and in many homes,people burn incense at home and in the temples to pay respects to ancestors and ask the gods for good health in the coming months.房子也装饰上了祝福吉祥做春联，于是人们在家或庙宇焚上香叩拜先人或祈求诸神保佑家人来年身体健康。
“Guo Nian，”which means“paing the year,”is the common term among the Chinese people for celebrating the Spring Festival.It actually means greeting the new year.“过年”，又叫“过年关”，是中国人庆贺春节时互相道贺的语言。
At midnight at the turn of the old and new year, people used to let off fire-crackers which serve to drive away the evil spirits and to greet the arrival of the new year.在新旧年交替的半夜吋分，人们便燃放鞭炮以驱除邪恶，迎接新年的到来。
In an instant the whole city would be engulfed in the deafening noise of the firecrackers.瞬间，整座城市便被震耳欲聋的鞭炮声包围。
On New Year’s Eve,all the members of families come together to feast.除夕之夜，家里所有人聚在一起吃大餐。
Jiao-zi,a steamed dumpling,is popular in the north, while southerners favor a sticky sweet glutinous rice pudding called nian gao.通常北方人吃饺子，而南方人则吃美味可口的年糕。
Chinese Spring Festival, also called Lunar New Year, has more than 4,000 years of history.Being one of the traditional Chinese festivals, it is the grandest and the most important festival for Chinese people.It is also the time for the whole families to get together, which is similar with Christmas Day to the westerners.Originating during the Shang Dynasty (about 17th - 11th century BC), Spring Festival, which celebrates family reunion, is full of rich and colorful activities, and hopes with the advent of spring and flowers blooming.People from different regions and different ethnic groups celebrate it in their unique ways.中国的春节，也被称为农历新年，迄今已有四千多年的历史。对于中国人来说，这是规模最大，最重要的传统节日。就如同西方的圣诞节一样，春节是一家团聚的日子。春节起源于商朝（公元前11-17世纪），为了庆祝全家团圆和表达对春暖花开的期盼，节日期间会准备丰富多彩的活动。不同地区和不同少数民族人们会用自己独特的方式庆祝这一传统节日。 Festival Food节日美食
Food during this happy event has its characteristics, which is the representative of Chinese festival food culture.Dumplings and the reunion dinner are indispensable at this time.Cold and hot dishes are all served.Fish is always an important dish then, which exprees people’s hope of having a wealthy year.春节期间的食物也很有特色，代表着中国传统饮食文化，饺子和团圆饭是不可或缺的，冷盘热菜都得上，鱼也是春节一道重要的菜肴，它代表了人们年年有余的期望。 Legends 春节传说
There are many legends about Spring Festival in Chinese culture.In folk culture, it is also called “guonian” (meaning “paing a year”).It is said that the “nian” (year) was a strong monster which was fierce and cruel and ate one kind of animal including human being a day.Human beings were scared about it and had to hide on the evening when the “nian” came out.Later, people found that “nian” was very scared about the red color and fireworks.So after that, people use red color and fireworks or firecrackers to drive away “nian”.As a result, the custom of using red color and setting off fireworks remains.中国文化中有很多关于春节的传说。在传统文化中，春节亦被称为“过年”。传说“年”是一种凶猛异常的怪物，每天都会吃一种动物（包括人）。人们非常惧怕他，当“年”夜间出来活动时，人们会找地方躲起来。后来，人们发现“年”非常害怕红色和爆竹，于是，人们用红色和鞭炮来驱赶“年”。久而久之，春节用大红色和放鞭炮的习俗就保留了下来。
