东风夜放花千树，更吹落，星如雨。

正月十五，上元佳节，

盛一碗汤圆，与家人相伴，享一日悠闲，

欣赏中国传统文化的灿烂瑰丽，

感受冬日元宵佳节的美好。

 

元宵节在农历正月十五，通常是公历二月或三月，早在我国西汉时期（公元前206年——公元25年）就成为一个重要节日了。元宵节是农历正月的第十五天，这是新年的第一次满月，象征着和睦和团圆。元宵节是春节的一个重要组成部分，也象征着春节长假的正式结束。

The Lantern Festival falls on the 15th day of the 1^st  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. Lantern 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.

 

 

灯笼是元宵节最具特色的部分了。人们创作各种各样的灯笼，比如，孔明灯。元宵时节，人们会聚集在他们的院子里祭神。猜字谜是最好的休闲活动。舞狮也会在这一天进行。元宵节的传统食品是元宵。元宵节夜晚是家庭团聚之时。从庆祝活动中休息下来，与爱的人放松一下，吃一碗汤圆，观看各种烟花秀。

Lanterns are the most notable part of the festival. Countless variations of lanterns have been created, such as the Kongming lantern. People would gather in their yards and give offerings to the gods. Plays on words and riddles were a favorite pastime. Lion dances also take place. The trademark food of the Lantern Festival is called Tangyuan. The Lantern Festival is also a night for families. Take a break from celebrations, relax with your love ones...and enjoy firework shows with a bowl of Tangyuan.

 

一、赏花灯

Viewing lanterns

 

 

在元宵节之夜，天上明月高照，地上彩灯万盏。在元宵节前许多天，人们就开始忙着用油纸、绸布、竹子和花朵等材料制作各式各样的灯笼,或者到热闹的灯市上挑选自己喜爱的灯笼。

On the Lantern Festival night, the moon illuminates the dark sky while many lanterns shine bright colors on the earth. A few days before the lantern festival, people begin gathering oiled paper, silk cloths, bamboo sticks and flower to make all types of lanterns.Some people go to the lively streets to pick a personal favorite.

 

元宵节也是一个浪漫的节日。在封建社会时，年轻女孩不允许出外自由活动。但在元宵节晚上，她们却可以结伴出游观赏花灯。未婚男女也常借着赏花灯与情人相会。另外，猜灯谜也让年轻人彼此互动，进一步地了解对方。几千年来，元宵佳节上演了许多爱情故事。

The Lantern Festival is also a romantic holiday. In feudal society, young girls were not allowed to go out freely. But on the night of the Lantern Festival, they were allowed to view the lantern lights in groups. Sometimes couples would go on dates strolling down the streets lit with lantern lights. Another activity, guessing the answers to lantern riddles, gives young people a chance to interact with each other and know more about each other. For thousands of years, there have been numerous love stories originating during the Lantern Festival.

 

 

南宋词人辛弃疾《青玉案·元夕》中就有一句描写元宵节浪漫邂逅的名句：

众里寻他千百度，

蓦然回首，

那人却在，

灯火阑珊处。

But in the crowd once and again

I look for her in vain.

When all at once I turn my head,

I find her there where lantern light is dimly shed.

（许渊冲译）

 

 

二、猜灯谜

Guessing lantern riddles

 

 

“猜灯谜”是节日的核心部分。灯笼的主人会将谜语写在一张纸条上并贴在灯笼上。如果游客能解开灯谜，他们就能将纸条拿下来去灯笼的主人那看答案是否正确。如果答案是对的，他们将会得到一份小礼物。

“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.

 

 

这项活动最早在宋朝（公元960-1279）出现，当人们在赏灯的时候开始。由于猜灯谜极具趣味性，又需要动脑筋，所以后来在全社会各阶层中受到普遍欢迎。

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.

【猜灯谜小游戏】

 

 

上元佳节猜字谜，虎年必大吉！

Riddle 1：What kind of dog doesn’t bite or bark?  ---HOTDOG

Riddle 2:  What letter is a drink？---T-TEA

Riddle 3 : 次子---元

Riddle 4: 三行横飞雁，一叶小扁舟---巡

 

 

三、吃元宵

Eating Yuanxiao

 

元宵是元宵节的特色食品。据说，元宵是因汉武帝时期的一位名叫元宵的宫女而得名。元宵是一种带馅儿的甜食，是由糯米粉加上甜的馅料制成。元宵节就是因此食品得名。元宵的烹制方法非常简单，将元宵倒入装满沸水的锅中煮几分钟就可以了。

Yuanxiao is the special food for the Lantern Festival. It is believed that Yuanxiao is named after a palace maid, Yuanxiao, of Emperor Wu Di of the Han Dynasty. Yuanxiao is a kind of sweet dumpling, which is made with sticky rice flour filled with sweet stuffing. And the Festival is named after the famous dumpling. It is very easy to cook, simply dump them in a pot of boiling water for a few minutes, and eaten as a desert.

 

 

民间过元宵节有吃元宵的习俗。元宵由糯米制成，或实心，或带馅。馅有豆沙、白糖、山楂、各类果料等，食用时煮、煎、蒸、炸皆可。起初，人们把这种食物叫“浮圆子”，后来又叫“汤团”或“汤圆”，这些名称“团圆”字音相近，取团圆之意，象征全家人团团圆圆，和睦幸福，人们也以此怀念离别的亲人,寄托了对未来生活的美好愿望。

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. What’s 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.

 

我们常说的汤圆（Tang Yuan：glutinous rice ball/ boiled rice dumpling）和元宵（Yuanxiao：rice glue ball/ sweet dumpling）并不是一个物种。在北方，这群圆滚滚的小胖子被称为元宵，在南方则是汤圆。

这两种食物到底哪里不一样呢？

Ø 元宵（Yuanxiao）

 

 

北方“滚”元宵，一般只用素的固体甜馅料，将馅料切成小块，蘸上水，在盛满糯米面的筐箩内滚，一边滚一边洒水，使其自然沾满糯米面滚成圆球。

Yuanxiao is rolled in the north. They always use sweet and solid fillings without meat, cutting the fillings into chunk wetted with some water, and then placing them into the basket filled with glutinous rice flour, and continuously sprinkling water on the rick flour until glutinous rice balls are formed with the fillings at the heart.

汤圆（Tangyuan）

  

 

南方“包”汤圆。一般将糯米面和好，像包饺子一样将馅包入再团圆，馅料有素有荤。

Tangyuan is made in the south as ”wrapping up”.  The glutinous rice flour is kneaded into a ball after the fillings either with or without meat is wrapped into the dough like dumplings。

大家都喜欢吃哪一种馅的汤圆呢？评论区留言互动一下吧！

 

 

 

元宵灯彩，

映照着人间的烟火与团圆。

今夜良宵，全家团聚，尽享天伦。

愿天长地久，

花好月圆！

 

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