中國傳統文化 第18期:春節

The Spring Festival

春節

Far and away the most important holiday in China is the Spring Festival,also known as the Chinese New Year.

很久以來，中國最盛大的節日就是春節，也就是中國年。

To the Chinese people it is as important as Christmas to people in the West.

這一節日對中國人來說就像聖誕節對西方人一樣重要。

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.

節日以中國農曆而不是公曆確定的，因此春節可能是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.

一般說來春節真正開始於新年除夕而於正月十五結束。

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，也叫元宵節，也是我國大部分地區正式結束春節的那一天。

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.

新年準備始於舊年最後一月的幾天,此時通常是房子也打掃過，欠的債也清了，理髮並買了新衣服。

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.

房子也裝飾上了祝福吉祥做春聯，於是人們在家或廟宇焚上香叩拜先人或祈求諸神保佑家人來年身體健康。

“Guo Nian，”which means“passing the year,”is the common term among the Chinese people for celebrating the Spring actually means greeting the new year.

“過年”，又叫“過年關”，是中國人慶賀春節時互相道賀的語言。

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.

在新舊年交替的半夜吋分，人們便燃放鞭炮以驅除邪惡，迎接新年的到來。

In an instant the whole city would be engulfed in the deafening noise of the firecrackers.

瞬間，整座城市便被震耳欲聾的鞭炮聲包圍。

On New Year’s Eve,all the members of families come together to feast.

除夕之夜，家裏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.

通常北方人吃餃子，而南方人則吃美味可口的年糕。