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春节 The Spring Festival 方华文 Fang Huawen 春节 农历正月初一是我国汉族以及其他一些少数民族最为隆重的传统节日——春节。自从汉武帝以来（公元前140年），中华民族一直都将春节视为最喜庆的日子。每逢大年初一，孩子们纷纷走上街头放鞭炮，就连大人们也高高兴兴地在爆竹声中辞旧迎新。北宋诗人王安石曾赋诗：“爆竹声中一岁除，春风送暖入屠苏。千门万户瞳瞳日，总把新桃换旧符。”他的诗生动地描绘了人们迎佳节时喜悦的气氛。 The first day of the first month in Chinese lunar calendar is Spring Festival, the most important traditional festival, celebrated by Han people and some ethnic minorities in China. Ever since the Emperor Wu’s Reign of Han Dynasty (140 BC) the festival has been regarded as the happiest day. When that day comes, children will set off firecrackers in streets. Even the adults like to bid farewell to the old year and usher in the new. Wang Anshi, a well-known poet of North Song Dynasty, wrote the following verses to vividly portray the joyful atmosphere in the celebration: Firecrackers are sending the old year away; People are toasting in warm spring breeze. All the families are bathed in bright sunlight; Old couplets are changed with new ones. 其实，春节还未来到，人们就忙碌了起来，各户全家老少齐上阵，粉墙的粉墙，洗被褥的洗被褥，准备“面貌一新迎新年”。有许多家庭还蒸豆沙包以及菜包子，不但自己受用，还招待亲朋好友。每一家都必须“年购”，贮存大量的美味食品在家中，否则一到春节就“惨”了，因为商店在节日期间会店门紧闭，老板及营业员们都回各自家中同亲人们一起过节了。 Actually, people start to be busy even before Spring Festival comes. They, old and young, whitewash walls and wash the streets, expecting to greet the new year with everything fresh and clean. Families prepare red bean buns and vegetable buns, not for themselves only, but also for visitors. They all go shopping and keep in storage a lot of delicious food in the home. Or they’ll have a “miserable” Spring Festival as shops are closed then, and the bosses and the assistants will go home to celebrate the festival with their dear ones. 春节 贴年画也是春节必不可少的一种活动。年画的内容非常丰富，有祝福招财的，如画一童子怀里抱着元宝，或者骑在大鲤鱼身上；也有除祸降福的，如在门板上贴的勇士像等。南朝的时候各家各户都在门上贴神荼、郁垒两兄弟的画像，传说他们能除妖伏怪，给人带来吉祥。到了唐朝，人们把自己最崇拜的秦叔宝、尉迟敬德两位大将的画像请到了门上。直至今日，我国的许多地区仍将这两位勇士敬若神明，每逢春节都张贴他们的像以增加吉祥的气氛。有相当一部分地区，特别是在乡村，喜欢把钟馗的画像帖于门首驱邪招福。钟馗一生刚正不阿，专门与恶鬼作对，死后玉皇大帝封他为“斩祟将军”，带领三千神兵天将捕鬼杀怪，在民间享有很高的声誉。 One of the necessary activities during the Spring Festival is to post pictures including the blessing and fortune making types, like a child holding a shoe-shaped gold ingot in his arms or riding on a huge carp, and also including the disaster dispelling or good-luck fetching types, like warrior pictures on the gates and so on. Shen Shu and Yu Lu were brothers who had the power to kill monsters and conquer ghosts as the legend told. So all the households liked to post their pictures on the gates for luck and happiness in Nan Dynasty. In Tang Dynasty, Qin Shubao and Yuchi Jinde were the two most respectable generals among people, and so their pictures were posted on the gates. Even today the generals are still worshiped as gods in many areas of China and their pictures are posted in Spring Festivals to bring auspicious air. In some districts, especially in rural areas, people post Zhong Kui’s pictures on gates to dispel evils and fetch good luck, as it is said, and was appointed “ghost-killer general” by God of all gods after his death, leading 3,000 immortal soldiers to kill monsters and ghosts, enjoying a high fame among people. 春节 旧岁的最后一天叫“大年三十”，因“除旧岁”而得名“除夕”。除夕之夜，全家人围坐在一起说闲话。在外地工作的亲人赶回来与家人团聚，大伙儿边聊边饮茶，同时还嗑瓜子、吃油炸馓子等小食品。现在的除夕之夜，从晚八时到夜里十二时，各家都以看春节联欢晚会为主要活动，边看边唠家常，其乐融融。许多家庭闲聊时还不忘包饺子，除过先吃一部分之外，其余的要留到大年初一吃。当然，春节可不是光吃点饺子就算完啦，好吃的东西多着呢，如糖糕、汤圆、枣馍等。孩子们一见好吃的应有尽有，就拼命地饱口福，吃坏肠胃的可大有人在。有的人家在除夕之夜便给小辈们发压岁钱，有的则等到初一再发。孩子们盼过年，其中有一个目的就是能拿到数目不小的压岁钱，差不多所有的孩子都可以发一笔小财。 The last day of the old year, Daniansanshi in Chinese, is called Farewell Day, as the old year is sent away this day. On the night of this day (Eve of lunar New Year), the family members sit together, chatting, sipping tea, cracking melon or sunflower seeds, eating fried dough twists and other snack foods. People, who work in other parts of the country, will come back to join their families. Their major activity on the eve now is to watch Spring Festival Galas, which usually last from 8 to 12 at night. While watching, chatting, they enjoy themselves very much. Many families make dumplings then, eating some, keeping the rest for the next day. Of course, people eat not only dumplings, but also varieties of refreshments in Spring Festival, such as candy cakes, sweet soup balls, jujube buns and so on. Children will eat as much as they can at sight of so many delicious things, and some will spoil their stomachs with too much eating. Money is handed out to the young as lucky gifts either on the eve or on New Year’s Day. It is one of the reasons that children long for Spring Festivals as they can make a small fortune out of the sizable sums of gift money which almost all children might get. （方华文 译） |
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