二月二龙抬头习俗的英文表达，传播中华传统文化

It's A Good Day For Haircut.

今日宜理发

今天是农历二月初二龙抬头，又叫“龙头节”（Dragon Heads-raising Day），民间传说里，龙会在这天苏醒，腾云驾雾，遨游九天，兴风布雨，降下甘霖，滋养世间良田，也护佑着一代代龙的传人。

Longtaitou Festival (simplified Chinese: 龙抬头; traditional Chinese: 龍抬頭; pinyin: lóng táitóu), also known as the Eryue'er Festival（二月二）, is a traditional Chinese festival held on the second day of the second month of the Chinese calendar. The festival is a reflection of the ancient agrarian Chinese culture. In the tradition of Chinese culture, the dragon is believed to be the king of all creatures and the ancestor for human being. It is also believed to be in charge of bringing rains, and both of these are important factors in ancient agricultural society. It is called 'Dragon rising its head' (Long Tai Tou, 龙抬头) because the dragon was traditionally regarded in China as the deity in charge of rain, an important factor in ancient agriculture. It is sometimes also simply called '2 Month 2', (Er Yue Er, 二月二) for short.

Today, Longtaitou Festival is celebrated in various ways, most of which are still identical to those practiced in the ancient times, including eating Chinese pancakes (春饼) and dragon beard noodles. Perfume bags filled with the powder of ground fragrant herbs are made to be carried by women and children for good fortune, though they are no longer used as insect repellent as in ancient times. Another ancient celebration still practiced today is that Longtaitou Festival is the first day of the Taihao (太昊) temple fair that lasts until the third day of the third month of the lunar calendar. The fair is a celebration of ancestral deities Fuxi and Nüwa, and the Longtaitou Festival marks the beginning of this celebration.

龙抬头

Having haircuts for good luck

民间流传“正月剪头死舅舅”的说法，很多人都不在正月光顾理发店，直到“二月二”才解禁。

正月不剃头源于“思旧”。正月一个月不剃头，以缅怀传统。“思旧”相沿既久，与“死舅”谐音，所以民间避讳。

Since it's a folk taboo in traditional Chinese culture to have haircut in Zheng Yue, the first lunar month, Dragon Head-raising Day is the first time in the new year to have a haircut.

据说，这一天理发，有两个原因：

一是因为可以赶走霉运

going to the barber today can get rid of bad luck.

二是因为一月剪头发会❌舅舅

getting a haircut during the first month of the lunar calendar cause your uncle to die.（虽然这只是迷信~）

go to the barber 理发

get a haircut 剪头发

lunar calendar 阴历

吃龙食

Eating ”dragon“ food

People eat toufu balls in East China's Fujian province during this festival.

在福建省，人们在这个节日期间吃豆腐球。

Traditional chengyao cakes are sold in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu province.

苏州当地人会买撑腰糕，因为当地人在这一天吃撑腰糕的传统。

People in parts of Shandong province eat fried beans to celebrate the festival.  

山东部分地区的人们吃炒豆来庆祝二月二。

There are also food with dragon names.

还有以龙命名的食物。

Dumplings, spring rolls and popcorn are all given dragon names.

饺子、春卷和爆米花都有龙的名字。

Noodles are called dragon's beard (long xu), dumpling are dragon's ears (long er), spring rolls are dragon's scales (long lin), and popcorn is called dragon seeds (long zi).

面条叫龙须，饺子叫龙耳，春卷叫龙鳞，爆米花叫龙子。

tip：

1.二月二吃的不是面条是“扶龙须”，寓意是：顺顺溜溜一整年being lucky the whole year.

2.据说，龙王为给民间降雨，触犯了天规被贬下界，玉帝规定：除非金豆开花，不然龙王别想回天庭。The God of Rain can't go back to heaven unless the golden beans bloom.所以就有了炸爆米花的传统，这样金色的豆子就开花了。