关于元旦英语的资料

有关元旦的资料英语

在汉语各地语言中有不同叫法，有叫大年初一的，有叫大天初一的，有叫年初一的，一般又叫正月初一。下面整理了元旦的`英语资料，一起来看一下吧!

【元旦的由来传说】

In a legend about the prosperous era of Yao and Shun some 4000 years ago, when Yao was the king, he created many benefits for the people and was loved by them. However, since his son was not as capable as him, Yao did not pass on his throne to his son but to Shun, a wise and saintly man.

Yao said to Shun: "You must pass the throne to a right person. Then I will feel at peace when I die." Shun passed his throne to Yu, who was a hero because he could control flooding. Just like Shun, Yu also did a lot of good deeds for the people and was revered by them.

After Yao died, Shun set the day he made sacrifices to the heavens and gods, as well as to the late Yao, as the first day of the year, and the first day of the 1st lunar month became known as Yuan Dan or Yuan Zheng. This was Yuan Dan in ancient times.

Previous dynasties would organize celebrations and sacrifices on Yuan Dan, for example sacrificing to the immortals and their forefathers, writing Spring Festival scrolls, writing character fortunes and dragon dancing.

People also celebrated the day by making sacrifices to immortals and ancestors, pasting spring festival scrolls onto their houses, setting off firecrackers, staying up all night, eating dinners at reunions as well as putting on a "society fire".

These scenes are of such impact that the poet n Lan in the Jin Dynasty immortalised the scenes of Yuan Dan in his poem Yuan Zheng.

【元旦介绍】

From the above mentioned customs, we can see that there are especially many taboos during Chinese New Year. On Yuan Dan in particular, there are more taboos on speech and behaviour than those on other ordinary days. Similarly, there are more activities in pursuit of good cause than usual.

On probing the activities and taboos, we have no difficulty to understand that the theme behind is always related to fortune, wealth and goodness, and that people usually concern themselves with a good beginning for the year.

Some taboos may look superstitious on the surface, but they do produce efficacy. If we practise them circumspectively, they will yield practical results. For example, the prohibition of bad words, quarrel, weeping and crying, together with the emphasis on thinking positively even when things are broken, provide some normative rules for people to follow.

This gives people the opportunity to mend their ways, to develop good attitudes, and to form a habit of thinking positively and looking at the good side of things.

The prohibition of sweeping and disposing the rubbish in the first five days forces people to arrange their things and clear away the rubbish properly at the end of each year, so that no unwanted things will be carried forward to the new year.

At the same time, the taboo also compels people to learn to be thrifty. This is because to prevent accumulated things from becoming rubbish, people must be careful in the use of any paper or other things, and thus avoid waste of things.

The avoidance of medicine and sneeze on the first day looks like a joke and is absurd as far as the patient is concerned. However, because of the taboos, people will be conscious enough to take serious care of their health during the windy and snowing season. Thus, they will avoid falling sick in the New Year and wasting away the precious spring hours.

Nowadays, people have abandoned the custom of bringing along greeting cards when they go for New Year house visits. However, Chinese Malaysians still maintain the habit of sending New Year greeting cards by post before the New Year.

There are even non-Chinese sending New Year greeting cared in English or Malay languages to their Chinese friends. Moreover, the Chinese like to use colourful New Year cared to decorate their houses, so as to strengthen the New Year atmosphere.

Like the ancient days greeting cards for he zheng which were displayed in the main hall, these modern New Year cards also reflect the social position of the persons who receive the cards. Thus, in the way, the ancient rite of he zheng has developed in Malaysia with a Malaysian colour.

【元旦习俗】

1. Kaisui(beginning of the year): According to the Chinese traditional custom, starting from haishi(9p.m. to 11p.m.)of the last evening of the twelfth lunar month, each family must prepare offering s to deities at the altar. At the same time, they too prepare food for the New Year day: The whole family will then stay awake together to attend to the year(called shou sui).

After haishi, zishi(11p.m. to 1a.m.)will come, and this is the arrival of New Year(Yuandan). At this moment, people begin the celebration with fireworks. Vegetarian and sweet foods will then be placed are the altar for offerings, and incense be burned to welcome the deities.

In the ancient times, it was believed that haishi connected the two years and thus was called kaisui.

At the same night, some families will follow the instruction in Tongshu and place preparing altar in the direction of the "fortune deity" during the "fortune time" to receive the deity.

If the direction of the "fortune deity" is at the "ill position", people will choose to receive "happy deity" or "noble deity" instead.

2. There is an apparent difference in the custom of food taking on Yuandan between the Chinese in the northern and southern regions. The northern Chinese has the habit of taking jiao zi(dumpling made of flour with vegetable and meat wrapped inside). Some people may put a sweet or a coin inside jiao zi, hoping to have a sweet year after tasting the sweet and a wealthy year after tasting the coin.

on the other hand, the southern Chinese have the taboo for killing on Yuandan. Therefore, they do not take meat in tee morning of Yuandan, so as to avoid bloodshed or mutual slaughter.

In order to evade misfortune, they have the first meal of this day without meat. Instead, they take vegetarian food for the sake of virtue.

3. What is special during the New Year is that parents or elders will distribute red packets(ang pao or ya sui qian)to the children.

People in the ancient times were more particular in giving away the red packets: the distribution took place on the eve of New Year so that the kids could suppress the past year and enter the New Year. Ya sui has the meaning of overcoming the unpredictable future.

Representing the wishes for the healthy psychological growth of the children, ya sui qian symbolises the elders hope to see their children overcome all the unpredictable elements brought by the "year".

4. There is an extraordinary number of taboos on Yuandan. Each place has its own customs of taboo. Here, we will mention only a few common taboos in Fujian Province, Guangdong Province and Southeast Asia:

In the past, people commonly believed that fortune was hidden in the house. So, wsweeping of floor must be done in the direction moving inwards, and there was no clearance of rubbish at night.

Particularly on the New Tear day, in order to keep fortune from flowing out, there was no sweeping. Some families kept this taboo until the fifth or even the fifteenth day.

If anything was broken, the pieces were wrapped up in order not to let the fortune slip away and were disposed only the fifth day.

Yuandan(in more serious families, the period extends from the 1st to the 15th day) marks the new beginning. In the hope that New Year brings good beginning, people should utter neither unkind words nor vulgar language.

Making noises, fighting, quarreling and especially weeping are avoided to deter misfortune. There are even taboos of taking medicine and having sneeze, for it is believed that they can lead to sickness throughout the year.

Taboos of the past also concerned the use of knife and the breaking of things. If a thing was broken, the word "break" or any other word importing similar meaning was not used. Instead, words like "failing to the floor and blossoming like flowers" which delivered pleasant senses were used to suggest good connections.

On Yuandan, neither lending and nor giving of money to others is done so that there will be no out-flowing of money during the year.

There is also the saying that if a male sleeps in the afternoon, his career will breakdown, and if a female has an afternoon nap, the kitchen will collapse.

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