作为中华民族一大传统节日，元宵之夜，大街小巷都会张灯结彩，大家会赏灯、猜灯谜、吃汤圆……将从除夕开始延续的庆祝活动推向又一个高潮。今天，就和大伙聊聊，元宵节里几大世代相沿的风俗，用英语如何说！
元宵节常用词汇的英文说法
在元宵节到来之际，祝你平安，快乐，幸福。万事圆！
Wishing you peace, joy and happiness and everything all the best through Lantern !
致以热烈的祝贺和好的祝福，元宵节快乐！
Warm greetings and best wishes for Lantern Festival!
Eating Yuanxiao 吃元宵
People will eat yuanxiao, or rice dumplings, on the Lantern Festival, so it is aslo called the “Yuanxiao Festival”, Yuanxiao also has another name, tangyuan. It is small dumpling balls made of glutionous rice with rose petals, sesame, bean paste, walnut meat, dried fruit, sugar and edible oil as filling. Tangyuan can be boiled, fried or steamed. It tastes sweet and has the meaning of reunion. So people eat them to denote union, harmony and happiness for the family.
民间过元宵节都会吃元宵。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、炸、蒸皆可。起初，大家把这种食物叫作“浮圆子”，后来又叫汤团或汤圆，这类名字与“团圆”字音相近，取团圆之意，象征全家人团团圆圆和睦幸福。
Guessing lantern riddles 猜灯谜
Guessing lantern riddlesis 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. The activity emerged during people's enjoyment of lanterns in the Song Dynasty .
猜灯谜也是元宵节活动的一个基本组成部分。灯笼的所有者将谜语写在一张纸条上，然后将纸条展示在灯笼上。假如赏灯者猜出谜语，就将纸条取出，然后找灯笼所有者确认答案。答对的话，可以领取一份小礼物。这个活动起来自于宋朝。
Lion dance 舞狮子
Lion dance is one of the oldest traditions to celebrate the Chinese New Year. In ancient times, people regarded the lion as a symbol of bravery and strength and believed the dance could drive away bad fortune to protect people and their livestock. The custom has continued to the modern day and lion dances are performed at important events on the Chinese calendar, such as the Lantern Festival, to bring good luck.
舞狮子是另一项庆祝新春的古老风俗。在古时候，大家把狮子作为勇气和力量的象征，觉得舞狮可以消灾降福。所以舞狮子的传统就延续到今天，并且每逢佳节或庆典，如元宵节都会以舞狮子来祈求好运。
Dragon dance 舞龙灯
Dragon dance is a form of traditional dance and performance in Chinese culture. Like the lion dance it is most often seen in festival celebration. The dance is performed by a team of dancers who manipulate a long flexible figure of a dragon using poles positioned at regular intervals along the length of the dragon.
舞龙灯是中国独具特点的民俗活动。与舞狮子一样，每逢佳节，大家都要耍龙灯。表演者由数十人组成，每个人用一杆间隔支撑起一条长龙。
Walking on stilts , or Cai Gaoqiao 踩高跷
Walking on stilts, or Cai Gaoqiao, is another popular traditional performance for the Lantern Festival, especially in Northern China. According to the archives, our Chinese ancestors began using stilts to help them gather fruits from trees. This practical use of stilts gradually developed into a kind of folk dance.
踩高跷是元宵节的另外一项要紧民俗，特别是在北方区域。依据记载，大家的祖先踩高跷是为了从树上摘果子。之后，高跷就进步成为一种群众性技艺表演艺术。
