明天就是中国的传统佳节--元宵节。元宵节又称为"上元节"。按中国民间的传统，在这天人们要点彩灯、猜灯谜、吃元宵。小伙伴们知道多少元宵节的相关英语知识？来，我们一起涨姿势~

　　元宵节的起源（origin）

　　东汉明帝时期，明帝提倡佛教，听说佛教有正月十五日僧人观舍利，点灯敬佛的做法，就命令这一天夜晚在皇宫和寺庙里点灯敬佛，令士族和庶民都挂灯。以后这种佛教礼仪节日逐渐演变为民间盛大的节日。元宵节经历了由宫廷到民间，由中原到全国的发展过程。

　　the Han Dynasty(206BC-220AD), Buddhism flourished all over China. One emperor heard that Buddhism monks would watch sarira , or remains from the cremation of Buddha's body , and light laterns to worship buddha on the 15th day of the 1st lunar month, so he ordered to light laterns in the imperial palace and temples to show respect to Buddha on this day. Later, the Buddhist rite developed into a grand festival among common people and its influence expanded form the Central Plains to the whole China.

　　元宵节的意义（significance）

　　元宵节在农历第一个月的十五号，它是新的一年的第一次满月，象征着团圆和美。

　　The Lantern Festival falls on the 15th day of the 1st lunar month. It is the first full moon of the new year, symbolizing unity and perfection.

　　元宵节的习俗（custom）

　　吃元宵 Eating Yuanxiao

　　元宵是元宵节的特色食品。据说，元宵是因汉武帝时期的一位名叫元宵的宫女而得名。元宵是一种带馅儿的甜食，是由糯米粉加上甜的馅料制成。元宵节就是因此食品得名。元宵的烹制方法非常简单，将元宵倒入装满沸水的锅中煮几分钟就可以了。

　　Yuanxiao is the special food for the Lantern Festival. It is believed that Yuanxiao is named after a palace maid, Yuanxiao, of Emperor Wu Di of the Han Dynasty. Yuanxiao is a kind of sweet dumpling, which is made with sticky rice flour filled with sweet stuffing. And the Festival is named after the famous dumpling. It is very easy to cook - simply dump them in a pot of boiling water for a few minutes - and eaten as a dessert.

　　看烟火 Watch fireworks

　　元宵节的白天会有舞龙舞狮、划旱船、扭秧歌、踩高跷。而在晚上，除了各种大型灯会，灿烂的焰火也是一幅美丽的画卷。很多家庭在春节时会留下一部分烟花等着元宵节放。有的地方政府甚至会组织焰火晚会。当新年的第一轮圆月升上夜空时，人们都会因燃放的烟火和空中的明月而兴奋。

　　In the daytime of the Festival, performances such as a dragon lantern dance, a lion dance, a land boat dance, a yangge dance, walking on stilts and beating drums while dancing will be staged. On the night, except for magnificent lanterns, fireworks form a beautiful scene. Most families spare some fireworks from the Spring Festival and let them off in the Lantern Festival. Some local governments will even organize a fireworks party. On the night when the first full moon enters the New Year, people become really intoxicated by the imposing fireworks and bright moon in the sky.

　　猜灯谜 Guessing lantern riddles

　　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。如果赏灯者猜出谜语，就将纸条取出，然后找灯笼所有者确认答案。打对的话，他们就可以领取一份小礼品。这个活动起源于宋朝（960--1279）。猜灯谜活动极富情趣和智慧，因此在全社会广受欢迎。

　　"Guessing lantern riddles"is 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 (960-1279). As riddle guessing is interesting and full of wisdom, it has become popular among all social strata.

　　英文灯谜猜起来。看看你能猜对多少？

　　Riddles: What building has the most stories?问：什么建筑楼层最多？Answer: A library

　　答：图书馆（注：story有楼层和故事两个意思）

　　Riddles: What is it that everybody does at the same time?问：所有人同时在做的事情是什么？Answer: grow older

　　答：长大

　　Riddles: Which is faster, hot or cold?问：热和冷哪个速度更快？Answer: Hot's faster. You can catch a cold.

　　答：热更快，因为你能抓住冷（catch a cold: 感冒）

　　Riddles: Why is an empty purse always the same?问：为什么空钱包永远是一样的？Answer: There is no change in it.

　　答：因为没零钱（注：change 变化；零钱）

　　Riddles: What is the smallest room in the world?问：世界上最小的房间是什么？Answer: Mushroom.

　　答：蘑菇

　　Riddles: What kind of dog doesn't bite or bark?问：什么狗不咬人不吠叫？Answer: Hot dog.

　　答：热狗

　　Riddles: How do we know the ocean is friendly?问：我们如何知道海洋是友善的？Answer: It waves.

　　答：海有波浪（注：wave 起波浪；招手致意）

　　Riddles: What month do soldiers hate?

　　问：士兵们最恨几月份？

　　Answer: March

　　答：三月（注：march也有行军的意思）