【一】
The 15th day of the 1st lunar month is the Chinese Lantern Festival because the first lunar month is called yuan-month and in the ancient times people called night Xiao. The 15th day is the first night to see a full moon. So the day is also called Yuan Xiao Festival in China.
According to the Chinese tradition, at the very beginning of a new year, when there is a bright full moon hanging in the sky, there should be thousands of colorful lanterns hung out for people to appreciate. At this time, people will try to solve the puzzles on the lanterns and eat yuanxiao (glutinous rice ball) and get all their families united in the joyful atmosphere.
【翻译】
元宵节正月十五吃元宵的的习俗由来已久，元宵也叫“汤圆”、“圆子”。据说元宵象征合家团圆，吃元宵意味新的一年合家幸福、万事如意。
元宵节闹花灯的习俗起源于道教的“三元说”;正月十五日为上元节，七月十五日为中元节，十月十五日为下元节。主管上、中、下三元的分别为天、地、人三官，天官喜乐，故上元节要燃灯。元宵节的节期与节俗活动，是随历史的发展而延长、扩展的。就节期长短而言，汉代才一天，到唐代已为三天，宋代则长达五天，明代更是自初八点灯，一直到正月十七的夜里才落灯，整整十天。与春节相接，白昼为市，热闹非凡，夜间燃灯，蔚为壮观。特别是那精巧、多彩的灯火，更使其成为春节期间娱乐活动的高潮。至清代，又增加了舞龙、舞狮、跑旱船、踩高跷、扭秧歌等“百戏”内容，只是节期缩短为四到五天。
【二】
Eating Yuanxiao吃元宵
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.
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。
Guessing lantern riddles 猜灯谜
"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.
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。
Watch fireworks 看烟火
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.
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。
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