冬至你不得不知道的8件事

　　There was a saying that went in ancientChina, "The Winter Solstice is as significant as the Spring Festival."

　　古語認(rèn)為：“冬節(jié)大如年。”

　　As early as Zhou Dynasty (c.11thcentury-256BC)， people worshipped the gods on the first day of the WinterSolstice, which was also the first day of the new year. The Winter Solsticebecame a winter festival during the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220AD). The celebratoryactivities were officially organized. On this day, both officials and commonpeople would have a rest。

　　早在周朝(公元前11世紀(jì))人們在冬至的第一天也就是當(dāng)時(shí)的新年進(jìn)行祭神活動(dòng)。漢朝最早把冬至當(dāng)做節(jié)日來過，朝廷組織慶?；顒?dòng)。這天，官府和老百姓例行放假。

　　During subsequent dynasties, such as theTang (618-907)， Song (960-1279) and Qing dynasties (1644-1911)， the WinterSolstice was a day to offer sacrifices to Heaven and to ancestors。

　　到唐、宋、清朝時(shí)，冬至這天要祭祀天神和祖先。

　　2.Eating nuts

　　吃堅(jiān)果類食物

　　nuts　　When midwinter comes, vital movement beginsto decline and calm down. In this period, eating an appropriate amount of nuts,such as peanuts, walnuts, chestnuts, hazelnuts and almonds, is good for one'sbody. Traditional Chinese medical science teaches that the quality of a nut istepidity and most nuts have the function of nourishing the kidneys andstrengthening the brain and heart。

　　冬天時(shí)戶外活動(dòng)減少，在這段時(shí)期，吃一些諸如花生、核桃、栗子等堅(jiān)果類食物對身體大有好處。堅(jiān)果類食物有養(yǎng)腎強(qiáng)心腦的功能。

　　3.Eating dumplings

　　吃餃子

　　Dumplings　　During Winter Solstice in North China,eating dumplings is essential to the festival. There is a saying that goes"Have dumplings on the first day of Winter Solstice and noodles on thefirst day of Summer Solstice."

　　冬至?xí)r吃餃子是北方必不可少的節(jié)日飯。俗話說，“冬吃餃子夏吃面”

　　4.Eating wontons

　　吃餛飩

　　Wontons　　People in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, areaccustomed to eating wontons in midwinter. According to legend, during themidwinter feast 2,500 years ago, the King of Wu (one of the states during theWestern Zhou Dynasty and the Spring and Autumn Period) was disgusted with allkinds of costly foods and wanted to eat something different. Then,the beauty Xishi came into the kitchen to make "wontons" to honor theking's wish. He ate a lot and liked the food very much. To commemorate Xishi,the people of Suzhou made wontons the official food to celebrate the festival。

　　蘇州人在這天吃餛飩。傳說2500年前，吳王吃膩了山珍海味，想嘗試些不同的。于是美女西施為吳王準(zhǔn)備的就是餛飩。吳王非常喜歡。為了紀(jì)念西施，蘇州百姓就把餛飩作為冬至這天必吃的食物。

　　5.Eating tangyuan

　　吃湯圓

　　Tangyuan　　In places such as Shanghai, people eattangyuan, a kind of stuffed small dumpling ball made of glutinous rice flour tocelebrate Winter Solstice。

　　上海等地人們食用湯圓來慶祝節(jié)日。

　　6.Eating mutton and vermicelli soup

　　吃羊湯

　　Mutton and vermicelli soup　　In Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui autonomous region,people call midwinter the "Ghost Festival". On that day, it iscustomary for people there to drink mutton and vermicelli soup and eat thedumplings in the soup. They give the midwinter soup a strange name:"brain" and share it with their neighbors。

　　銀川、寧夏等回族地區(qū)把這天稱作“鬼節(jié)”。在這天，人們和左鄰右舍分享羊肉湯和餃子湯。

　　7.Offering nine-layer cakes to ancestors

　　九層糕祭祖

　　Nine-layer cakes　　Taiwan residents keep the custom ofoffering nine-layer cakes to their ancestors. People with the same surname orfamily clan gather at their ancestral temples to worship their ancestors inorder of their ages. After the sacrificial ceremony, there is always a grandbanquet。

　　臺(tái)灣地區(qū)的居民在這天仍保持著九層糕祭祖的習(xí)俗。同姓同宗者于冬至前后集中到祖祠中，照長幼之序一一祭拜祖先，俗稱“祭祖”。祭典之后，還會(huì)大擺宴席，招待前來祭祖的宗親們。

　　8.Eating red-bean and glutinous rice

　　吃紅豆糯米粥

　　Red-bean and glutinous rice porridge　　In some regions south of the Yangtze Riveron the first day of Winter Solstice, the whole family gets together to have ameal made of red-bean and glutinous rice to drive away ghosts and other evilthings。

　　長江流域的一些地區(qū)在冬至這天全家人聚在一起吃紅豆糯米粥來驅(qū)趕鬼怪。