【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.
【翻譯】
元宵節正月十五吃元宵的的習俗由來已久，元宵也叫“湯圓”、“圓子”。據說元宵象徵閤家團圓，吃元宵意味新的一年閤家幸福、萬事如意。
元宵節鬧花燈的習俗起源於道教的“三元說”;正月十五日爲上元節，七月十五日爲中元節，十月十五日爲下元節。主管上、中、下三元的分別爲天、地、人三官，天官喜樂，故上元節要燃燈。元宵節的節期與節俗活動，是隨歷史的發展而延長、擴展的'。就節期長短而言，漢代才一天，到唐代已爲三天，宋代則長達五天，明代更是自初八點燈，一直到正月十七的夜裏才落燈，整整十天。與春節相接，白晝爲市，熱鬧非凡，夜間燃燈，蔚爲壯觀。特別是那精巧、多彩的燈火，更使其成爲春節期間娛樂活動的高潮。至清代，又增加了舞龍、舞獅、跑旱船、踩高蹺、扭秧歌等“百戲”內容，只是節期縮短爲四到五天。
【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.
元宵是元宵節的特色食品。據說，元宵是因漢武帝時期的一位名叫元宵的宮女而得名。元宵是一種帶餡兒的甜食，是由糯米粉加上甜的餡料製成。元宵節就是因此食品得名。元宵的烹製方法非常簡單，將元宵倒入裝滿沸水的鍋中煮幾分鐘就可以了。
Guessing lantern riddles 猜燈謎
"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.
猜燈謎也是元宵節活動的一個基本組成部分。燈籠的所有者將謎語寫在一張紙條上，然後將紙條展示在燈籠上。如果賞燈者猜出謎語，就將紙條取出，然後找燈籠所有者確認答案。打對的話，他們就可以領取一份小禮品。這個活動起源於宋朝(960——1279)。猜燈謎活動極富情趣和智慧，因此在全社會廣受歡迎。
Watch fireworks 看煙火
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.
元宵節的白天會有舞龍舞獅、劃旱船、扭秧歌、踩高蹺。而在晚上，除了各種大型燈會，燦爛的焰火也是一幅美麗的畫卷。很多家庭在春節時會留下一部分煙花等着元宵節放。有的地方政府甚至會組織焰火晚會。當新年的第一輪圓月升上夜空時，人們都會因燃放的煙火和空中的明月而興奮。
