春节习俗：正月十五 上元食汤圆

Today is the 15th day of the 1st month in Lunar Calendar. Today is commonly celebrated by all Chinese people as Yuan Xiao Jie (元宵节) or more well known as Lantern Festival in English. This festival is also called Shang Yuan Jie (上元节).

今天是农历正月十五。今天是所有中国人庆祝的元宵节或是在英语中更熟知的Lantern Festival.也被称为上元节。

The 15th day of the 7th lunar month is Zhong Yuan Jie (中元节, or Hunger Ghost Festival in English) and the 15th day of the 10th lunar month is Xia Yuan Jie (下元节).

农历七月十五是中元节，而农历十月十五是下元节。

Shang Yuan Jie or Yuan Xiao Jie is a major festival in China. And the activities of Chinese New Year will reach a high point on this day.

上元节或叫元宵节是中国的主要节日。新年的活动将在这一天到达高潮。

Early on the morning of this day, there will be dragon dancing and lion dancing parades in the streets, and all the streets will be crowded with people.

这天早上，街上将会有舞龙舞狮的游行，所有街道都会充满人。

The happiest moment comes in the evening of this day. In the evening, families will go out together to enjoy the glorious full moon and appreciate colourful lanterns and also solve the lantern riddles.

最开心的时刻在这天的夜晚来到。在晚上，家人会一起外出赏月，欣赏五彩的灯笼以及猜灯谜。

In some places of China, people even fly Kongming Lantern (孔明灯, as shown on the top right hand corner in my drawing) which their beautiful wishes are written.

在中国的某些地方，人们还会放孔明灯，上面写着他们的美好愿望。

元宵 (yuan xiao) is a traditional food made of glutinous rice flour. Glutinous rice flour is mixed with a small amount of water to form balls with sweet filling (e.g. Black sesame as shown in my drawing and peanuts or red beans) and is then cooked and served in boiling water.

元宵是一种传统食物，它由糯米粉制成。糯米粉混合着少量的水做成球，里面填充甜的芯（例如图上画的黑芝麻或是花生或是红豆），然后用开水煮熟并端上桌。

This food is usually eaten together with family. The round shape of the balls and the bowls where they are served, come to symbolise the family togetherness and reunion.

元宵通常是与家人一同食用。装着圆形的元宵的碗象征着家庭的和睦、团圆。

This food is also known as Tang Yuan (汤圆). According to the legend, during the period of Yuan Shikai’s (袁世凯) rule from AD 1912 to 1916, he disliked the name Yuan Xiao (元宵) because it sounded identical to “remove Yuan” (袁消), and so he gave orders to change the name to Tang Yuan.

这也被叫做汤圆。据说，从公元1912到1916年的袁世凯时期，他不喜欢“元宵”这个名字，因为这听起来像“袁消”。于是，他命令改名叫“汤圆”。

This day officially marks the end of Chinese New Year celebration.

这天也正式标志着新年的结束。