中国情人节用英语介绍
中国情人节“七夕”英文介绍【1】
Double Seventh Festival
The Double Seventh Festival, on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month, is a traditional festival full of romance. It often goes into August in the Gregorian calendar
This festival is in mid-summer when the weather is warm and the grass and trees reveal their luxurious greens. At night when the sky is dotted with stars, and people can see the Milky Way spanning from the north to the south. On each bank of it is a bright star, which see each other from afar. They are the Cowherd and Weaver Maid, and about them there is a beautiful love story passed down from generation to generation.
Long, long ago, there was an honest and kind-hearted fellow named Niu Lang (Cowhand). His parents died when he was a child. Later he was driven out of his home by his sister-in-law. So he lived by himself herding cattle and farming. One day, a fairy from heaven Zhi Nu (Weaver Maid) fell in love with him and came down secretly to earth and married him. The cowhand farmed in the field and the Weaver Maid wove at home. They lived a happy life and gave birth to a boy and a girl.Unfortunately, the God of Heaven soon found out the fact and ordered the Queen Mother of the Western Heavens to bring the Weaver Maid back.
With the help of celestial cattle, the Cowhand flew to heaven with his son and daughter. At the time when he was about to catch up with his wife, the Queen Mother took off one of her gold hairpins and made a stroke. One billowy river appeared in front of the Cowhand. The Cowhand and Weaver Maid were separated on the two banks forever and could only feel their tears. Their loyalty to love touched magpies, so tens of thousands of magpies came to build a bridge for the Cowhand and Weaver Maid to meet each other. The Queen Mother was eventually moved and allowed them to meet each year on the 7th of the 7th lunarmonth. Hence their meeting date has been called "Qi Xi" (Double Seventh).
Scholars have shown the Double Seventh Festival originated from the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD220). Historical documents from the Eastern Jin Dynasty (AD371-420) mention the festival, while records from the Tang Dynasty (618-907) depict the grand evening banquet of Emperor Taizong and his concubines. By the Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1279-1368) dynasties, special articles for the "Qi Xi" were seen being sold on markets in the capital. The bustling markets demonstrated the significance of the festival.
Today some traditional customs are still observed in rural areas of China, but have been weakened or diluted in urban cities. However, the legend of the Cowhand and Weaver Maid has taken root in the hearts of the people. In recent years, in particular, urban youths have celebrated it as Valentine's Day in China. As a result, owners of flower shops, bars and stores are full of joy as they sell more commodities for love.在我国，农历七月初七的夜晚，天气温暖，草木飘香，这就是人们俗称的七夕节，也有人称之为“乞巧节”或“女儿节”，这是中国传统节日中最具浪漫色彩的一个节日，也是过去姑娘们最为重视的日子。
在晴朗的夏秋之夜，天上繁星闪耀，一道白茫茫的银河横贯南北，争河的东西两岸，各有一颗闪亮的星星，隔河相望，遥遥相对，那就是牵牛星和织女星。
相传在很早以前，南阳城西牛家庄里有个聪明.忠厚的小伙子，父母早亡，只好跟着哥哥嫂子度日，嫂子马氏为人狠毒，经常虐待他，逼他干很多的'活，一天，天上的织女和诸仙女一起下凡游戏，在河里洗澡，牛郎在老牛的帮助下认识了织女，二人互生情意，后来织女便偷偷下凡，来到人间，做了牛郎的妻子。男耕女织，情深意重，他们生了一男一女两个孩子，一家人生活得很幸福。但是好景不长，这事很快便让天帝知道，王母娘娘亲自下凡来，强行把织女带回天上，恩爱夫妻被拆散。
牛郎上天无路，还是老牛告诉牛郎，在它死后，可以用它的皮做成鞋，穿着就可以上天。牛郎按照老牛的话做了，穿上牛皮做的鞋，拉着自己的儿女，一起腾云驾雾上天去追织女，眼见就要追到了，岂知王母娘娘拔下头上的金簪一挥，一道波涛汹涌的天河就出现了，牛郎和织女被隔在两岸，只能相对哭泣流泪。他们的忠贞爱情感动了喜鹊，千万只喜鹊飞来，搭成鹊桥，让牛郎织女走上鹊桥相会，王母娘娘对此也无奈，只好允许两人在每年七月七日于鹊桥相会。
七夕乞巧，这个节日起源于汉代，东晋葛洪的《西京杂记》有“汉彩女常以七月七日穿七孔针于开襟楼，人俱习之”的记载，这便是我们于古代文献中所见到的最早的关于乞巧的记载。后来的唐宋诗词中，妇女乞巧也被屡屡提及，唐朝王建有诗说“阑珊星斗缀珠光，七夕宫娥乞巧忙”。据《开元天宝遗事》载：唐太宗与妃子每逢七夕在清宫夜宴，宫女们各自乞巧，这一习俗在民间也经久不衰，代代延续。
直到今日，七夕仍是一个富有浪漫色彩传统节日。但不少习俗活动已弱化或消失，惟有象征忠贞爱情的牛郎织女的传说，一直流传民间。
英文介绍七夕节的来历【2】
The seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar is known as Qi Xi Jie or 七夕节, a traditional holiday that has been recently called China's Valentine's Day.
The 2,000-plus-year-old holiday marks the star-crossed love between a cow herder Niulang and Zhinu, a weaver of clouds and the daughter of the Jade Emperor who is the Daoist ruler of heaven.
The story goes that the two fell in love and got married, but their bond was met with disapproval by Wangmu, Zhinu's mother and the queen of heaven. Niulang is viewed as the star Altair and Zhinu as the star Vega. With a swift move of her hairpin, she separated the two with a river in the sky, known today as the Milky Way.
But the queen took pity on them and gave them one night of the year to spend together. On Qi Xi Jie, the queen is said to send magpies to bridge the celestial gap between the two star lovers.
Rooted in Astronomy:
The tale seems to be an interpretation of the prominence of the two stars Altair and Vega, which together with Deneb, make up the Western constellation, The Summer Triangle, which is highly visible in the summer in the northern hemisphere.
In an interview with Xinhua, Beijing Normal University folklore professor Xiao Fang said that the rejuvenation of the holiday in China is due to two phenomenons.
"First, it is a natural response to the challenges of Western festivals, such as the Valentine's Day and Christmas. Secondly, people need special occasions to channel their affections so they want such a festival to socialize," Fang told Xinhua.
Modern Interpretations:
Many Chinese view it as another chance to buy gifts for their sweethearts, and the holiday is repeated again on February 14, where Valentine's culture appears to have permeated the earth.
The lovers were once immortalized by Song Dynasty poet Qin Guan. Thanks to Dr. Kylie Hsu from Cal State Los Angeles, here is a translation of that poem Fairy of the Magpie Bridge.
A great line from Hsu's translation: "A night of rendezvous, across the autumn sky. Surpasses joy on earth."
Watch a video of last one Qi Xi Jie celebration here.
Comments: when more and more young people are celebrating x'mas at the end of year, many westerners also show great interest in the traditional Chinese festivals, such as Spring Festival and Qi Xi. It is a good thing when Chinese culture has been widespread around the world and will become a dominant role in the globalized context.
【中国情人节用英语介绍】相关文章：
介绍中国餐桌礼仪08-30
中国餐桌礼仪介绍02-23
探析中国英语和中国式英语的差异06-18
中国英语研究述评02-06
审计报告中数字分节用法01-23
适合母亲节用的祝福语04-02
中国的餐桌礼仪介绍12-07
介绍中国餐桌礼仪常识02-20
浅议从中式英语、中国英语到标准英语02-03
浅谈从中式英语、中国英语到标准英语01-28