翻译：方华文·《春节》（下）

正月十五的元宵节在有的地方被称为“小年”，虽说比不得初一和初二那几日气氛隆重，却也热闹非凡。许多店铺以及小商贩们把形形色色的灯笼挂出来展销，其外形有“哪吒闹海”“孙悟空”“猪八戒”和“沙僧”，也有“猪”“猫”“狗”“兔”等小动物。灯笼内置一蜡烛，在夜间闪闪烁烁，把“猪八戒”们、“狗”们照得通体发亮，煞是好看。在烛光的照耀下，有舞狮的、有舞龙的，有摇旱船和踩高跷的，组成了一幅幅美轮美奂的画面。无论白天还是黑夜，公园里都人山人海，游园的人们边品尝小路边摊点销售的各种小吃，边玩游戏，如抛圈和射击等。孩子们兴奋地在人群中窜来跑去，呼兄喊弟，还不时停下来用压岁钱买一些自己喜欢的小玩意儿。

The Lantern Festival in the 15th day of the new lunar year, known as Minor Spring Festival in some areas, is celebrated in boisterous atmosphere, though it is not as important as the first day or second day of the new lunar year. Shops and peddlers put out colorful lanterns on show, lanterns in forms of Na Zha’s Adventure in East Sea, Monkey King, Pigsy, Sha Wujing, pigs, cats, dogs, rabbits and other small animals. Candles are placed inside lanterns, twinkling at night, and the Pigsys and dogs all shine brightly, a beautiful scene to see. Lion Dancing, Dragon Dancing, Land Boat Rowing and Stilt Walking in the candlelight present splendid pictures. There is a sea of people in parks to celebrate, buying all kinds of delicious things for a taste at booths and stalls, playing games, like casting circles and shooting…Excited, children run to and fro in the crowds, shouting loudly, stopping to buy with their gift money baubles at times, which strike their fancy.

元宵节“闹灯”是从唐朝传下来的习俗。一入夜，人们纷纷手提灯笼走出家门，一盏盏灯汇集成了灯的海洋。古时候都是官府出资将街道装点得焕然一新，到处一片“火树银花”。唐睿宗时，长安的皇宫外庆贺元宵节，曾架起一座高二十丈的灯山，上面镶嵌着五颜六色的彩带以及各种小饰物，还悬挂了五万盏彩灯。百姓们结伴赏灯，观看放焰火和精彩的杂耍表演。到了宋代，民间还添了猜字谜的游戏。出字谜的人把谜语写在细长的纸条上，再将纸条贴在灯笼的下端，猜中的人可领导一些小礼品。明代的元宵节更热闹，戏曲演员们走上街头献艺，给人们带来艺术的享受和欢声笑语。

The custom of Lantern Festival Celebration comes from Tang Dynasty. At night, people step out of their houses with lanterns, and all the lanterns with their bright lights form magnificent sights. In ancient times, lanes and streets were decorated with official money, when fireworks and lanterns were everywhere to be seen. During Emperor Ruizong’s Reign in Tang Dynasty, there just outside the royal palace in Changan, the capital then, was built up a mountain of lanterns to celebrate the festival, nearly 70 meters high, decorated with colorful ribbons, trimmings and 50,000 lanterns. People would go in pairs or groups, to watch lantern shows, fireworks displays and acrobatic feats. In Song Dynasty, Crossword Guessing was added to the programs of celebration. Crossword puzzles written on scrolls were glued to the lower parts of lanterns, and the winners of the guessing work could get a few small gifts. The Lantern Festival became more lively in Ming Dynasty. Opera actors then would offer performances in streets, bringing people artistic entertainment and laughter.

元宵节的主食是“元宵”，或称“汤圆”，是一种糯米做成的带馅球状食物。南北方的元宵基本都差不多，有黑芝麻馅的、白糖馅的以及山楂馅的等；南方人还喜欢吃肉馅的元宵。现在的元宵种类丰富，里面裹的馅千变万化，适合于各种口味的食客。

During Lantern Festival, people mainly eat yuanxiao(or called sweet soup balls) which are glutinous rice balls with various kinds of stuffing, like black sesames, sugar, haws and so on. They are much the same both in the south and the north. The southerners also like rice balls stuffed with meat. Nowadays the balls vary with all different types of stuffing, to be suitable for various tastes.

元宵节期间，人们开始了新一轮的“访亲拜友热”。几天过后，热潮消退，人们就彻底收心了，开始专心致志地工作。

During Lantern Festival, a new heat of visiting occurs, which, however, lasts only a few days. When it is over, people will thoroughly concentrate on their work.

（方华文 译）