传播中华传统文化,用英语介绍腊八节的来历和习俗

有句俗语说：过完腊八就是年！

今天就是腊月初八——腊八节。其实自先上古起，就已经有了腊八，当时的腊八是用来祭祀祖先和神灵（包括门神、户神、宅神、灶神、井神）的祭祀仪式，祈求丰收和吉祥。

而今天，腊八已经成为了一个重要的传统节日。说不定不久也能像春节、中秋节、元宵节一样风靡海外！

那么我们该怎么介绍腊八这个传统节日和习俗呢？

“腊八，腊八，冻掉下巴”，这句俗语相信大家都听说过，腊月初八，被认为是一年中最冷的一天，今天的习俗，就是喝腊八粥。

那么，“腊八粥”用英语怎么说呢？

其实，腊八的英文就是汉语拼音Laba，也译作the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month，具体内容我们看下文。

腊八用英文怎么介绍

Laba Festival is a traditional Chinese holiday celebrated on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar （阴历的）month. It’s a day for celebrating harvest, offering sacrifices（祭品） to ancestors, and worshiping gods（拜神）. But above all, it is a day for cooking Laba Congee（腊八粥）, a hodgepodge（大杂烩） of grains, beans and dried fruits used to invoke（祈求） peace and good fortune.

农历十二月初八是中国的传统节日——腊八节，在这一天人们庆祝丰收、祭祀祖先、拜神。最重要的是，在这一天人们要做由各种谷物、豆类和干果熬成的腊八粥以祈求来年和平及好运。

Chinese people believe that eating congee during Laba festival will bring good luck.Laba Congee is infused with（充满了） Chinese people’s beautiful expectations of a happy life.

中国人相信腊八节喝腊八粥会带来好运，腊八粥充满着中国人民对幸福生活的美丽期望。

Folktales（民间传说、民间传说） abound as to the origins of eating congee duringLaba Festival. According to the most famous one, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang (reigned 1368-1399), used to herd cattle（放牛） for a rich man. One day, his carelessness caused a leg of one of the cows to be broken. The rich man was so angry that he locked up the culprit（犯人） in a small room and didn’t allow food to be given to him. After some time, the famished （极饥饿的）Zhu Yuanzhang found in a corner of the room a rat hole that contained a supply of stolen red beans, rice, red dates and other produce. These he boiled into congee, on which he feasted voluptuously. Because that day was the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, the emperor Zhu Yuanzhang named the congee Laba Congee.

关于腊八节喝粥的起源，民间故事比比皆是。最著名的一个,明朝的开国皇帝朱元璋(1368 – 1399年在位)，小时候给财主放牛，因牛腿摔断被财主关在一间屋子里，不给他饭吃， 过了一段时间，快要饿死的朱元璋在屋子的角落里发现了一个老鼠洞，从中挖掘出红豆、大米、红枣等各种粮食，煮成粥食用，觉得非常香甜。因为这一天是农历的十二月八日,皇帝朱元璋将它命名为腊八粥。

不同地区腊八粥的用料虽有不同，但基本的八种原料包括：

腊八节习俗

Laba Customs

腊八粥

LABA PORRIDGE

The laba porridge is not only a yummy traditional rite（习俗） in China to mark the laba festival but also a delicacy（美味） good for health.

腊八节喝腊八粥是中国传统习俗，腊八粥不仅好喝，对身体也十分有益。

腊八粥，表达为“laba porridge”；“la”即“腊”，农历12月就是“腊月”，即“12th lunar month”。腊八就是腊月初八，这天要喝的腊八粥也称八宝粥，即“babao porridge(eight treasures)”。

腊八粥由多种食才熬制，但所用材料各地不同，主要成分包括糯米 glutinous rice，红豆 red beans，薏米 millets，大米 Chinese sorghum，莲子 lotus seeds，枣 dates，栗子 chestnuts，核桃 walnut，杏仁 almonds，花生 peanuts等。

腊八蒜

LABA GARLIC

In North China there is a custom of pickling garlic（浸泡大蒜） in vinegar on Laba Day. After some pickling, the garlic will turn green. This pickled garlic goes very well with dumplings. In Chinese, the words “garlic” and “calculate” have the same pronunciation; therefore, eating garlic on Laba Day is symbolic of reckoning（计算） the year’s income and expenses as year-end approaches.

在中国的北方有一个习俗，在腊八节的时候把蒜泡到醋中，经过醋的浸泡后，蒜会变的通体碧绿。经过醋泡过的蒜和饺子一起吃更配哦~在中国“蒜”与“算”同音，随着年底的临近，在腊八节那天吃蒜是计算整年收支的象征。

腊八面

LABA NOODLES

Because northerners like foods made from wheat flour, they eat Laba noodles on Laba Day.

因为北方人喜欢吃小麦面粉做的食物，所以在腊八节那天他们吃腊八面。

煮五豆

BOILING FIVE KINDS OF BEANS

In some areas, people boil five kinds of beans and make a dough （面团）in the shape of sparrow’s head on the eighth day of the 12th lunar month. They believe if they eat “sparrow heads”, the sparrows will have headaches and not harm their crops in the coming year.

有一些地区，人们在农历十二月初八那天煮五种豆子，并将面团揉成一个麻雀的头的形状。人们相信如果吃“麻雀头”，麻雀就会头疼，来年它们就不会伤害农作物。

吃冰

EATING ICE

Northerners have a custom of leaving a basin of water outside the house to be frozen; they break this ice into pieces and eat it on Laba Day. The ice on this day is said to possess supernatural power, capable of keeping those who eat it free from stomachache for a whole year.

北方人有一个习俗，他们在房子外面放一盆水等水冻成冰，在腊八节那天把冰捣碎并把它吃掉。据说，这天的冰拥有超自然的力量，它能让吃了的人一整年都不会肚子疼。