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小时候, 对春节等等的传统习节日、习俗都不是很感冒. 一直都是一个完全不爱凑热闹的装酷小孩. 唯独对老家有一项习俗非常喜欢, 觉得很好玩. 除夕夜, 奶奶会把白萝卜切块, 插上蜡烛 ️, 屋子里每个房间都要放上一盏 ️. 后面老家拆迁, 搬进商品房后, 传统延续了一两年, 之后好像就没有了, 很可惜.
说起来对传统习俗、文化的保护, 很多海外华人做的好像要过国内要好诶, 尤其是马来西亚 . 也不知道为什么, 但是在国外住久了, 很能体会到文化认同的重要性. 真的是越出国越爱国. ♥️
I think being away from China really helps me realize how great it is and makes me appreciate its traditions, cultures, food, nature etc so much more. Its like when youre living in a place for a long time, everything becomes familiar and you sort of take them for granted, so you are unable to appreciate those little things around you. Its like you have lens on, and you cant see new things through the old lens. Moving away gives you an opportunity to change the old lens for new ones.
趁着春节, 聊聊传统习俗吧.
每逢春节, 一定少不了春联、烟花爆竹. 大家应该也都知道这些习俗的由来跟“年兽“有关.
年兽又称"夕"。是古代汉族神话传说中的恶兽。 相传古时候每到年末的午夜，年兽就会进攻村子，凡被年兽占领的村子都遭受到残酷的屠杀，头上的犄角就是武器。人们利用年兽的三大弱点，放爆竹(会吓坏年兽)，贴春联，驱赶年兽的进攻。为了防止年兽的再次骚扰，放爆竹、贴春联渐渐成为节日习俗，春节由此成为中华民族的象征之一。很小的时候就听过这个传说了, 但是一直不是很清楚具体是怎样的. 要是用英文聊的话,估计就更难了. 好像很多中华传统节日、习俗用英文聊的话, 都挺难讲清楚的(不知道大家有没有这种感觉), 可能咱们的文化真的是太博大精深了. 也可能, 是我的英语水平有限... ♂️
不过刚好前几天在「The World of Chinese」上看到这一篇关于春节习俗由来的介绍文章, 学到很多相关的词汇报答, 跟大家分享下.
ian: The Monster Behind Chinese New Year” 这篇文章. 我这里就只分享碎片的笔记信息:
“inseparable from ... ”
This is the tale of a creature that is inseparable from Chinese New Year, and that inspired some of its most basic customs…no, not the 12 zodiac animals, but the monster literally known as 年 (nián, year).
“be inseparable from ...” : so closely connected that they cannot be considered separately”inspire“: 我觉得很妙诶“the 12 zodiac animals”: 12生肖"wreak havoc on/for ..."
Still, folk legends generally agree that nian is a monster that lives either in the sea or the forest, and comes out once a year on the night before the new year to wreak havoc on humankind.
"wreak havoc on/for ..." : cause trouble 的加强版 (a lot of damage or destruction)“a ferocious look“
It is said to have a single horn on its head, sharp teeth, and a ferocious look in its eyes.
“a ferocious look in its eyes": 很有攻击性的眼神? (violent and able to cause serious damage or injury)“devour ...“
It would go into villages to eat grain and destroy the homes, and devour any human or livestock that ran across its path.
"devour": 狼吞虎咽 (to eat something very fast)“menace” ️
There are several versions of the legend that explain how humans dealt with this yearly menace.
“yearly menace": someone or something that is dangerous and likely to cause harm"drive away ... " ♂️
The old man, however, promised that if she left him in her house, he would have driven away the monster by the time she returned.
"would have driven away the monster": 赶走年兽"unharmed" ✌
Though skeptical, the old woman did as he said, and when the villagers returned the next morning, they found the old man gone but the village unharmed.
"unharmed": not hurt or damaged"be papered with red streamers" ‼️
The front of the woman’s house was papered with red streamers, and a few remaining firecrackers sounded a raucous *** in the yard.
"was papered with red streamers": 贴上红对联"sounded a raucous *** ": 超响超响的爆竹 (noisy, and violent)“couplet”
The villagers inferred that nian was afraid of loud noises and the color red, and began setting off fireworks and attaching “couplet” poems on red paper on their front door every New Year’s Eve.
“inferred”: 推测“attaching couplet poems on red paper on their front door": 押韵的两个verse, a pair of successive lines of verse, typically rhyming and of the same length.(这个应该是因为英文里没有“春联”这个词, 所以从poem, rap里借词? )"allegedly"
New Year customs like setting off firecrackers and writing couplets on red paper were allegedly inspired by the legend of nian.
"were allegedly inspired by": 传闻大家, 春节快乐, 来年更棒!
主页更多英文学习、学习效率内容.
下期见, Bye~
