英语加油站 I “冬至”小知识

dongzi

关于“冬至”那些小知识，你知道用英文怎么翻译吗？

中国古代非常重视冬至节气，有“冬至大如年”的说法，而且有庆贺冬至的习俗。
冬至是北半球白昼最短、黑夜最长的一天。此后，白天慢慢变长。因此，冬至是阴阳转化的关键节气，古代的时候也有新生命的开始的寓意。

For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, it's the day with the shortest amount of daylight and our longest night of the year. While it's winter for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, people in the Southern Hemisphere experience it as their Summer Solstice with the longest stretch of daylight.
对北半球的人来说，冬至这天白昼最短夜最长。就在北半球经历寒冬时，南半球的人们在这一天迎来白昼最长的夏至。

Northern Hemisphere：北半球
Southern Hemisphere：南半球
Summer Solstice：夏至

而关于冬至的小知识，你又了解多少呢？
首先：“冬至”的英文表达是Winter Solstice。
solstice源自于古法语及拉丁语的solstitium<sol→sun+sti→stand、still、stop>意指太阳静止。可联想到夏至或冬至都是部分地区的最长或最短日照的时间节点，此时太阳仿佛不动了一样。
对应英语释义:
Solstice：The summer solstice is the day of the year with the most hours of daylight, and the winter solstice is the day of the year with the fewest hours of daylight.
关于冬至那些小习俗
北吃饺子
在我国北方许多地区，每年冬至日，有吃饺子的习俗。
相传医圣张仲景告老还乡时看到受冻的百姓，便用羊肉和一些驱寒药材以及面皮，包成像耳朵的样子，做成一种叫“驱寒矫耳汤”的药物，施舍给百姓吃。后来，每逢冬至，人们便模仿做着吃，形成了习俗。

China has developed a unique festive food culture throughout the years. Eating dumplings is a common folk custom for many Chinese on the day of Winter Solstice, especially those living in the north.
经过数千年的发展，中国形成了独特的节令饮食文化。而吃饺子是多数中国人冬至的习俗，特别是在北方地区。
南吃汤圆
冬至吃汤圆，是我国江南地区的传统习俗。汤圆也称汤团，“圆”意味着“团圆”“圆满”，所以冬至吃汤圆又叫“冬至团”。
每逢冬至清晨，各家各户磨糯米粉，并用糖、肉、莱、果、萝卜丝等做馅，包成冬至团，不但自家人吃，也会赠送亲友以表祝福之意。民间也有“吃了汤圆大一岁”的说法。

In places such as Shanghai, people eat tangyuan, a kind of stuffed small dumpling ball made of glutinous rice flour to celebrate Winter Solstice.
在上海等地，人们吃汤圆庆祝冬至。汤圆是圆形的糯米粉团，中间塞满馅料。
吃馄饨
In the past, there was a saying in old Beijing that "winter solstice wonton and summer solstice noodles". It is said that in the Han Dynasty, the northern Xiongnu often harassed the border areas and the people were not peaceful. At that time, Hun clan and Tun clan were two leaders of Xiongnu tribe, which were very ferocious. The common people hated him so much that they made a corner with meat stuffing, took the sound of "Hun" and "Tun" and called it "wonton". Hate to eat, and seek to put down the war, to live a peaceful life. Because wonton was first made on the day of the winter solstice, families eat wonton on the day of the winter solstice.
过去老北京有“冬至馄饨夏至面”的说法。相传汉朝时，北方匈奴经常骚扰边疆，百姓不得安宁。当时匈奴部落中有浑氏和屯氏两个首领，十分凶残。百姓对其恨之入骨，于是用肉馅包成角儿，取“浑”与“屯”之音，呼作“馄饨”。恨以食之，并求平息战乱，能过上太平日子。因最初制成馄饨是在冬至这一天，在冬至这天家家户户吃馄饨。

冬至到，
最冷的日子要开始了，
小伙伴们要注意防寒保暖呀。
今天，
你吃了什么冬至美食呢？

YINGYU

英语，在大家印象中似乎很“高级，高难度”。其实，用心学下去你会发现其中美妙的乐趣，不管听说读写,你都会发现这和我们的母语与众不同却又相通，打开了新的世界。当你学以致用时，会得到满满的成就感。跟我一起走进英语的世界，探索英语的奥秘吧! Practice makes perfect, skill comes from practice.
                                              ------小覃老师