Qingming Festival 清明節(jié)

編 者 注

清明是農(nóng)歷二十四節(jié)氣之一。2012年的清明節(jié)是4月4日。中國漢族傳統(tǒng)的清明節(jié)大約始于周代，距今已有二千五百多年的歷史。2006年5月20日，該民俗節(jié)日經(jīng)國務(wù)院批準(zhǔn)列入第一批國家級(jí)非物質(zhì)文化遺產(chǎn)名錄。

The Qingming Festival is one of the 24 seasonal division points in China， falling on April 4-6 each year. The Qingming Festival sees a combination of sadness and happiness. 清明是我國的二十四節(jié)氣之一，一般每年的4月4日至6日的某一天是清明節(jié)。這個(gè)節(jié)日中既有掃墓的悲酸淚，又有踏青游玩的歡笑聲。

On each Qingming Festival， all cemeteries are crowded with people who came to sweep tombs and offer sacrifices. Traffic on the way to the cemeteries becomes extremely jammed. The customs have been greatly simplified today. After slightly sweeping the tombs， people offer food， flowers and favorites of the dead， then burn incense and paper money and bow before the memorial tablet. And some add mud to the cemetery. 每年清明節(jié)人們都會(huì)來到墓地掃墓、祭祀。清明期間交通十分擁擠。如今掃墓的習(xí)俗已經(jīng)簡化了，人們簡單打掃墓地，把帶來的食物、鮮花以及死者生前最喜歡的東西放在墓地，然后將紙錢焚化，在碑前磕頭，有的還為墳?zāi)古嗌闲峦痢?/p>

The Qingming Festival is a time when the sun shines brightly， the trees and grass become green and nature is again lively. Since ancient times， people have followed the custom of spring outings. People love to fly kites during the Qingming Festival not only during the day， but also at night. A string of little lanterns tied onto the kite or the thread look like shining stars， and therefore， are called “god’s lanterns”. 清明節(jié)是艷陽高照的時(shí)節(jié)，樹木和草都變綠了，一切生機(jī)盎然。自古以來，人們都有在清明節(jié)春游的傳統(tǒng)。人們?cè)谇迕鞴?jié)期間不僅白天放風(fēng)箏，夜間也放。夜里在風(fēng)箏下或拉線上掛上一串串彩色的小燈籠，象閃爍的明星，因此被稱為“神燈”。