双语 | 腊八节及相关习俗如何用英语表达？
今日是十二月初八，俗称“腊八节”。腊八在人们眼中，一直都被视为是农历新年的“前奏”。从这天起，人们开始要扫房、祭灶、写春联、赶年集、买年画、备年货……年的气氛越来越浓厚。今天就跟随小编一起来了解一下“腊八节”的起源、来历和习俗。
Laba Festival, also simply called "Laba," comes on the eighth day of the twelfth month of the Chinese lunar year. The festival has this name because the twelfth month is also called "la" month in Chinese while the number eight is pronounced "ba."
腊八节为中国农历十二月初八。之所以称作“腊八”，是因为第十二个月在中文中也被称为“腊月”，而八的发音为“ba”。
Since it's in the last month of the lunar year, the festival implies saying goodbye to the old and embracing the new, and often regarded as a warm-up celebration for the upcoming Spring Festival. As an old saying goes, "after Laba, it's the (Chinese) New Year."
由于它是农历新年的最后一个月，所以意味着辞旧迎新已经开始，是即将到来的春节的热身节庆。俗话说：“过了腊八就是年。”
Laba Day is also Bodhi Day in the Buddhist tradition. It's said that Shakyamuni Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, attained enlightenment on this day. Thus, the day is one of the grandest festivals for Buddhists.
腊八节也是佛教传统中的菩提节。据说佛教的创始人释迦牟尼佛在这一天获得了开悟。因此，这一天是佛教徒最盛大的节日之一。
The Laba Festival falls on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. This holiday may be traced back to the ancient Chinese custom of sacrificing game to the ancestors during the last month of the lunar year. There are two legendary stories about the origin of the Laba Festival. One legend has it that after Sakyamuni left secular life to become a monk, he meditated so deeply that he often forgot to eat. Once, when he was close to dying of starvation, he encountered a woman tending her flock.
农历腊月初八是腊八节。腊八节可以追溯到古人在农历年的最后一个月祭祀祖先的习俗，有关这个节日的由来有两个传说。一说佛祖释迦牟尼成佛前进山修行，他潜心思索，经常忘记进食。有一次他就快要饿死了，被一牧羊女发现。
The woman saved his life by feeding him rice porridge, enabling him to continue meditating and attain enlightenment on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month (the Laba Festival). In order to commemorate this incident, every year at the Laba Festival Buddhists eat Laba porridge, also known as Buddha porridge.
牧羊女用大米粥救了释迦牟尼的性命，使他得以继续修行，在农历腊月初八这天大彻大悟、得道成佛。为了纪念这件事情，佛教徒每年在腊八节都食用腊八粥，也被称为“佛粥”。
One said that the Ming emperor Zhu Yuanzhang herded the landowner's cattle when he was a child. He was confined to a small room because one of the cattle broke its leg and the landowner didn't give him any food for three days. Zhu was starved to death and searched every corner of the room. He found a mouse hole and dug out some beans, grain and some other food, so he made some porridge with them and found it delicious.
一说，明朝皇帝朱元璋小时给财主放牛，因牛腿摔断被财主关在一间屋子里，三天没给饭吃。他饥饿难忍，到处搜寻，终于发现了一个老鼠洞，从中挖掘出豆、谷等各种粮食，煮成粥食用，觉得非常香甜。
Later, Zhu Yuanzhang made himself an emperor. When he thought of the delicious taste of the porridge he ate in the childhood, he ordered his eunuchs to use a variety of food to cook sweet porridge and shared with all the top civil and military officials. Later, the officials learned to cook this kind of porridge themselves and introduced it to the civil society. Gradually eating porridge became a traditional custom. The day Zhu Yuanzhang ate the sweet porridge was on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, so this porridge is also called laba porridge.
后来朱元璋做了皇帝，想起小时候吃那顿粥的味道，就命太监用各种粮食煮了一锅糖粥，欢宴群臣，后朝中文武百官争相效仿并传入民间，遂成了一种节日习俗。因朱元璋吃糖粥的日子是腊月初八，所以这粥也就叫腊八粥了。
祭祀、喝腊八粥、腌腊八蒜是腊八的三大习俗。
One of the festival's traditions is to offer sacrifices to the ancestors and gods. In the agrarian societies of ancient times, this worship was a prayer for good luck and a bountiful harvest. 腊八节的传统之一是祭祀祖先和神灵。在古代的农业社会中，这种祭拜活动用来祈求来年的丰收和好运。 It was also an important ritual for emperors in those times, who would hold grand sacrificial fetes in the winter to show their appreciation to nature and their ancestors. 对于当时的皇帝来说，这也是一种重要的仪式，他们会在冬季举行盛大的祭祀活动，以表达对自然和祖先的感激。 Those ancient activities could be interpreted as a reflection of "Xiao" (filial piety), "Ren" (benevolence and love) and “Yi” (righteousness) in Confucian values. 这些古老的活动体现了儒家价值观中的“孝”“仁”和“义”。 Nowadays, the rituals tend to be less formal. People offer sacrifice now more to memorialize family members who have passed away. Those who visit temples on this day are not necessarily religious believers, but want to demonstrate their best wishes for the Chinese New Year. 如今，仪式往往不那么正式了。人们现在更多的是用来纪念已故的亲人。在这一天参观寺庙的人不一定是宗教信仰者，而是想表达对农历新年的良好祝愿。
The tradition to have Laba congee on this day dates back more than a thousand years and is still a major part of Laba day in many places. 这一天吃腊八粥的传统可以追溯到一千多年前，至今在许多地方仍然是腊八节的重要活动。 Legend has it that, before being enlightened, the Buddha worked hard for many years and was emaciated and weak. Thanks to the milk porridge offered by some shepherdesses, he recovered physical strength and later achieved enlightenment. 传说，在开悟之前，佛陀辛勤了多年，身体虚弱无力。多亏了一些牧羊人提供的牛奶粥，他才恢复了体力，后来获得了开悟。 Therefore, nowadays, temples adhere to the tradition of offering congee to the public on this day to show appreciation for the kindhearted and to help the poor. 因此，寺庙会在这一天向公众提供腊八粥，以表示对善良者的感谢，并帮助穷人。 The selection of ingredients for the congee may vary geographically, but generally it include grains like rice, millet, glutinous rice, sorghum, black rice, and coix seeds; beans like soybean, red bean, mung bean, kidney bean, and cowpea; nuts like red dates, peanuts, lotus seeds, goji, chestnuts, raisins, walnuts, and longans. 腊八粥的成分因地域而异，但通常包括谷类，如大米，小米，糯米，高粱，黑米和薏仁；豆类，如大豆，红豆，绿豆，芸豆和豇豆；坚果类，如红枣，花生，莲子，枸杞，栗子，葡萄干，核桃和龙眼等。
In northern China, it's also popular to make Laba garlic. People usually put peeled garlic cloves into a container with vinegar and then seal it up. During the pickling process, the garlic will turn green. It is a typical side dish to have with dumplings during the Spring Festival. 在中国北方，腊八蒜蒜也很受欢迎。人们通常将去皮的蒜瓣放入装有醋的容器中，然后将其密封。在腌制过程中，大蒜会变绿。这是春节期间饺子的典型配菜。 In northwest China, some residents in Shaanxi Province eat Laba noodles for the festival. In places like Anhui in east China, people will eat Laba tofu. 在中国西北部，陕西人在节日期间吃腊八面；在中国东部的安徽等地，人们会吃腊八豆腐。 These local customs vary based on location and climate and are intended to help people overcome the winter cold and prevent illness. 这些当地习俗因地理和气候而异，但目的都帮助人们克服冬季寒冷、预防疾病。
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