元旦 New Year's Day
元旦的英文介绍
New Year's Day is the first day of the lunar calendar. it is the day when the earth has circled the sun for one round and is beginning another circling. it represents a new beginning when people send off the old days and welcome the new ones. as the first day of the year, yuandan has been considered to be the most important festival since the ancient times.
元旦是农历的第一天。这是一天，当地球绕着太阳转一圈，正在开始另一个循环。当人们送走旧的日子，并欢迎新的朋友的时候，它代表了一个新的开始。作为一年的第一天，元旦已被认为是自古以来最重要的节日。
customs
1.kaisui(beginning of the year): according to the chinese traditional custom, starting from haishi(9p.m. to 11p.m.)of the last evening of the twelfth lunar month, each family must prepare offering s to deities at the altar. at the same time, they too prepare food for the new year day: the whole family will then stay awake together to attend to the year(called shou sui). after haishi, zishi(11p.m. to 1a.m.)will come, and this is the arrival of new year(yuandan). at this moment, people begin the celebration with fireworks. vegetarian and sweet foods will then be placed are the altar for offerings, and incense be burned to welcome the deities. in the ancient times, it was believed that haishi connected the two years and thus was called kaisui.
At the same night, some families will follow the instruction in tongshu and place preparing altar in the direction of the "fortune deity" during the "fortune time" to receive the deity. if the direction of the "fortune deity" is at the "ill position", people will choose to receive "happy deity" or "noble deity" instead.
习俗
开岁(一年的开始)：根据中国传统习俗，从亥时(21点到23点)的阴历第十二个月的最后一个晚上，每个家庭必须准备提供的s到神的祭坛。同时，他们也准备了新的一年的食物：整个家庭，然后保持清醒，一起参加一年(称为守岁)。在亥时，子时(23：00-1：00.)会来的，这是新的一年的到来(元旦)。在这一刻，人们开始用烟火庆祝。素食和甜食，然后被放置在祭坛，和香被烧毁欢迎神。在古代，人们认为亥时连接两年，因此被称为“开岁”。
在同一天晚上，一些家庭将按照在统和地方在“幸运神”在“财富时间”得到神的祭坛方向准备指令。如果“财富之神”的方向是“不适的位置”，人们会选择接受“快乐之神”或“高贵的神”。
2. There is an apparent difference in the custom of food taking on yuandan between the chinese in the northern and southern regions. the northern chinese has the habit of taking jiao zi(dumpling made of flour with vegetable and meat wrapped inside). some people may put a sweet or a coin inside jiao zi, hoping to have a sweet year after tasting the sweet and a wealthy year after tasting the coin. on the other hand, the southern chinese have the taboo for killing on yuandan. therefore, they do not take meat in tee morning of yuandan, so as to avoid bloodshed or mutual slaughter. in order to evade misfortune, they have the first meal of this day without meat. instead, they take vegetarian food for the sake of virtue.
在以北部和南部地区之间的中国的元旦食物习惯明显不同。北方人有取饺子的习惯(饺子是用面粉做的，里面有蔬菜和肉包)。有些人可能把一个甜的或一个硬币内的饺子，希望有一个甜蜜的一年后品尝的甜蜜和一个富裕的一年后，品尝硬币。另一方面，中国南方有就元旦杀害禁忌。因此，他们不参加的元旦早上发球肉类，以避免流血或互相残杀。为了逃避不幸，他们在这一天的第一顿饭没有肉。相反，他们以素食为美德。
3. What is special during the new year is that parents or elders will distribute red packets(ang pao or ya sui qian)to the children. people in the ancient times were more particular in giving away the red packets: the distribution took place on the eve of new year so that the kids could suppress the past year and enter the new year. ya sui has the meaning of overcoming the unpredictable future. representing the wishes for the healthy psychological growth of the children, ya sui qian symbolises the elders' hope to see their children overcome all the unpredictable elements brought by the "year".
韩国——放风筝玩跳板
韩国人在元旦这一天，全家除了团聚饭宴外，还要进行祭祀祈祷等活动。男孩子多半去放风筝，女孩子则跳跳板。
印度尼西亚——检查过错、请求原谅
印度尼西亚新年期间，人们穿着新衣服拜访亲友，并借此机会检查过去一年中的过错，请求原谅，双方互祝进步。
土耳其——借宿度年端
土耳其人在除夕晚上，男女老少都要痛痛快快的沐浴。然后穿上新衣裳，意为除旧迎新。但是在土耳其的其他地方，也有借宿度年端的习惯，人们在除夕吃过午饭，把家里整理妥当，便携儿带女往预先约好的亲友家去借宿，度过一年的开端。
埃塞俄比亚——燃篝火庆丰收
埃塞俄比亚人的新年是在每年的9月11日或12日。这正是雨季即将结束，收获就要开始的季节。除夕之夜，人们身着鲜艳的节日服装，各带一捆干柴兴高采烈地聚集在一起，在广场上燃起熊熊篝火。大家围着篝火欢歌狂舞，欢庆新年。在农村，节日里，男男女女都穿着用手工织成的柔软白布做的民族服装，挨门逐户，互相祝贺，迎接一年一度的收获季节。
尼日利亚——洗澡戏水
尼日利亚除夕夜晚，在农村的一些部落里，人们点燃火把，迎接新年。小伙子和姑娘们都到小河里洗澡戏水，谈情说爱，直到清晨。新年这天，大家可以尽情欢乐，不受部落戒律的约束。