瑶族与苗族:求各个节日的英文名和来历（英文）

origin of the holiday(节日的来历)

Part 1 The History of Thanksgiving in the USA 感恩节的来历(这里面有很多，各个节日的英文介绍，好几页：)
http://gb.chinabroadcast.cn/5324/2004/11/23/982@369269.htm

情人节(Valentine s Day)在国内外
origin of Christmas 圣诞节的起源
http://www.bizchinatown.com/bbs/read.php?tid=546

holiday has many origin stories.
新年New Year's Day
Like many people all over the world, Americans enjoy celebrating the
arrival of each new year. Almost everyone makes an occasion of New Year's
Eve in order to see the old year out and welcome the new one. In New York,
a favorite gathering place on December 31 is New York City's Times Square.
Thousands of Americans and international tourists crowd this famous spot
(at the intersection of Broadway and Seventh Avenue) and crane their necks
to watch for 'Happy New Year' to flash across the electronically controlled
sign that moves around. When the moment arrives bedlam breaks forth. Bells
ring, whistles blow, people cheer with their happy excitement.
http://www.translator.com.cn/content/garden/show.asp?Id=6812&kind=AL

愚人节
All Fool's Day, also known as April Fool's Day, is celebrated annually on the first day of April. It is a time for the traditional playing of pranks upon unsuspecting people...the victim of such a prank being called an April Fool.
The origins of this custom are somewhat uncertain, but may have initially been related to the arrival of Spring in late March, at which time Mother Nature is said to "fool" the human race with sudden and fickle changes in the weather...showers one minute and sunshine the next. The playing of practical jokes, however, dates back to Ancient Rome and such activities were an integral part of the Hilaria celebrations held on March 25, a celebration which would again appear to be associated with the coming of Spring and the Vernal Equinox, held to honor the resurrection of Attis, Roman God of Vegetation who was linked to the seasonal cycle. In England, an ancient legend states that April Fool's Day commemorates the fruitless mission of the Rook (or European Crow) which was sent out in search of land from Noah's flood-encircled ark.
感恩节
Thanksgiving is a holiday celebrated in much of North America, generally observed as an expression of gratitude, usually to God. The most common view of its origin is that it was to give thanks to God for the bounty of the autumn harvest. In the United States, the holiday is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November. In Canada, where the harvest generally ends earlier in the year, the holiday is celebrated on the second Monday in October, which is observed as Columbus Day or protested as Indigenous Peoples Day in the United States.

Thanksgiving is traditionally celebrated with a feast shared among friends and family. In the United States, it is an important family holiday, and people often travel across the country to be with family members for the holiday. The Thanksgiving holiday is generally a "four-day" weekend in the United States, in which Americans are given the relevant Thursday and Friday off. Thanksgiving is almost entirely celebrated at home, unlike the Fourth of July or Christmas, which are associated with a variety of shared public experiences (fireworks, caroling, etc.)
复活节
The Date of Easter

Prior to A.D. 325, Easter was variously celebrated on different days of the week, including Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. In that year, the Council of Nicaea was convened by emperor Constantine. It issued the Easter Rule which states that Easter shall be celebrated on the first Sunday that occurs after the first full moon on or after the vernal equinox. However, a caveat must be introduced here. The "full moon" in the rule is the ecclesiastical full moon, which is defined as the fourteenth day of a tabular lunation, where day 1 corresponds to the ecclesiastical New Moon. It does not always occur on the same date as the astronomical full moon. The ecclesiastical "vernal equinox" is always on March 21. Therefore, Easter must be celebrated on a Sunday between the dates of March 22 and April 25.

The Easter Bunny

The Easter Bunny is not a modern invention. The symbol originated with the pagan festival of Eastre. The goddess, Eastre, was worshipped by the Anglo-Saxons through her earthly symbol, the rabbit.

The Germans brought the symbol of the Easter rabbit to America. It was widely ignored by other Christians until shortly after the Civil War. In fact, Easter itself was not widely celebrated in America until after that time.

The Easter Egg

As with the Easter Bunny and the holiday itself, the Easter Egg predates the Christian holiday of Easter. The exchange of eggs in the springtime is a custom that was centuries old when Easter was first celebrated by Christians.

From the earliest times, the egg was a symbol of rebirth in most cultures. Eggs were often wrapped in gold leaf or, if you were a peasant, colored brightly by boiling them with the leaves or petals of certain flowers.

Today, children hunt colored eggs and place them in Easter baskets along with the modern version of real Easter eggs -- those made of plastic or chocolate candy.

http://www.holidays.net/easter/story.htm

万圣节 all saint's day
The vigil of this feast is popularly called "Hallowe'en" or "Halloween".]

Solemnity celebrated on the first of November. It is instituted to honour all the saints, known and unknown, and, according to Urban IV, to supply any deficiencies in the faithful's celebration of saints' feasts during the year.

In the early days the Christians were accustomed to solemnize the anniversary of a martyr's death for Christ at the place of martyrdom. In the fourth century, neighbouring dioceses began to interchange feasts, to transfer relics, to divide them, and to join in a common feast; as is shown by the invitation of St. Basil of Caesarea (397) to the bishops of the province of Pontus. Frequently groups of martyrs suffered on the same day, which naturally led to a joint commemoration. In the persecution of Diocletian the number of martyrs became so great that a separate day could not be assigned to each. But the Church, feeling that every martyr should be venerated, appointed a common day for all. The first trace of this we find in Antioch on the Sunday after Pentecost. We also find mention of a common day in a sermon of St. Ephrem the Syrian (373), and in the 74th homily of St. John Chrysostom (407). At first only martyrs and St. John the Baptist were honoured by a special day. Other saints were added gradually, and increased in number when a regular process of canonization was established; still, as early as 411 there is in the Chaldean Calendar a "Commemoratio Confessorum" for the Friday after Easter. In the West Boniface IV, 13 May, 609, or 610, consecrated the Pantheon in Rome to the Blessed Virgin and all the martyrs, ordering an anniversary. Gregory III (731-741) consecrated a chapel in the Basilica of St. Peter to all the saints and fixed the anniversary for 1 November. A basilica of the Apostles already existed in Rome, and its dedication was annually remembered on 1 May. Gregory IV (827-844) extended the celebration on 1 November to the entire Church. The vigil seems to have been held as early as the feast itself. The octave was added by Sixtus IV
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01315a.htm

母亲节 mother's day
A mother's love is one of the most powerful forces in this world. Here are 10 memorable ways to celebrate her love this Mother's Day:

1. Create a Memory Jar. Fill a jar with slips of paper, each detailing a special memory you and your mother shared. The more specific the memories, the better. Present her with the jar, and sit beside her as she reads each memory.

2. Interview the children in your family (both young and old) on what special things they love most about their mother. Record the sentiments on video or transcribe the thoughts in a special album. You could also record special memories, favorite family recipes, her best maternal words of wisdom, or anything you want to remember about your mother.

3. Make a Blessing Book. Cover a composition book or hardbound journal with patterned papers and include photos of each of your mother's children, as well as a special pen for her to record what she is most grateful for in this world. Here are step-by-step instructions for creating a Blessing Book.

4. Help a mother in need by donating money, clothing, or other household items to organizations that help mothers and children.

5. Make a donation to your mom's favorite charity, in her name.

6. Get together with your family and friends and create handmade cards for your mom. Make sure to include a heartfelt, handwritten letter.

7. Send flowers to a new mom in celebration of her first Mother's Day.

8. Make a tablecloth memento. Start with an oversized tablecloth and some fabric pens. Ask each member of the family to sign the tablecloth with a special message to mom. Kids can make their handprints, too. This is a keepsake that you can add to each Mother's Day.

9. Write a letter to your children about how being their parent has enriched you. Save these letters in a special journal or album to give to your children when they become parents themselves.

10. Spend some time looking through your scrapbooks and reflecting on the bounty of love that comes to you via family and maternal love.
更多的可以看：）~
http://www.chiff.com/home_life/holiday/mothers-day-history.htm

http://www.2camels.com/destinations.php3

中国传统节日英文说法

过年 celebrate the spring festival

春联 spring festival couplets

剪纸 paper-cuts

年画 new year paintings

买年货 do shopping for the spring festival ; do spring festival shopping

敬酒 propose a toast

灯笼 lantern

烟花 fireworks

爆竹 firecrackers (people scare off evil spirits and ghosts with the loud pop.)

红包 red packets (cash wrapped up in red paper, symbolize fortune and wealth in the coming

year.)

舞狮 lion dance (the lion is believed to be able to dispel evil and bring good luck.)

舞龙 dragon dance (to expect good weather and good harvests)

戏曲 traditional opera

杂耍 variety show

灯谜 riddles written on lanterns

灯会 exhibit of lanterns

守岁 staying-up

拜年 pay new year's call; give new year's greetings; pay new year's visit

禁忌 taboo

去晦气 get rid of the ill- fortune

祭祖宗 offer sacrifices to one's ancestors

压岁钱 gift money; money given to children as a lunar new year gift

culture note: in the old days, new year's money was given in the form of one hundred copper coins strung together on a red string and symbolized the hope that one would live to be a hundred years old. today, money is placed inside red envelopes in denominations considered auspicious and given to represent luck and wealth

辞旧岁 bid farewell to the old year

扫房 spring cleaning; general house-cleaning

年糕 nian-gao; rise cake; new year cake

团圆饭 family reunion dinner

年夜饭 the dinner on new year's eve

饺子 jiao-zi; chinese meat ravioli

Spring Festival春节
Chinese New Year is not celebrated on the same day each year as is the celebration which is based on the Gregorian calendar. The Chinese calendar is based on lunar-solar cycles. Five cycles of twelve years each make up the entire lunar cycle of 60 years. The calendar also divides the year into 24 solar terms, which relate to nature and are important to people close to the land.

Middle Autumn Day中秋节
Some countries call it Harvest Festival; there is a Harvest moon. Others note the autumnal equinox as a sign of the changing seasons. Here in China, they call it the Mid-Autumn festival, celebrated during the full moon that falls between the mid-September and mid-October. On this night of the full moon, tradition says that you sit outdoors with your family throughout the night, admiring the moon, talking, and eating special sweet cakes called Moon Cakes.