元宵节你不可不知的风俗_BEC初级作文

元宵节你不可不知的风俗

有这样一个传说，元宵节是拜“太乙”神的日子，太乙是古代的天神。古人认为天神掌管着人类世界的命运，太乙手下有九条龙听他使唤，他决定人间什么时候遭遇饥荒瘟疫之祸，什么时候受旱灾水涝之苦。从统一中国的第一个皇帝秦始皇开始，每年都举行盛大的仪式，皇帝祈求“太乙”神赐予他和臣民们风调雨顺、健康长寿。汉武帝对元宵灯会特别重视，元封七年(公元前104年)，他把元宵钦定为最重要的佳庆之一，庆祝仪式通宵进行。

Another legend associated with the Lantern Festival is Taoism. Tianguan is the Taoist god responsible for good fortune. His birthday falls on the 15th day of the first lunar month. It is said that Tianguan likes all types of entertainment. So his followers prepare various kinds of activities during which they pray for good fortune。

另一个传说认为“灯节”与道教有关。“天官”是道教的神，专管人间祥运，他出生于农历正月十五。相传“天官”喜乐，所以他的信徒们就准备了各种各样的活动，祈求好运。

The third story about the origin of the festival goes like this. Buddhism first entered China during the reign of Emperor Mingdi of the Eastern Han Dynasty. That was in the first century. However, it did not exert any great influence among the Chinese people. One day, Emperor Mingdi had a dream about a gold man in his palace. At the very moment when he was about to ask the mysterious figure who he was. The gold man suddenly rose to the sky and disappeared in the west. The next day, Emperor Mingdi sent a scholar to India on a pilgrimage to locate Buddhist scriptures. After journeying thousands of miles, the scholar finally returned with the scriptures. Emperor Mingdi ordered that a temple be built to house a statue of Buddha and serve as a repository for the scriptures. Followers believe that the power of Buddha can dispel darkness. So Emperor Mingdi ordered his subjects to display lighted lanterns during what was to become the Lantern Festival。