您現在的位置: > Language Tips > Easy English > Festival > December  
     





     
    New Year's Day(新年)
    [ 2003-12-30 01:00 ]

    New Year's Day
    January 1

    10...9...8... The lighted ball in New York's Times Square(時代廣場)starts picking up speed(加快速度). 7...6...5... It's almost time. 4...3...2... Everyone holds their breath for the last few seconds. We're about to jump that seemingly large but invisible gap that separates the years. 1...0... Happy New Year!

    We made it. The old year, for better or worse, is gone for good. The new year has begun with fresh promise. Here's our chance to start again, to do it right this time, to have another shot at success...at glory...at just accomplishing what we resolve to. It's time to shed that baggage from the year long gone and celebrate what can be in the 365 untouched days to come. Happy New Year!

    We can trace the origins of a new year's celebration back to the ancient Egyptians and Babylonians, at least 4,000 years ago. In Egypt, the Nile river signaled a new beginning for the farmers of the Nile as it flooded their land and enriched it with the silt(淤泥)needed to grow crops for the next year. This happened near the end of September.

    The Babylonians held their festival in the spring, on March 23, to kick off the next cycle of planting and harvest. Symbolically, the king was stripped of his robes and sent away for a few days while the people whooped it up(慶祝). He then returned in all his finery(華麗的服飾)for a grand parade, and the normal activities of life would return for the new year.

    So how did we get to January 1 as the start of the year? That date was picked by the Roman Emperor Julius Caesar when he established his own calendar in 46 BC. The Roman Senate had actually tried to make January 1 New Year's Day in 153 BC, but it wasn't until Caesar stretched out 47 BC for 445 days that the date we're familiar with was synchronized(同步)with the sun. We've been on the Julian calendar ever since.

    There must be something inside of us that needs to unload the accumulated results of fate and our own decisions and start anew. The Romans knew this. The month of January was named for their god, Janus, who is pictured with two heads. One looks forward, the other back, symbolizing a break between the old and new. The Greeks paraded a baby in a basket to represent the spirit of fertility. Christians adopted this symbol as the birth of the baby Jesus and continued what started as a pagan ritual. Today our New Year's symbols are a newborn baby starting the next year and an old man winding up the last year.

    Around the world, different cultures have their own traditions for welcoming the new year. The Japanese hang a rope of straw across the front of their houses to keep out evil spirits and bring happiness and good luck. They also have a good laugh as the year begins to get things started on a lucky note.

    In West Bengal, in northern India, the people like to wear pink, red, purple and white flowers. Women favor yellow, the color of spring. Hindus(印度人)also leave shrines next to their beds so they can see beautiful objects when they wake up to the new year.

    In Vancouver, British Columbia, Canadians enjoy the traditional polar bear swim. People of all ages don their swim suits and take the plunge, an event that is sure to get you started in the new year with eyes wide open.

    A fairly new tradition that is starting to spread worldwide is a community celebration of the visual and performing arts on New Year's Eve. Started in Boston in 1976, an organization called First Night promotes alcohol-free festivals in 186 American cities, 16 in Canada, plus Hastings, New Zealand and Greenwich, England. Typical experiences include ice sculptures, dancing, storytelling, theater, poetry, films and, at the stroke of midnight, an elaborate fireworks display.

    Best wishes to you and your loved ones for a happy and prosperous New Year!

     
     
    相關文章 Related Stories
     
             
     
     
     
     
     
             
     
     

    48小時內最熱門

         

    本頻道最新推薦

         
      I believe I can fly!
      電話的按鍵布局是怎么來的?
      Hmmm...yummy!
      沙漠里的綠洲是怎么形成的?(通訊員稿)
      Be careful!

    論壇熱貼

         
      i want to have a english name
      “早生貴子”英語怎么說
      日常口語趣味翻譯(It's fun!)
      how to say "彩鈴" in English?
      “天壤之別”英語怎么說?
      翻譯:老鄉見老鄉,兩眼淚汪汪




    亚洲AV无码专区亚洲AV伊甸园| 亚洲中文久久精品无码| 色综合久久无码中文字幕| 日韩精品无码熟人妻视频| 中文成人久久久久影院免费观看| 中文字幕亚洲乱码熟女一区二区| 日韩人妻精品无码一区二区三区| 制服中文字幕一区二区| а√天堂中文官网8| 国产成人A人亚洲精品无码| 无码任你躁久久久久久老妇App | 欧美日韩不卡一区二区三区中文字| 成人无码小视频在线观看| 亚洲av成人无码久久精品| 无码人妻精品一区二区三区99性| 中文无码vs无码人妻| av无码一区二区三区| 国产精品VA在线观看无码不卡| 亚洲AV无码成人精品区蜜桃| AV无码久久久久不卡蜜桃| 中文字幕1级在线| 欧美日韩中文字幕在线看| 日本中文字幕在线2020| 亚洲日韩中文无码久久| 无码专区国产无套粉嫩白浆内射| 草草久久久无码国产专区| 高清无码视频直接看| 久久久久久久人妻无码中文字幕爆 | 精品人妻无码区二区三区| 欧美中文字幕无线码视频| 日本一区二区三区中文字幕| 日韩中文字幕一区| 中文字幕一二三区| 久久精品?ⅴ无码中文字幕| 超碰97国产欧美中文| 欧美成人中文字幕在线看| 亚洲中文字幕无码专区| 超清无码无卡中文字幕| 亚洲精品成人无码中文毛片不卡| 无码永久免费AV网站| 蜜桃臀无码内射一区二区三区|