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




主站蜘蛛池模板: 国产精品成人网站| 无码人妻精品一区二区三区夜夜嗨| 午夜夜伦鲁鲁片| 人人玩人人添人人| 女人张开腿日出白浆视频| 久久精品一区二区三区中文字幕 | 99久re热视频这里只有精品6| 无码精品a∨在线观看中文| 亚洲国产成人精品电影| 精品一区精品二区制服| 国产在线一91区免费国产91| 69无人区卡一卡二卡| 婷婷色香五月综合激激情| 久久国产精品萌白酱免费| 欧美日韩国产三级| 免费看黄a级毛片| 苍井苍空A免费井线在线观看| 国产精品99久久久久久董美香| a级毛片免费观看网站| 成年人在线免费观看视频网站| 九九九国产视频| 欧美激情blackedraw红衣在线播放| 免费黄色小视频网站| 色综合久久综合网| 国产成人精品免费视频大全| 91在线激情在线观看| 女人扒开双腿让男人桶| 久久久久久久97| 日韩精品无码一区二区三区不卡 | a资源在线观看| 在线观看污污网站| 一级做a爰片久久毛片下载| 日本免费福利视频| 亚洲av丰满熟妇在线播放| 欧美白人最猛性xxxxx| 伊人久久综合谁合综合久久| 美女扒开尿口让男生捅| 国产午夜福利精品一区二区三区| 亚洲自国产拍揄拍| 国产综合在线视频| bt天堂资源在线种子|