中国文化小常识：二月二龙抬头那些风俗应该了解？

　　Feeling fiery today? That’s probably because it’s Dragon Head Raising Day, which falls each year on the second day of the second lunar month, as recorded by the proverb: “On the second day of the second month in Chinese lunar calendar, the dragon is awaked, raising his head” .

　　感觉今天很燥热?那可能是因为这一天是龙抬头，它在每年农历二月的第二天来临，正如谚语记载说道：“二月二，龙抬头”。

　　On this day, dragons, a prominent totem in Chinese culture and believed to dominate natural forces like wind and rain, “raise their heads” (or awaken) with the sound of rumbling thunder, a sign of the coming rains that will revitalize the earth. Around this time (theoretically, anyway), the earth is bursting with life, grass and trees are beginning to sprout and farmers are getting ready to till the fields. In ancient China, people would worship the dragon god beside a river or a lake, praying for the precious spring rains to nurture their crops.

　　在这一天，龙——中国文化的一个重要图腾，据信能够呼风唤雨——“会抬起头”(或者是醒过来)，发出隆隆的雷声，这是召唤大地复苏的雨水的前兆。大约在这个时候(总之从理论上来说)，地球会变得生机勃勃，草木开始发芽，农民着手耕田。在中国古代，人们会在河流或湖泊旁边拜龙，祈祷珍贵的春雨滋养他们的庄稼。

　　This day is also sometimes called Longtoujie (Dragon’s Head Festival) and Chunlongjie (Spring Dragon’s Festival).

　　有时这一天也被称作“龙头节”和“春龙节”。

　　Traditionally, food eaten on this day was renamed after parts of the dragon. For instance, dumplings were called “dragon’s ears,” spring pancakes were called “dragon’s scales,” rice was called “dragon’s son” and wontons were called “dragon’s eyes.” The special foods usually eaten on this day include dragon’s scales, popcorn, soy beans and pig’s head.

　　从传统上来说，这一天吃的食物都是以龙的器官命名的。例如，饺子被称作“龙耳”，春饼被称作“龙鳞”，饭被称作“龙子”，混沌被称作“龙眼”。这一天的特色食物包括龙鳞、爆米花、大豆和猪头。

　　In Shanxi, meanwhile, people get their hair cut in a symbolic move to ditch the old (i.e. unlucky) and embrace the new (i.e. lucky). In the countryside in Hebei Province, people would fetch water from a well at the crack of dawn, a practice known as “loading the dragon’s eggs”. It was believed that on this day the well was full of dragon eggs and that bringing them home would bless the collector with a year of favorable weather and good harvest.

　　同时，山西人会理发，以此作为辞旧(不幸运)迎新(幸运)的象征性举动。在河北省农村，人们会在破晓时分从井里打水，这一惯例俗称“挑龙蛋”。据信，在这一天井里都是龙蛋，将它们带回家会保佑收集者一年风调雨顺并且有个好收成。