【雙語】這些年過的春節(jié) 年味兒越飄越淡

The Spring Festival travel rush, witnessed by tens of thousands people going home, gets more and more frightening every year. Firecrackers are more extravagant. The Spring Festival eve dinner gets even more delicious. However, most Chinese people feel that the atmosphere of Spring Festival, or Nianwei, is fading. How come? Why we feel less excited than before when we mention the Spring Festival? Let's trace the Spring Festival atmosphere that is gradually fading away.
　　雖然春運潮一年比一年猛，鞭炮和禮花一年比一年熱烈，年夜飯一年比一年豐盛，很多國人卻感到年味兒越來越淡了。年味兒為什么會變淡？我們提到過年時為什么不再有兒時的期盼和興奮？本期內(nèi)容讓我們尋根究底，共同追尋"越飄越淡"的年味兒。

年味兒是什么味?

What's Nianwei? What kind of atmosphere is it?
　　什么是年味？
　　It's the excitement and expectation on the way home; it's the smile on parents' faces when we arrive;
　　年味是回家途中的激動和期盼，是踏入家門時爸媽的笑臉；
　　It's the happiness of the whole family sitting together chatting; it's our toast to our elders at dinner;
　　是全家團圓的喜樂氣氛，是晚輩孝敬長輩圍坐在桌前敬的那一杯酒；

It's the smell of fireworks going off outside; it's the jiaozi (dumplings) for the Spring Festival eve dinner that mom has been busy preparing;
　　是屋外煙花閃耀飄進(jìn)鼻內(nèi)的一股幽香，是媽媽忙前忙后做的一頓年夜飯中的餃子；
　　It's the enjoyment of going to the temple fair and watching the dragon dance, a scene which drags us back to childhood; it's the friendly ambiance in which everyone says "Happy New Year" no matter whether they know each other or not;
　　是逛廟會看著舞龍仿佛又回到童年的一種享受，是甭管認(rèn)識不認(rèn)識，見面都說過年好的那種友好感覺；
　　It's the red lanterns hanging everywhere…
　　是滿大街掛滿了紅燈籠充滿了祝福話語的那種氣氛……
　　Nianwei, the Spring Festival atmosphere, is happiness, peace and reunions…
　　"年味"是喜慶、是吉祥、是平安、是團圓……

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過年習(xí)俗

Cleaning: In Chinese, the pronunciation of "塵" (dust) and "陳" (stale things) are the same, so cleaning the dust before the Spring Festival eve means kicking poverty and bad luck out of the house. The tradition embodies people's hope to bid farewell to the old and usher in the new.
　　掃塵：按民間的說法，因"塵"與"陳"諧音，新春掃塵有"除陳布新"的涵義，其用意是要把一切窮運、晦氣統(tǒng)統(tǒng)掃出門。這一習(xí)俗寄托著人們破舊立新的愿望和辭舊迎新的祈求。

Spring Festival couplets: The tradition of pasting Spring Festival couplets on doors originated during the Song Dynasty and became popular during the Ming Dynasty. The couplets are composed of neat, antithetic, compact and ingenious words to describe society and express good wishes. It is a unique Chinese literary form.
　　貼春聯(lián)：這一習(xí)俗起源于宋代，在明代開始盛行。春聯(lián)以工整、對偶、簡潔、精巧的文字描繪時代背景，抒發(fā)美好愿望，是中國特有的文學(xué)形式。

Window flower & "Fu": Many people like to use paper cuttings, known as "window flowers", to decorate windows. It's a folk art with a long history. Mythological legends, opera stories, flowers, birds, insects and fish can all provide inspiration for a paper cutting. The Chinese character "福" means good luck and fortune. It shows people's yearning for a happy life. People usually put up a poster with this character on it turned upside down, because the Chinese word "倒," which means upside down, sounds the same to "到," or "arrive".
　　貼窗花和倒貼"福"字：過年時人們還喜歡在窗戶上貼上各種剪紙——窗花。窗花是一門歷史悠久的民間藝術(shù)，內(nèi)容包括神話故事、戲劇情節(jié)和花鳥魚蟲等。"福"字指福氣、福運，寄托了人們對幸福生活的向往。人們通常將"福"字倒過來貼，表示"幸福已到""福氣已到"。

Staying up the whole night: The tradition of staying up the whole night on New Year's eve had two meanings in ancient times. The old stayed up to bid farewell to the old year, which reminds them to cherish every moment of time. While for the young, staying up was an act to show they wish their parents a long life. In modern times, people stay up the whole night to ward off disease and disasters and to wish for good luck in the New Year.
　　守歲：古時守歲有兩種含義，年長者守歲為"辭舊歲"，有珍愛光陰的意思；年輕人守歲，是為延長父母壽命�，F(xiàn)在人們通宵守歲，則是希望光明把一切邪瘟病疫驅(qū)走，來年吉祥如意。

Firecrackers: Firecrackers date back over 2,000 years. The cracking sounds they make are perfect for creating a joyous atmosphere, and thus exploding firecrackers has become an important part of celebrations. They are also thought to bring happiness and good luck.
　　爆竹：其起源很早，至今已有兩千多年的歷史。爆竹可以創(chuàng)造出喜慶熱鬧的氣氛，是節(jié)日的一種重要娛樂活動，可以給人們帶來歡愉和吉利。

New Year picture: The New Year picture is an age-old folk art. The pictures, which are often brightly colored, bring good fortune and happiness to thousands of families. The custom originated from the "door god" that is believed to guard the doors to homes. The most important places in which New Year pictures are made are Taohuawu of Suzhou, Yangliuqing of Tianjin and Weifang of Shandong. Pictures from the 3 places are of different genres.
　　年畫：年畫是中國的一種古老的民間藝術(shù)，濃墨重彩的年畫給千家萬戶平添了許多興旺歡樂的氣氛。年畫起源于"門神"。中國年畫三個重要產(chǎn)地是蘇州桃花塢、天津楊柳青和山東濰坊，形成了中國年畫的三大流派，各具特色。

Images of door gods: It's a Chinese decoration placed on each side of the entrance to a home or business that is believed to keep evil spirits from entering. Ancient people considered door gods to be a symbol of righteousness and forcefulness as they thought those with special appearances had supernatural or uncommon abilities.
　　貼門神：門神是一種傳統(tǒng)裝飾，貼在住宅或者商鋪的門上，用以驅(qū)魔。門神是正氣和武力的象征，古人認(rèn)為，相貌出奇的人往往具有神奇的稟性和不凡的本領(lǐng)。

Collecting fortune: It is said that the first day of the first month on China's lunar calendar is the birthday of the broom. People believe on this day they can't use a broom as it will clear out good luck and fortune. People also can't pour out water or throw out rubbish as they will lose money.
　　聚財：俗傳正月初一為掃帚生日，這一天不能動用掃帚，否則會掃走運氣、破財。這一天也不能往外潑水倒垃圾，怕因此破財。

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Paying New Year visits: It is an important custom during the Spring Festival. It is a way to say goodbye to the old year and ring in the new year and to send good wishes to one another.
　　拜年：拜年是中國民間的傳統(tǒng)習(xí)俗，是人們辭舊迎新、相互表達(dá)美好祝愿的一種方式。

年味變淡之個案

'Nianwei' fades as Gran ages
　　長輩老了'年味'淡了

Netizen Michelle, 25, recalls the good old days: "The whole family used to sleep late till midday on the Lunar New Year's Day, after staying up watching the Spring Festival Gala the night before. We would then pay a New Year call to grandma with empty stomachs. After having lunch together, our cousins would came along with us to visit relatives, and we could come back just in time for supper. Grandma would make a pleasant meal, one of her specialties or a delicious soup. After dinner, the grown-ups gathered around the table, playing Mahjong and chatting away, while the cousins found it fun to have a girly talk."

25歲的網(wǎng)友Michelle回憶起以前過年的情景："因為要熬夜看春晚，以前過年，我們?nèi)�家睡到大年初一的中午才起床，然后空著肚子到外婆家吃飯、拜年，再和表姐妹們一起去親戚家。走一圈回來剛好吃晚飯。外婆親手做了拿手菜，還會有兩碗好喝的湯。吃完飯，大人們聊天、打麻將，表姐妹們則在一起聊悄悄話。"

"However, things change as the elders age. Now relatives only gather for lunch at a restaurant on the first day of New Year. Something is missing, though we order 3 tables of food. Grandma's health is declining, which stops her doing the cooking, so the activities in the evening are all canceled."

"可是，隨著長輩們的年紀(jì)越來越大，大年初一的拜年便改了形式——親戚們聚在飯店里吃頓飯，雖然有三大桌，但總感覺比往年少了些什么。外婆身體不太好，沒辦法下廚做飯，于是晚上的活動也取消了。"

Working during New Year
　　過年無聊不如上班

During the 7-day holiday for Spring Festival last year, 30-year-old Li spent 3 days in the office. It was not obligatory, but she asked for it. "Spring Festival is so boring that I'd rather go to work," she said. A get-together of old schoolmates, which used to be held each year, has been canceled because so many of them were married. Now there was nothing to do, so Li volunteered to work without hesitation during the festival when her boss asked who would like to. "Better than playing on the computer games at home, after all," she said.
　　春節(jié)長假7天，30歲的小李有3天在辦公室里度過，而且是她自己主動申請值班。她覺得"春節(jié)挺無聊的，還不如上班。"小李說，假期中沒事情可做，老同學(xué)各自都有了家室，往年還有安排的同學(xué)聚會今年全部取消了。放假前領(lǐng)導(dǎo)問誰要值班時，小李便不假思索地報了名："總比在家里玩電腦有意思。"

年味變淡之尋根究底

Why is the atmosphere of Spring Festival fading? According to the China Youth Daily, many external factors contribute to the change: the urban and rural binary system, material abundance and spiritual emptiness, the shock of foreign festivals, the development of communication technology, the pressure of working and housing and the alienation of human relationships, etc.

年味為什么會越變越淡？據(jù)《中國青年報》評論，其中有很多外部因素：城鄉(xiāng)分割的體制、物質(zhì)的豐裕、精神生活的匱乏、外國節(jié)日的沖擊、科技與通信技術(shù)的發(fā)展、現(xiàn)代人工作與買房的壓力、人與人之間情感的淡漠……

It's always easy to find external reasons to blame, but we fail to notice the change within ourselves. Each of us is growing more complicated and apathetic as we gain more worldly wisdom. Under the burden of material desire, we ache to go back to a simple and innocent childhood. Should we be asking if it is the Spring Festival which is losing its flavor as the years pass, or it is us, who are growing more and more nostalgic, to blame?
　　我們總喜歡去外部尋找原因，卻沒發(fā)現(xiàn)自己也在一天天地改變，我們的內(nèi)心在變復(fù)雜、變世故、變麻木，情感貧乏，為外物所累，欲望的溝壑填不滿，轉(zhuǎn)而去尋找那逝去的、單純的童年。一年又一年，是年味太淡，還是我們對過去太留戀？

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