介绍冬至的英语作文

As early as 2,500 years ago, about the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC), China had determined the point of Winter Solstice by observing movements of the sun with a sundial. It is the earliest of the 24 seasonal division points. The time will be each December 22 or 23 according to the Gregorian calendar.

The Northern hemisphere on this day experiences the shortest daytime and longest nighttime. After the Winter Solstice, days will become longer and longer. As ancient Chinese thought, the yang, or muscular, positive things will become stronger and stronger after this day, so it should be celebrated.

The Winter Solstice became a festival during the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) and thrived in the Tang and Song dynasties (618-1279). The Han people regarded Winter Solstice as a "Winter Festival", so officials would organize celebrating activities. On this day, both officials and common people would have a rest. The army was stationed in, frontier fortresses closed and business and traveling stopped. Relatives and friends presented to each other delicious food. In the Tang and Song dynasties, the Winter Solstice was a day to offer scarifies to Heaven and ancestors. Emperors would go to suburbs to worship the Heaven; while common people offered sacrifices to their deceased parents or other relatives. The Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) even had the record that "Winter Solstice is as formal as the Spring Festival," showing the great importance attached to this day.

In some parts of Northern China, people eat dumpling soup on this day; while residents of some other places eat dumplings, saying doing so will keep them from frost in the upcoming winter. But in parts of South China, the whole family will get together to have a meal made of red-bean and glutinous rice to drive away ghosts and other evil things. In other places, people also eat tangyuan, a kind of stuffed small dumpling ball made of glutinous rice flour. The Winter Solstice rice dumplings could be used as sacrifices to ancestors, or gifts for friends and relatives. The Taiwan people even keep the custom of offering nine-layer cakes to their ancestors.

They make cakes in the shape of chicken, duck, tortoise, pig, cow or sheep with glutinous rice flour and steam them on different layers of a pot. These animals all signify auspiciousness in Chinese tradition. People of the same surname or family clan gather at their ancestral temples to worship their ancestors in age order. After the sacrificial ceremony, there is always a grand banquet.

早在2500年前，大约在春秋时期（公元前770-476年），中国就通过用日晷观察太阳的运动来确定冬至的时间点。它是24个季节性划分点中最早的一个。根据公历，时间为每年12月22日或23日。

在这一天，北半球的白天最短，夜晚最长。冬至过后，白天会越来越长。正如中国古代所认为的那样，阳气或肌肉发达的积极事物在这一天之后会变得越来越强壮，所以应该庆祝。

冬至在汉朝（公元前206年至公元220年）成为一个节日，并在唐和宋（618-1279年）蓬勃发展。汉族人把冬至视为“冬节”，所以官方会组织庆祝活动。在这一天，官员和老百姓都会休息。军队进驻，边防要塞关闭，商业和旅行停止。亲友们互相赠送了美味的`食物。在唐宋时期，冬至是祭天祭祖的日子。皇帝们会去郊外祭天；而普通人则向死去的父母或其他亲属献祭。清朝（1644-1911）甚至有“冬至如春”的记载，显示了对这一天的高度重视。

在中国北方的一些地区，人们在这一天吃饺子汤；而其他一些地方的居民吃饺子，他们说这样做可以在即将到来的冬天防止霜冻。但在中国南方的部分地区，全家人会聚在一起吃一顿红豆和糯米饭，以驱除鬼魂和其他邪恶的东西。在其他地方，人们也吃汤圆，一种用糯米粉做成的馅小汤圆。冬至粽子既可以用来祭祖，也可以用来馈赠亲友。台湾人甚至有向祖先供奉九层饼的习俗。

他们用糯米粉做成鸡、鸭、乌龟、猪、牛或羊的形状的蛋糕，然后在不同的锅层上蒸。这些动物在中国传统中都象征着吉祥。同姓或同族的人聚集在他们的宗祠，按照年龄顺序崇拜他们的祖先。祭祀仪式结束后，总会举行盛大的宴会。