‘洋节’哈是么样儿来滴？？？？

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西方节源：St. Patrick’s Day Word Origins

the shamrock (irish seamróg) is a plant with trifoliate leaves and it is a symbol of st. patrick's day because tradition has it that st. patrick used the plant to explain the theological doctrine of the holy trinity (three persons in one god). the word is a diminutive of irish seamar 'clover'. the ancient druids associated the shamrock with the coming of spring and the rebirth of the natural world at the vernal equinox. the shamrock was later adopted as the national symbol of ireland. the phrase "to drown the shamrock" means 'to go drinking on st. patrick's day'. clover is the common name for this species of trefoil, but it was spelled various ways prior to 1600, which is also what happened to shamrock until around 1577.

the alcoholic liquor called beer has been around for quite some time. before 6000 bc, beer was made from barley in sumeria and babylonia. reliefs on egyptian tombs dating from 2400 bc show that barley or partly germinated barley was crushed, mixed with water, and dried into cakes. when broken up and mixed with water, the cakes give an extract that was fermented by microorganisms accumulated on the surfaces of fermenting vessels. the word's etymology is uncertain but it came to us through west germanic (bier) and is based on latin biber 'drink' from bibere 'to drink'.

in irish folklore, a leprechaun was a tiny sprite or fairy who carried a purse containing a shilling. the word is derived from old irish luchorpán 'wee ones', from lu 'small' + corp 'body'. over the years, the word luchorpán was confused with an irish word meaning 'one shoemaker'. the leprechaun started being depicted as a solitary creature working on a single shoe instead of a pair.

ireland's (irish éire) first human occupation did not begin until a late stage in the prehistory of europe. it has generally been held that the first arrivals were mesolithic hunter-fisher people, represented largely by flintwork found mainly in ancient beaches in the historic counties of antrim, down, louth, and dublin. the word éire may itself mean 'western land', from a root word related to gaelic iar 'west'. it first appears as ierne in greek writings which may have a base dating as early as the 5th century bc. the name appears as iouernia in ptolemy's map (c. ad 150) and has also been found translated into latin as iuverna. the latin form, hibernia, appears in the works of caesar, who may have confused it with the latin word hibernus 'wintry'. ériu was an old irish form of éire, and was seen in the earliest of irish literature.

rainbow comes from old norse regnbogi (becoming old english renboga, ren 'rain' + boga 'bend, bow') and is a bow or arch of the colors of the prism that is formed in the sky opposite to the sun by the reflection, double refraction, and dispersion of the sun's rays in falling drops of rain. there are many stories about the pot of gold existing at the end of a rainbow.

st. patrick, the patron saint of ireland, was not actually irish. he was born around ad 385, somewhere in roman britain, possibly near dumbarton, scotland. at 16, he was captured by irish raiders looking for slaves and he was taken there to tend sheep. after six years of slavery, he ran away and ended up wandering through southern gaul (france) and italy. there, he had a vision from god which told him to return to ireland and convert the pagans to christianity. returning to ireland around 432, st. patrick did missionary work until he died on march 17 in 464. the country of ireland went into mourning. the first st. patrick's day celebration in the united states was in 1737 in boston.

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西方节源：Presidents’ Day Word Origins

presidents’ day is celebrated in the united states on the third monday in february and it originally honored george washington and abraham lincoln, whose birthdays were february 22nd and 12th, respectively. the holiday came about because of the so-called monday holiday law of 1968, which became effective in 1971 and moved a number of federal holidays to mondays so that workers had a number of long weekends throughout the year. the day now celebrates all u.s. presidents. the phrase presidents' day came into existence in 1952.

around 1375, the word president came into english to describe the appointed or elected head of a province, colony, division of a country, city, or other body of persons. the term evolved in use and was applied in religion, in education, etc. before its first use for the officer holding executive power in a modern republic, starting in the united states in 1774. in 1789, the constitution of the u.s. stated, "the executive power shall be vested in a president of the united states of america. he shall hold his office during the term of four years." the word president came through french from latin praesidere 'to preside.'

emancipate means "to free from legal, political, social control or restraint by others" and "to free from bondage." the word's latin elements are manus 'hand' and capere 'to take' and first meant "to release or set free." u.s. president abraham lincoln's most famous act was the emancipation proclamation, the edict he issued on january 1, 1863, that freed the slaves of the confederate states which had rebelled against the union.

the word assassin has one of the most interesting etymologies. in a nutshell, assassin derives from an arabian word meaning "hashish user." some religious fanatics (shia muslims) during the time of the crusades (13th century) ate hashish to intoxicate themselves before going out to murder christian leaders. the word came to mean "one who commits murder, especially one who murders a political leader."

patriot is from latin patriota "fellow countryman" (from earlier greek pater "father") and this was its original meaning when it came into english in the late 1500s. soon thereafter, it described a person who is willing to sacrifice his or her well-being for that of his or her country. it also means, "one who loves and defends a country's freedom or interests."

a country or nation is an independent state, often one having a common language, culture, history, and set of institutions, especially political. nation and country. both words came into english c 1330. these words tend to be used interchangeably. some may argue that country describes a self-governing political entity while nation means a tightly-knit group of people which share a common culture. country comes from latin contrata (terra) "the landscape in front of one, the landscape lying opposite to the view." nation is from latin nation-/natio "race, class of person. the word national did not appear until the late 16th century.

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西方节源：Valentine’s Day Word Origins

cupid, in roman mythology, is the god of love. he was said to be the son of mercury and venus. (cupid's greek counterpart is eros.) in latin, the name was cupidines, a personification of cupido, "desire, love" (from cupere, "to desire or long for").

heart can be traced back from old english (c 725) and has cognates in old frisian, old saxon, middle dutch, old high german, old icelandic, danish, norwegian, and gothic back to proto-germanic. the spelling was herte until about 1500 when it was spelled heart by analogy of pronunciation with heat, stream, etc. the indo-european root is shared with latin cor, cord- and greek ker, kardia. as the seat of feeling and intellect, heart has been used since around 825.

a valentine as a sweetheart, lover, or special friend was first written about c 1450. originally, it meant such a person chosen, drawn by lot, or otherwise determined for the upcoming year. valentine as a card (c 1553) was at first a folded paper inscribed with the name of the person chosen or drawn as a valentine. by 1610, the word also referred to a gift given to the special person. the use of the word to mean "a written or printed letter or card with decoration, verse, etc. of an amorous nature" sent or given on st. valentine's day began around 1824. the word can be written with an initial capital or without.

the oldest known valentine still in existence today was a poem written by charles, duke of orleans to his wife while he was imprisoned in the tower of london following his capture at the battle of agincourt. the greeting, written in 1415, is part of the manuscript collection of the british library in london, england.

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西方节源：Super Bowl Word Origins

bowl as in super bowl derives from the eating vessel bowl. its first sports meaning was "football stadium," though such a stadium is no longer necessarily bowl-shaped. the yale bowl is an example of a football stadium so named. as a sporting event, it first referred to the rose bowl (1923) and, later, the super bowl.

coach first referred to a cart or carriage and came to mean "a private tutor" in british universities around 1848. the sense of "an athletic trainer" (especially for a boat race) was first recorded in 1885.

the origin of football goes way back as an open-air game between two teams using an inflated ball. mainly the ball was kicked, thereby football. a football game was played in china as early as 206 bc, and by 500 ad round footballs stuffed with hair were in use. in ancient greece, a game with elements of football — episkuros or harpaston — was played. it migrated to rome as harpastum by the 2nd century bc. football has been associated with violence ever since 13th century england. the original form of the game, most often played on shrove tuesdays and other holy days, involved battles between neighboring villages and towns.

a quarterback is so named because originally the player was positioned between the forwards (now the offensive line) and the halfbacks. the term was first recorded in print in 1895 according to the oed.

referee originally referred to a person appointed by the british parliament to examine patent applications (1621) and was formed from english refer and -ee. the sense of "an arbitrator or person to whom a dispute is referred" was first recorded in 1690; by 1840 the word acquired the further sense of "the judge of play in games and sports."free software! get instant dictionary, thesaurus, and encyclopedia access from most mac and windows programs.

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西方节源：Martin Luther King Jr. Day Word Origins

dream is from the old english word dream meaning "noise, music" or "joy, mirth." the catch-phrase american dream came into use in 1931 ("if the american dream is to come true and to abide with us, it will, at bottom, depend on the people themselves." – james truslow adams) and described the american ideal of social equality and economic prosperity.

freedom and free are from old english freo, related, significantly, to sanskrit priya, "dear," which was the primary original sense of free as an adjective. therefore, it meant "belonging to one's family or clan, not being a slave." freedom as "personal liberty" was first used in old english freodom. in the united states, our freedoms are protected by the amendments to the constitution.

civil rights in the united states specifically addresses the rights of black people as citizens. the term was first used in this way in 1874. civil derives from latin civis, "citizen," which passed into english via civilis, "of or pertaining to citizens." civil law is that which regulates the private rights and duties of the inhabitants of a city or state.

race was originally used to denote a group with common features, a group connected by common descent or origin. the word is derived from italian razza.

etymologically, an assassin is an "eater or smoker of hashish," from arabic hasisi. during the crusades, there was a sect of muslim fanatics who, under the influence of hashish, killed christians and other enemies. in arabic, they were called hashshashin, "hashish eaters." in english, this plural form was perceived as singular assassin, "one who kills a public figure for political or religious rather than personal motives." the verb assassinate is from the medieval latin verb assassinare, "to kill."

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中国节日的英译
元旦 new year' s day    jan.1
国际劳动妇女节international working women' s day
（women's day）       mar.8
国际劳动节international labor day
(may. day)              may.1
中国青年节 chinese youth day may.4




国际儿童节international children's day（children's day）   june .1
中国共产党诞生纪念日 (党的生日) anniversary of the founding of the chinese communist party
(the party' s birthday)   july .1
建军节 army day        august .1
教师节teachers’ day     sept.1



国庆节national day      october.1





中国传统节日
春节  the spring festival （new year’s day of the chinese lunar calendar） 农历正月初一
元宵节 (灯节)the lantern festival 农历正月十五
清明节the qingming festival四月五日前后
端午节the dragon-boat festival农历五月初五
中秋节the mid-autumn festival （the moon festival）农历八月十五
重阳节the double-ninth day农历九月初九



情人节 the double-seventh day农历七月初七

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西方节源：Christmas Word Origins

christmas is from the old english words cristes moesse, 'the mass or festival of christ'. the first celebration took place in rome about the middle of the fourth century. the exact date of the nativity is not known, but even in pre-christian times the period from december 25 to january 6 — now known as "the twelve days of christmas" — was considered a special time of year. the abbreviation xmas, thought as sacrilegious by some, is entirely appropriate. the letter x (chi) is the first letter in the greek word for christ.

reindeer is actually redundant. the root rein is scandinavian for 'reindeer', so reindeer translates to 'reindeer deer'. it came to english from old norse hreindyri.

mistletoe is thought to be based on a german word for bird excrement (mix) from the fact that the plant is propagated in it, though there is also a theory that the term derived from another german word (mash) which refers to the stickiness of the berries. it is combined with an old english word (toe) meaning 'twig'. this shrub usually grows on broad-leaved trees like apple, lime, and poplar.

christmas carol is a term which originally referred to a non-religious ring dance accompanied by singing. eventually it came to mean a merry song with a tune that could be danced to. the italian friars who lived with st. francis of assisi were the first to compose these songs, c. 1410. since the nineteenth century, carols have been sung in place of hymns in most churches on christmas eve and christmas day.

st. nicholas was not only wealthy but modest, and he liked to help people in need without drawing attention to himself. poor families would often find a gold piece or well-filled purse without knowing where it had come from. his american successor, santa claus, carried on the tradition.

native to central america, the red and green poinsettia has been a symbol of christmas in the united states since the 1820s when it was first shipped to north america by joel poinsett, the american minister to mexico.

wassail comes from the middle english waes haeil (c. 1205), which means 'be in good health' or 'be fortunate'. wassailing was the old english custom of toasting the holiday and each other's health. wassail is also the name of the spiced apple beverage used in such toasting; it has been drunk since around 1300.

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西方节源：Winter Word Origins

the word winter comes from an old germanic word that means "time of water" and refers to the rain and snow - as well as low temperatures - of the season in middle and high latitudes. in the northern hemisphere, it is commonly regarded as extending from the winter solstice (the year's shortest day), december 21 or 22, to the vernal equinox, the start of spring. the word winter came into english c 888.

dormant comes from the latin word dormire 'to sleep,' and its original meaning was sleeping, literally or figuratively. dormant and dormancy later were used to describe plants and seeds as well as animals, especially during the winter season.

fire is often associated with winter, for its great contribution to keeping us warm. the english word has many cognates (words related by descent from the same ancestral language) in the germanic languages and corresponds to greek, umbrian, armenian, and sanskrit terms. originally, the word described emotion and passion; by 1300, it described one of the four "elements" (with earth, wind, water). the spelling fire was first recorded around 1200, but it did not become fully established until the early 1600s.

the word hibernate derives from the latin terms hibernare 'to winter,' from hiberna 'winter quarters' and hibernus 'wintry.' erasmus darwin, grandfather of charles darwin, first used the word in 1802, according to noah webster.

ice has cognates in germanic languages and is ultimately from proto-germanic. beowulf used an old english form of it around 723. freeze has a similar background and its sense of chill or be chilled was first used in a phrase meaning, "it is so cold that water turns to ice."

the word skate was originally plural and comes from dutch schaats, which derived from an old french word for 'stilt' but the connection is unclear. skate appeared in english in the mid-seventeenth century. ski, in english by 1755, was borrowed from norwegian, and ultimately from old norse for 'snowshoe.' and sled came from flemish and germanic sledde between 1325-1388 for a 'vehicle for transporting heavy goods' and is related to sledge and sleigh.

snow is of teutonic in origin, from an indo-european root shared by the latin words niv-/nix and greek nipha. the spelling snow first appeared in english around 1200.

the solstice is one of the two times of year when the sun's apparent path is farthest north or south from the earth's equator. in the northern hemisphere, the winter solstice is on december 21 or 22. the situation is exactly the opposite in the southern hemisphere, where the winter solstice is on june 21 or 22. the word solstice is from latin solstitium, from sol 'sun' and sistere 'to stand still,' as it is regarded as a point at which the sun seems to stand still. the word was first used in english around 1250.

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西方节源：Hanukkah Word Origins

more than 2,000 years ago, when the syrian-greek king antiochus iv occupied jerusalem, he forced the jews to worship the greek gods. for three years, judah the maccabee (also judas maccabeus) led a rebellion against the syrians, and when he finally defeated them in 165 bce, the jews could worship freely again. to rededicate the temple, they cleaned it up from top to bottom and then relit the menorah, their special branched candelabrum. they could only find enough consecrated (pure) oil for one day, and it would take eight days to prepare more oil. they managed to make the oil in the bottle last eight days and hanukkah celebrates both this and the rededication of the temple. today, families gather around a menorah and light one candle on the first night of hanukkah, two on the second, and so on for all eight nights of the festival. there are songs, stories, presents, food fried in oil (latkes, jelly doughnuts called sufganiyot) and prayers. children play games of chance with the spinning tops called dreidels.

hanukkah (also spelled hanukka, chanukah, chanukkah), is from hebrew and means "conse cation, dedication." it was first recorded in english in 1891. hanukkah is observed somewhere between november 25 and december 26, from 25 kislev to 2 tevet, because the original rededication was on the 25th day of the jewish month of kislev. the celebration is also called the festival of lights, feast of lights, feast of dedication, or feast of the maccabees.

the ancient gambling game called dreidel is actually a yiddish word coming from german drehen, "to turn." (it is known as sevivon in hebrew.) the dreidel is a four-sided spinning top with the hebrew letters nun, gimel, he/hay, and sh'in on its faces. these letters stand for the sentence nes gadol haya sham, "a great miracle happened there!" (in modern israel, the letters of the dreidel were changed to reflect the translation, "a great miracle happened here.") in the game, players gamble with pennies or pieces of candy. depending on which letter comes up when the top is spun, the player adds to or takes out of the pot: n take nothing, g take all the pot, h take half the pot, sh add to the pot. the letters also have numeric values which can be used in the game.

a latke is a potato pancake and it is usually served with sour cream and applesauce. the word latke is yiddish, from russian l'tka, "pastry." the word first appeared in english in 1927. latkes are served at hanukkah in memory of the maccabee women who cooked latkes for the jewish soldiers when they were fighting the syrians. because latkes are fried in oil, they also symbolize the oil that miraculously lasted for eight days in the original menorah.

a menorah is a nine-branch candelabrum designed to commemorate the eight days that the oil in the temple lamp burned. one holder anchors the shamas or shamash or shammash, the "worker" candle that is used to light the others. the candles are inserted in the menorah incrementally each night of the festival from right to left but are lit from left to right - one for the first night, two for the second, and so on. a blessing is also offered while the candles are lit each night. menorah is hebrew for "candlestick, candelabrum," or "lamp stand." the original menorah in the ancient temple in jerusalem had seven branches; it now has eight branches and a holder for the shamas to celebrate hanukkah. the seven-branched menorah is still a symbol of judaism and also the nation of israel. shamas(h) is hebrew for "attendant," from a base word meaning "to serve." the hanukkah menorah is also called the hanukkiyyah. the first candle is lit at sundown on the 24th day of kislev. free software! get instant dictionary, thesaurus, and encyclopedia access from most mac and windows programs.

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西方节源：Thanksgiving Word Origins

during the winter of 1620, half of the 102 mayflower passengers (pilgrims) who settled in plymouth, massachusetts, died. the following spring, a native american named squanto helped those who survived plant corn and barley. their autumn harvest was a success and the colony held a thanksgiving celebration, inviting massasoit, chief of the wampanoag tribe, to join their feast. encyclopaedia britannica gives this account:

"plymouth's thanksgiving began with a few colonists going out "fowling," possibly for turkeys but more probably for the easier prey of geese and ducks, since they "in one day killed as much as...served the company almost a week." next, 90 or so wampanoag made a surprise appearance at the settlement's gate, doubtlessly unnerving the 50 or so colonists. nevertheless, over the next few days the two groups socialized without incident. the wampanoag contributed venison to the feast, which included the fowl and probably fish, eels, shellfish, stews, vegetables, and beer."

the standard thanksgiving meal of turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie does not really reflect the original plymouth event!

the us continental congress proclaimed a national thanksgiving upon the enactment of the constitution, but by 1798 the celebration of thanksgiving was left up to the individual states. a women's magazine editor ("godey's lady's book") named sarah hale petitioned to establish a national day of thanksgiving for more than 20 years. in 1863, us president abraham lincoln finally proclaimed august 6 as thanksgiving day, a national holiday. in 1867, president andrew johnson moved it to the last thursday in november. though president franklin d. roosevelt tried moving it up a week — to stimulate the economy by allowing more time for christmas shopping — and ulysses s. grant (in 1870) moved it to november 18 — thanksgiving day was officially set in 1941 as a legal federal holiday on the fourth thursday in november. canadians celebrate their thanksgiving day on the second monday in october.

the autumn harvest has always been a cause for celebration. the ancient greeks honored demeter, their corn goddess, in october. the romans had cerealia, held also in october, to honor their grain goddess, ceres. jewish people observe sukkot, the feast of tabernacles, in autumn. and both north and south american indians celebrated the harvest. most of these celebrations were social and religious occasions. there were also english harvest home celebrations and dutch thanksgiving traditions, which the pilgrims knew about before traveling to america. even in america, it is said that there were at least two "thanksgiving" celebrations before the one in plymouth. in 1607, english settlers shared a harvest feast and prayer meeting with abnaki indians near the mouth of the kennebec river. in 1619, there was a celebration in virginia where colonists who had traveled up the james river came ashore and joined native americans to give thanks.

cornucopia is a latin form evolved from two words cornu copiae, "horn of plenty." the horn of plenty was fabled to be the horn of the goat nymph amalthaea, whose milk was fed to the baby zeus in greek mythology. the cornucopia is a goat's horn filled with corn and other grains, flowers, and fruit. it has long been a symbol of fruitfulness and abundance and at thanksgiving, baskets shaped like cornucopia are filled and put on display.

the word feast comes from the latin festa (plural of festum), "festive ceremonies" and was originally a religious celebration commemorating a person, like the bible's passover. there are movable feasts like easter, whose date changes each year, and immovable feasts, like christmas and saints' days. the word feast came into english in the 13th century.

indian corn is the common name of zea mays, also called maize, a north american plant or the grain produced by it. indian corn was cultivated by native americans at the time of the discovery of america. columbus and other explorers introduced corn to europe, from where it spread to all areas of the world suitable to its cultivation. native americans taught colonists to grow the indigenous grains, which included some varieties of yellow corn that are popular as food as well as varieties with red, blue, pink, and black kernels, often banded, spotted, or striped, that are now regarded as ornamental. in the united states, these variegated corns are traditionally used in autumn harvest decorations and are called indian corn.

the oldest thanksgiving day parade (latin parare, "to make ready, procure, prepare, furnish"), dating to 1920, is gimbel's department store's in philadelphia. macy's department store held its first parade in 1924.

the pilgrims were originally called puritans because they wanted to "purify" the church of england, which they felt was too caught up with ritual. many people studied the bible and listened to sermons in private homes — without the ritual activities — and if they were caught, would have been considered treasonous. the 102 people who made the voyage on the mayflower included some people who decided to travel to the new world for these religious reasons. the basic meaning of pilgrim, was "traveler, wanderer" and our english word can be traced back through french to latin pelegrinus, an alternation of peregrinum, "foreigner."

turkey was originally the name for african guinea fowl and eventually for the western hemisphere fowl with which the earlier fowl was confused. the existence of the wild turkey in north america was recorded in 1613 by samuel purchas in his book "pilgrimage." because of their size (20-30 pounds), the turkey was relatively easy to catch and became a source of food for early american settlers. the turkey did not become part of thanksgiving tradition until the 1860s. benjamin franklin lobbied unsuccessfully to have the turkey declared the national bird of the united states. the custom of snapping the turkey's wishbone (the forked bone in front of the breastbone) goes back to ancient roman times, making it a tradition long before the pilgrims came to america.