农历七月半，也就是传说中的“鬼节”，也叫中元节、盂兰盆节、地官节等。
那你知道“中元节”用英语怎么说吗？还不知道的童鞋赶紧看过来哦！
“中元节”的英文表达是：Hungry Ghost Festival 。当然，还有一种表达外国人也能听懂，就是：Chinese Halloween。我们都知道国外也有“鬼节”，就是：Halloween（万圣节前夕）。
The Hungry GhostFestival is celebrated on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month.
中元节在农历七月十五日。
【相关词汇】：
ghost /gəʊst/ n.鬼, 幽灵
gouge/gaʊdʒ/ vt. 用半圆凿子挖；欺骗 n. 圆凿；以圆凿刨；沟
pumpkin/'pʌm(p)kɪn/ n. 南瓜
Buddha /'budə/ n. 佛陀；佛像
Taoism/'taʊ'ɪzəm/ n. 道教,道家的学说
Taoist/'tɑ:əuist,'tauist/ n. 道士；道教徒 adj. 道教的；道教信徒的
take revenge on 对…实施报复
pay tribute to [ˈtrɪbjuːt] 致敬;表示敬意
wandering [ˈwɒndərɪŋ] 流浪的;漂泊的
souls [səʊlz] 灵魂（复数）
intrude [ɪnˈtruːd] 侵扰
misfortune [ˌmɪsˈfɔːtʃuːn] 厄运;不幸
Lantern [ˈlæntən] 灯笼
mourn [mɔːn] 哀悼，忧伤
the deceased [ðə dɪˈsiːst] 死者;已故的
bless [bles] 祝福
relatives [ˈrɛlətɪvz] 亲戚（复数）
lotus [ˈləʊtəs] 莲花
【习俗】
Family members offer prayers to their deceased relatives, offer food and drink and burn hell bank notes and other forms of joss paper.
家庭成员向已故的亲人祈祷，送上祝福，奉上食物和饮料，烧一些诸如冥币这样的纸钱给他们。
People would burn things such as paper houses, cars, servants and televisions to please the ghosts.
在中元节里，人们会烧些纸房、纸车、纸俑人和纸电视来宽慰这些作古之人。
Families also pay tribute to other unknown wandering ghosts so that these homeless souls do not intrude on their lives and bring misfortune and bad luck.
人们也会顺道祭祀一下那些不知名的孤魂野鬼，这样，那些游魂就不会打扰他们的生活，给他们带来不幸和噩运。
Floating River Lanterns is a visually spectacular tradition conducted for mourning the deceased and blessing their relatives.
放河灯是一项壮观的习俗，人们因此来追悼那些已故之人和为亲人祈福。
The river lantern, also called lotus lantern, is usually made into a lotus shape. Then a lamp or candle is placed inside. On the night of the Zhongyuan Festival, lanterns are released into rivers or lakes.
传说放河灯也是为了给鬼魂引路。灯灭了，河灯也就完成了把冤魂引过奈何桥的任务。
【起源】
There is also a reason why the Zhongyuan Festival is called the Hungary Ghost Festival. There is a famous allusion in the Buddhist Scripture that the most powerful disciple under the Buddha's throne is mu Qianlian. His mother did too much evil during her lifetime, and after her death, she fell into the abyss of abyss and became an evil ghost. No matter how much food mu Qianlian brought to her mother, she could not eat it and could only starve. Therefore, she was also called "hungry ghost". In order to atone for his mother, muqianlian, according to the instructions of the Buddha, invited monks from ten places to eat fast on July 15, and the "hungry ghost" could eat enough on that day.
中元节被叫做Hungry Ghost Festival也是有来由的。佛经中有一个著名的典故，佛祖座下神通最强的弟子叫目犍连。他的母亲因生前作恶太多，死后堕入阿鼻无间地狱变成恶鬼。无论目犍连给母亲带来多少食物，她都无法吃到，只能挨饿，因此也叫“饿鬼”。目犍连为给母亲赎罪，根据佛祖指示，在七月十五这一天宴请十方僧侣斋食，而“饿鬼”在这一天也能吃饱。
Ulambana Festival (Yu Lan pen Festival) can be directly translated as "Yulan pen Festival", which originated from India in the fifth century BC. Ulambana is Sanskrit, transliterated as "Yulan basin" in Chinese, which originally means "rescue upside down", that is, rescue the ghosts suffering in hell. Hanging upside down describes the state of suffering. A basin refers to a vessel holding offerings. Buddhism believes that offering this tool can save the suffering of the deceased parents and relatives. Therefore, "Yulan basin Festival" also has the custom of offering sacrifices to ancestors.
Ulambana Festival（Yu Lan Pen Festival ） 可直译为“盂兰盆节”，源自公元前五世纪的印度。Ulambana是梵文，中文音译为“盂兰盆”，原意为“救倒悬”，即解救在地狱受苦的鬼魂。倒悬形容苦厄之状，盆是指盛供品的器皿。佛教认为供此具可解救已逝去父母、亡亲的倒悬之苦。因此，“盂兰盆节”也有祭祀祖宗的习俗。
The origin of the Hungry Ghost Festival and the Ghost Month in China is uncertain. Cultures in Asia from India to Cambodia to Japan share similar beliefs about the month, and these traditions seem to date from before Buddha.
中元节是否起源于中国并不确定。关于该节日的文化在一些亚洲国家诸如印度、柬埔寨、日本都信奉着相似的信仰，似乎这些传统都起源于佛教。
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