“冬至”用英文怎么说？

　　“冬至”，是二十四节气中的第二十二节气，通常在12月21日或者22日。在这一天，北半球昼最短夜最长。那么，“冬至”用英文怎么说？中国人为什么这么重视冬至节呢？

　　冬至 Winter Solstice

　　“solstice”这个词我们不太看到，因为它的意思很特别，表示“the time of either the longest day in the year (about June 22) or the shortest day in the year (about December 22)”。这么看来，这个词的用武之地似乎局限性很大。基本上用在“Winter Solstice”（冬至）以及“Summer Solstice”（夏至）之处。

　　Winter solstice, as the name implies, means the coming of winter. As an important solar term in the traditional Chinese calendar, it is also a traditional holiday for Chinese, which is also called “冬节”， “长至节”，“亚岁”, etc. Generally, winter solstice occurs between December 21st and 23rd. According to the traditional Chinese calendar, five days constitutes a pentad and three pentads constitutes a solar term. One year is divided into twelve periods and twelve climates which are regarded as twenty-four solar terms. The Winter Solstice is one of twenty-four solar terms. On this day, in the Northern Hemisphere the period of daytime is the shortest of the year and the period of night is longest.

　　冬至，顾名思义是“冬天到来”的意思。这是中国农历中一个非常重要的节气，也是中华民族的一个传统节日，也称“冬节”、“长至节”、“亚岁”等。冬至一般是在公历十二月二十一日至二十三日之间。依照中国传统的历法，五日为一候，三候为一气，一年又分为十二节和十二气，合称为二十四节气，而冬至就是二十四节气之一。这一天是北半球全年中白天最短、夜晚最长的一天。

　　冬至这天有啥传统习俗？

　　Winter Solstice is a time for the family to get together. One activity that occurs during these get togethers (especially in the southern parts of China and in Chinese communities overseas) is the making and eating of Tangyuan or balls of glutinous rice, which symbolize reunion.

　　冬至是家族团聚的一天。在这天，中国南方的家庭会包汤圆、吃汤圆，以象征团圆的意思。不过在中国北方，似乎更多的人会吃饺子。比如说会有“冬至到，吃水饺”这样的谚语。

　　中国人为什么比较重视冬至？

　　其实，但从中国文化方面讲，“冬至”这个日子还可以翻译成“Dongzhi Festival”，中国人为什么都比较重视这个节气？

　　The origins of this festival can be traced back to the yin and yang philosophy of balance and harmony in the cosmos. After this celebration, there will be days with longer daylight hours and therefore an increase in positive energy flowing in.

　　原来是和“阴阳”相关。人们认为，过了这一天，白昼一天比一天长了，是一个节气循环的开始，“阳”气逐渐回升，因此算是个吉利的日子。