【节气风俗】

　　Offering sacrifices to the white tiger

　　祭白虎

　　According to ancient Chinese folklore, a white tiger is the creature that brings quarrels and disputes.

　　根据中国古代民间传说，白虎是会引起争吵和纠纷的生物。

　　When practicing this old custom, people draw the white tiger on paper, and then smear pig's blood and pork on its mouth. This means the tiger is fed so that it would not bite people, avoiding bad luck and conflict.

　　祭白虎，就是画一只白虎在纸上，再在它的嘴上涂猪血或者猪油，意思是让它吃饱后不再咬人，避免坏运气和是非矛盾。

　　Beating "villains"

　　打“小人”

　　People often assign a specific “witch” (usually an elderly woman) to "beat the villains". They use paper cut in the shape of humans to represent "villains" in their lives and the "witch" would use shoes or other tools to hit the paper to expel bad luck.

　　人们经常指派特定的“女巫”(通常是一位老年妇女)去“打小人”。他们用剪出人形的剪纸，代表生活中的“小人”，“女巫”会用鞋子或其他工具去打“纸小人”，驱逐厄运。

　　【词串】

　　to expel bad luck：驱除厄运

　　随着时间的流逝，前两种习俗已经很少出现在人们的日常生活中了，但是下面这种还是非常鼓励大家进行的。

　　Eating pears

　　惊蛰吃梨

　　Eating pears around the Awakening of Insects is a widely-practiced custom in China. As the weather gets warmer and the air becomes dry, people tend to feel their mouths are parched and tongues dry, which can cause colds or coughs. A pear is sweet, juicy and cold, moistening the lungs to arrest a cough. Therefore, pears are highly recommended during the Awakening of Insects.

　　我国民间素有惊蛰吃梨的习俗。随着天气变暖，天气比较干，人们很容易口干舌燥，容易因此患上感冒或咳嗽。梨味甘、多汁、性寒，有润肺止咳的功效。因此，惊蛰时节应多吃梨。