One Friday, about two thousand years ago, a man named Jesus, who Christians believe is the son of God, was crucified by the Romans.
大约两千年前的一个星期五,一个名叫耶稣的男人(他被基督徒信奉为上帝之子)被罗马人钉死在十字架上。
After he died, he was buried in a tomb which was sealed with a giant rock.
他死后被埋葬在一个被巨石封住的坟墓里。
When his family and friends went to visit the tomb on Sunday morning, the giant rock had moved and an angel told them that Jesus wasn't there anymore.
当耶稣的亲友在星期天早上去拜祭时发现,坟墓门口的巨石被移走了,还有一名天使告诉他们耶稣已经不在这里了。
Because he had risen from the dead.
因为他复活了。
Have you heard this story before?
你们以前听说过这个故事吗?
It's the story of Easter.
这就是复活节的由来。
Easter is the most important religious holiday celebrated by Christians.
复活节是基督徒庆祝的最重要的宗教节日。
Unlike most holidays, Easter doesn't have a set date in any calendar and changes every year.
与大多数节日不同,复活节在任何日历上都没有固定的日期,而且每年都会变化。
But it always happens on a Sunday between March 22nd and April 25th.
但它通常发生在3月22日和4月25日之间的某个星期天。
Okay, so what exactly is Easter?
好了,所以复活节到底是什么?
Easter is characterized by some very important days.
复活节的特点是有一些非常重要的日子。
First, there's Holy Week.
首先是圣周。
The seven-day period that leads up to Easter Sunday.
即复活节前的一周。
During this week, Christians celebrate Jesus's life in different ways.
在这一周里,基督徒以不同的方式纪念耶稣的一生。
The day that Jesus was crucified and buried in the tomb is part of Holy Week and is called Good Friday.
耶稣被钉死在十字架上并下葬的日子是圣周中的星期五,那一天被称为耶稣受难日。
But then on Sunday Jesus rose from the dead.
但在星期天,耶稣复活了。
This is known as Easter Sunday and is the main day of celebration during Easter.
这一天被称为主复活日,也是复活节期间主要庆祝的日子。
Many Christians go to church on the night before Easter Sunday or on Easter morning to celebrate with a special service.
许多基督徒在主复活日的前一天晚上或当天早上去教堂参加特别仪式。
And even though Easter is a Christian holiday, a lot of non-Christian people also enjoy celebrating it.
尽管复活节是一个基督教节日,也有许多非基督徒喜欢庆祝。
For many, it's a great time to meet with family and friends, go on easter egg hunts, and eat lots of delicious foods like chocolate eggs and hot cross buns.
对许多人来说,这是与家人和朋友见面的好时机,还可以去寻找复活节彩蛋,吃很多美食,比如巧克力蛋和热十字面包。
But what do eggs have to do with Easter?
但是彩蛋和复活节有什么关系?
Eggs are a symbol of birth and life for Christians.
鸡蛋是基督徒出生和生命的象征。
The egg represents the tomb that Jesus was buried in after he died.
鸡蛋代表了耶稣死后被埋葬的坟墓。
And the way that chicks break out of the egg when they hatch is a symbol of how Jesus rose from the dead and left the tomb.
小鸡在孵化时从蛋壳中挣脱出来的方式也是耶稣如何复活并离开坟墓的象征。
People paint or dye boiled eggs with different colors and use them for decoration.
人们把煮熟的鸡蛋涂上不同的颜色并用来作装饰。
Some people eat these eggs but many prefer the chocolate version that comes wrapped in colorful foil instead.
有些人会吃这些鸡蛋,但很多人更喜欢用彩色锡箔纸包裹的巧克力蛋。
Hot cross buns are another special Easter food.
十字面包是另一种特别的复活节食物。
They are made at the end of lent, which is a special 40-day period of reflection and sacrifice with the cross representing how Jesus was crucified and the spices representing the spices that were used when Jesus was buried.
它们是在大斋期(复活节之前的40天)结束时制作的,这40天是一个特殊的反思和献祭的时期,面包上的十字代表钉死耶稣的十字架,使用的香料代表下葬使用的香料。
Lots of different countries have their own special Easter foods, too.
许多不同的国家也有自己特别的复活节食物。
You might know some others.
你可能还知道一些别的食物。
Have you seen this character during Easter?
你在复活节见过这个角色吗?
It's the Easter bunny and it is a super popular figure used throughout Easter.
这是复活节兔子,在整个复活节都非常受欢迎。
But why?
为什么?
Well, it's a bit of a mystery because nobody actually knows for certain where it came from.
它有一点神秘,因为没有人确切知道它是哪里来的。
There are lots of different stories from around the world about how the Easter bunny came to be.
关于复活节兔子的起源,世界各地有很多不同的说法。
During Easter, you can greet people who are celebrating with "Happy Easter".
在复活节期间,你可以用“复活节快乐”来问候那些庆祝复活节的人。
Remember everyone celebrates special days in their own way.
请记住,每个人都有自己的方式来庆祝复活节。
Different people have different traditions that they enjoy during their celebrations and these are just some of the common ones seen during Easter.
不同的人在庆祝活动中有不同的传统,以上内容只是复活节期间常见的一些传统。