「元宵節」（The Lantern Festival），也可以說成Yuanxiao Festival， 是春節之後的第一個重要節日，古人也稱其為「上元節」(Shangyuan Festival)。元宵節的傳統活動除了吃元宵(Yuanxiao)之外，還包括賞花燈(watching lanterns)、猜燈謎(guessing lantern riddles)和看煙火(watching fireworks)等。
湯圓、元宵英文翻譯：
rice dumpling；
Tang-yuan (dumplings made of sweet rice， rolled into balls and stuffed with either sweet or spicy fillings)；
glutinous rice dumplings；
glutinous rice balls；
sweet dumplings；
sweet soup balls ；
Lantern Festival dumplings
元宵節相關詞彙英譯：
元宵節 The Lantern Festival
舞獅 lion dance (The lion is believed to be able to dispel evil and bring good luck.)
舞龍 dragon dance (to expect good weather and good harvests)
戲曲 traditional opera
雜耍 variety show；vaudeville
燈謎 riddles written on lanterns
燈會 exhibit of lanterns
元宵節習俗英文介紹：Eating Yuanxiao吃元宵
Yuanxiao is the special food for the Lantern Festival. It is believed that Yuanxiao is named after a palace maid， Yuanxiao， of Emperor Wu Di of the Han Dynasty. Yuanxiao is a kind of sweet dumpling， which is made with sticky rice flour filled with sweet stuffing. And the Festival is named after the famous dumpling. It is very easy to cook - simply dump them in a pot of boiling water for a few minutes - and eaten as a dessert.
元宵是元宵節的特色食品。據說，元宵是因漢武帝時期的一位名叫元宵的宮女而得名。元宵是一種帶餡兒的甜食，是由糯米粉加上甜的餡料製成。元宵節就是因此食品得名。元宵的烹製方法非常簡單，將元宵倒入裝滿沸水的鍋中煮幾分鐘就可以了。
Guessing lantern riddles元宵節習俗：猜燈謎
"Guessing lantern riddles"is an essential part of the Festival. Lantern owners write riddles on a piece of paper and post them on the lanterns. If visitors have solutions to the riddles， they can pull the paper out and go to the lantern owners to check their answer. If they are right， they will get a little gift. The activity emerged during people's enjoyment of lanterns in the Song Dynasty (960-1279). As riddle guessing is interesting and full of wisdom， it has become popular among all social strata.
猜燈謎也是元宵節活動的一個基本組成部分。燈籠的所有者將謎語寫在一張紙條上，然後將紙條展示在燈籠上。如果賞燈者猜出謎語，就將紙條取出，然後找燈籠所有者確認答案。打對的話，他們就可以領取一份小禮品。這個活動起源於宋朝（960——1279）。猜燈謎活動極富情趣和智慧，因此在全社會廣受歡迎。
Watch fireworks 元宵節習俗：看煙火
In the daytime of the Festival， performances such as a dragon lantern dance， a lion dance， a land boat dance， a yangge dance， walking on stilts and beating drums while dancing will be staged. On the night， except for magnificent lanterns， fireworks form a beautiful scene. Most families spare some fireworks from the Spring Festival and let them off in the Lantern Festival. Some local governments will even organize a fireworks party. On the night when the first full moon enters the New Year， people become really intoxicated by the imposing fireworks and bright moon in the sky.
元宵節的白天會有舞龍舞獅、劃旱船、扭秧歌、踩高蹺。而在晚上，除了各種大型燈會，燦爛的焰火也是一幅美麗的畫卷。很多家庭在春節時會留下一部分煙花等著元宵節放。有的地方政府甚至會組織焰火晚會。當新年的第一輪圓月升上夜空時，人們都會因燃放的煙火和空中的明月而興奮。
科普小知識
外國人通常會把帶餡的東西都叫作dumpling，比如說餃子、包子、燒賣、餛飩、粽子、鍋貼、湯圓等，但是這些東西在中國其實還都是有區別的，地域不同，做法也不同，吃法就更不同了。
Jiaozi（餃子）的英語可翻譯為jiaozi ，Chinese ravioli 或者dumpling 。義大利語裡面有個詞叫做ravioli，中文意思是餃子，但是實際上並不是中國餃子，而是一種歐洲食品。根據字典定義和國際慣例，似乎ravioli比dumpling更接近中國的餃子。但習慣成自然，dumpling還是更被我們國人所熟知。水餃boiled dumplings 蒸餃steamed dumplings 。如果餃子用油煎炸，那就被稱作是「鍋貼」（guotie/potstickers）。
在中國，還有其他的當普林類型，如餛飩（wonton）、蝦餃（har kao）、燒賣（ siew mai）、小籠包（small cage-steamed bun/xiaolongbao）、粽子（rice dumpling wrapped in reed leaves），豬肉包和水晶包子（crystal dumpling）。
包子通常翻譯為steamed stuffed bun/bao zi ，狗不理包子的英文說法是Go-believe ，肉包子打狗--有去無回的英文是Chasing a dog by throwing meat dumplings at it-gone， never to return. 小籠包子 steamed small dumpling in basket 。
元宵節英語祝福語
1. 元宵節之際，祝你心中有首快樂的歌，新年快樂!
Wishing you a merry song in your heart at Lantern Festival and blessings all year long!
2. 在元宵節來臨之際，祝你平安，快樂，幸福。萬事圓!
Wishing you peace, joy and happiness and everything all the best through Lantern !
3. 致以熱烈的祝賀和良好的祝福，元宵節快樂!
Warm greetings and best wishes for Lantern Festival!
4. 快樂的元宵之際，謹致我的想念與祝福。
Thinking of you and wish you a Happy Lantern Festival.
5. 元宵節轉眼又到，快樂也到!我們向你及你的親人們致以最美好的聖誕祝福，願你在接下來的日子裡事業興旺，幸福美滿!
It seems that Lantern Festival is here once again, and it is time again to bring in happiness. We wish the merriest of Lantern Festival to you and your loved ones, and we wish you happiness and prosperity in the days ahead!
6. 願你元宵節幸福無盡。
May Lantern Festival be filled with happiness for you.