News Plus慢速英语:日本举办宝宝哭相扑比赛 不比力量比哭功

Now from the New York City to Tokyo. Lots of festivals and ceremonies are held at temples and shrines across Japan every year to wish for the healthy upbringing of babies and children.
现在把目光从纽约市转到东京。每年日本的寺庙和神社都会举行各种庆祝活动和庆典，祝福婴儿和儿童健康成长。

While they all hold a deep meaning for those involved, it doesn't mean they have to be serious in nature.
虽然这些庆典蕴含着深层的含义，但这并不意味着庆祝活动必须采取严肃的形式。

There is one such ceremony — it's called "Crying Sumo" and is held at Tokyo's Irugi Shrine.
东京居木神社每年都会举办一个名为“宝宝哭相扑比赛”的庆典。

The ceremony goes like this, the "sumo wrestlers" are acted out by members of the local community, who are chosen based on their physical stature. Dressed in traditional costume, they hold babies in a ring in front of a referee who helps the wrestlers do everything possible to make the infants shed tears.
这项活动会依据体格挑选当地居民来扮演“相扑选手”。被选中的人要穿着相扑比赛的服装，抱着孩子站在一个圆形场地中，有裁判会帮助这些业余选手尽一切可能让婴儿流泪。

The ceremony is arguably more fun for the parents than it is for the babies who take part.
可以说，相较于参加活动的婴儿，孩子的家长获得了更多乐趣。

One parent explains that the babies are a bit frightened and are trembling as they are crying. He told reporters that his son cried a lot at the ceremony and he hopes that this means the son will grow up healthy.
一名家长表示，婴儿有些害怕，他们在大哭的时候一直在发抖。他接受采访时表示，他的儿子在活动中哭了很长时间，他希望这意味着他的儿子将健康成长。

While this is an old tradition, it's now being taken up by more and more shrines around Japan.
这是一种古老的传统，现在日本各地越来越多的神社开始沿袭这一传统。

The Irugi Shrine has been holding a ceremony for only the past five years — and the number of people taking part goes up every year. In the year of 2013, 100 babies were taken into the sumo ring during 50 "matches."
这项庆典仅在居木神社举办了五年的时间，每年的参加人数一直在不断增长。2013年，有100名婴儿参加了这项活动，共举行了50场比赛。

The thinking behind this bizarre ceremony is that it gives children the chance to show God how well they can cry.
举行这种怪诞仪式的原因是日本人认为这给了孩子们向上帝证明他们很会哭的机会。

They say it's healthy to laugh and in Japan they clearly think it's also healthy to cry.
人人都说大笑对身体有好处，而显然日本人认为大哭对身体也有好处。