元宵节的甜点

Celebrated on the 15th day of the first month of the lunar New Year, Lantern Festival is a day for appreciating the bright full moon, reuniting with family and marking the end of the 2-week long Spring Festival holiday. And as people in Beijing busy preparing for the big night on Monday, CCTV reporter Li Qiuyuan gives a "taste" of the festival.
农历正月十五的元宵节是一个赏月、家庭团圆以及标志着为期2周的春节假期结束的日子。周一，在北京人忙着为这个盛大的夜晚做准备的时候，央视记者Li Qiuyuan将“品尝”这个节日。

Almost every traditional festival in China comes with its own festive dish, and the Lantern Festival is no exception.
几乎每个中国的传统节日都有其节日食物，元宵节也不例外。

Apart from the usual fireworks, riddles and folk dance, the festival is welcomed with sweet dumplings in soup known as "Yuanxiao" in the North and "Tangyuan" in the South.
除了常见的烟火、谜语和民间舞蹈之外，汤里的甜汤圆在这个节日也受到欢迎，北方称之为“元宵”，南方称之为“汤圆”。

This means great business for the Jinfang Snack Bar in central Beijing.
对北京市中心的这家锦芳小吃店来说，这意味着红火的生意。

Li Qiuyuan, CCTV reporter, said, “I’m now on one of the most ancient and famous business streets in beijing, Qianmen Avenue, and This Snack Bar right here is one of the oldest brands on the street, it’s famous for making traditional Beijing snacks, and of course at this time of the year, Yuanxiao is definitely the most popular snack here, and thanks to the open kitchen there, people can actually enjoying watching the chef making these yuanxiao while waiting.”
央视记者Li Qiuyuan表示：“我现在在北京最古老、最有名的大街之一，前门大街这里，这里的这家小吃店是这条街上最古老的品牌之一，它以自制的传统北京小吃而出名，当然，每年的这个时候，元宵一定是这里最受欢迎的小吃，由于那边有开放的厨房，人们可以边等边观看厨师长制作这些元宵。”

It is believed that the custom of eating Yuanxiao began in the Song Dynasty, but became popular during the Ming and Qing periods. And it’s of course alive and well today.
人们认为，吃元宵的传统开始于宋朝，但是流行起来却是在明清时期。当然，这种传统今天依然盛行。

Local residents said, "I have had Yuanxiao every lantern festival ever since I was little." “It’s Yuanxiao festival, so I have to get some Yuanxiao, some are for my family, and some are for my friends.”
当地居民称：“自小以来，每年的元宵节我都吃元宵。”“今天是元宵节，所以我得买些元宵，一些给我的家人，一些给我的朋友。”

I’m always curious about how these little sticky rice balls are made, and today I’m going to find out.
我一直都很好奇这些小小的糯米球是怎么制作的，今天，我将去寻找答案。

It turns out the process is not unlike rolling tiny snowballs!
结果证明这个过程和滚小雪球没什么不同！

Qiu Yunhe, owner of Jinfang Snack Bar, said, "The stuffing of Yuanxiao is pre-made, we first dip the stuffing in water to make it sticky, and then roll them in sticky rice flour in this container. We do this 4 times."
锦芳小吃店的老板Qiu Yunhe表示：“元宵的馅是预先做好的，首先，我们将馅料浸到水中，使它变粘，然后在这个容器里的糯米粉上滚动它们。这样我们要做四次。”

Li Qiuyuan, CCTV reporter, said, “So this container is filled with sticky rice flour, and this right here is the stuffing, it looks kind of like hard candy, so by rolling the stuffing around in a container like this, layers of flour will stick to the candy core, and it’ll gets bigger and bigger until it’s perfectly round and just about the right size, interesting!"
央视记者Li Qiuyuan称：“所以这个容器里都是糯米粉，这里的这些是馅料，它看起来有点像硬糖，所以经过在容器里这样滚动馅料，一层层的面粉就会地粘到糖核上，它将变得越来越大，直到变得非常圆，大概是这种尺寸，真有趣！”

The usual fillings for Yuanxiao or Tangyuan are made of sugar, sesame, walnuts, osmanthus flowers, and bean or jujube paste.
元宵或汤圆的馅通常是用糖、芝麻、核桃、桂花以及豆沙或枣泥制成的。

Yuanxiao today though, is getting more and more experimental - with new flavours constantly being added to the menu.
虽然现在的元宵变得越来越有试验性——不断有新的口味添加到菜单上。

Qiu Yunhe, owner of Jinfang Snack Bar, said, “Some of the popular new flavors for this year’s lantern festival are blueberry and minced beef - they both sell pretty well. "
锦芳小吃店的老板Qiu Yunhe表示：“今年元宵节一些受欢迎的新口味是蓝莓和牛肉馅——它们卖得非常好。”

And just like any other festive food in China, these sticky rice dumpling balls have a very special symbolic meaning.
和中国其它节日食物一样，这些汤圆有一种非常特别的象征意义。

Although the dumpling balls differ in name and recipe from the North and the South, they are always round and white - representing the moon on the night of the lantern festival.
虽然南方和北方汤圆的名称和烹饪法各异，但是它们都是圆的、白色的——代表元宵节晚上的月亮。

Li Qiuyuan, CCTV reporter, said, “The Chinese name of Tangyuan sounds very close to the word “Tuanyuan”, which means the whole family getting together happily, so it’s a symbol of staying together. And also because the roundness symbolizes wholeness and togetherness in Chinese culture, so it’s a way of people celebrating the happy reunion of the family and also expressing their best wishes for their future.”
央视记者Li Qiuyuan表示：“元宵的中文名听起来和词语‘团圆’非常接近，这代表着全家人幸福地在一起，所以它是团圆的象征。也因为圆形在中国文化中象征着团聚，所以这是人们庆祝开心的家庭团聚，同时表达他们对未来美好祝福的一种方式。”

As people across the country celebrate one last night of Spring festival, its hoped that the tangyuan they eat will bid a sweet goodbye to the season.
在全国人民庆祝春节最后一个晚上的时候，人们希望他们吃的汤圆可以更这个季节做个甜蜜的道别。