民间庙会

　　庙会是中国民间的一种社会活动，据说起源于古代的祭祀土地神，以后逐渐变成了一种民间物品交流的集市和文化表演的场所。

　　庙会一般设在寺庙里和寺庙附近的空场上，在节日或规定的日子举办。有的只在每年春节期间举办。虽然各地举办庙会的时间不同，但基本内容都差不多。庙会期间，农户、商贩带？自己生产的农产品、土特产和从各处收集来的古玩玉器、花鸟鱼虫，到庙会上进行交易；各路手艺人设摊展卖民间工艺品和特色小吃；民间艺人搭台表演歌舞曲艺……逛庙会的老百姓喜气洋洋地赶来买卖物品，观看表演，品尝小吃，真是热闹非常。

　　现在，北京市每年春节都举办庙会。比较有名的有白云观庙会、地坛庙会、龙潭湖庙会、隆福寺庙会等。北京的庙会保留了许多传统习俗，像白云观庙会的骑驴逛庙会、打金钱眼等。庙会上出售的物品也很有北方特色，像空竹、风车、刀枪剑戟等玩具；冰糖葫芦、茶汤等小吃，都深受老百姓欢迎。

　　The temple fair is a kind of social activity in China. Legend has it that it originated in ancient times when people offered sacrifices to the village god, which later gradually evolved into a marketplace for people to exchange products and a place for cultural performance.

　　The temple fair, usually on the open ground in or near a temple, is held on festive or specified days. Some are held only during the Spring Festival. Although different places hold their temple fair at various dates, the contents are similar. Farmers and merchants sell their farm produce, local specialties, and antiques, jade articles, flowers, birds and fish; craftsmen set up their stalls to show and sell their handicrafts and specialty snacks; folk artists establish a stage for singing, dance, and quyi (Chinese folk art forms, including ballad singing, story telling, comic dialogues, clapper talk, cross talk, etc.) performance. Ordinary people come to the temple fair to buy and sell goods, watch the performances, and sample snacks, giving the temple fair a bustling atmosphere.

　　Now, Beijing holds temple fair every Spring Festival. Relatively famous temple fairs are those of the White Cloud Temple, the Altar of Earth, Dragon Pool and the Temple of Intense Happiness. Temple fairs in Beijing have preserved many traditional customs, such as riding a monkey to stroll around the temple fair and throwing coins through the hole in the center of a copper coin in the White Cloud Temple. Many goods sold in the temple fair have typical northern features, such as toys like diabolo, pinwheel, knife, spear, sword and halberd; big sugarcoated haws on a stick and gruel of millet flour and sugar are widely popular among common people.