It’s Easter in the UK and the shops are full of Easter eggs, hot-cross buns and Easter bunnies.

　　这是复活节的在英国和在商店里有许多复活节彩蛋，十字面包和复活节兔子。

　　Although Easter is widely seen as a Christian festival which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus, its origins pre-date Christianity and many of its symbols come from the earliest civilisations.

　　虽然复活节是基督教的节日，庆祝耶稣复活，它的起源追溯基督教和它的许多符号来自早期文明。

　　Our modern festival’s roots lie in ancient seasonal rituals which marked the transition from the "death" of winter to the new life and rebirth of spring.

　　我们的现代节日的起源于古代季节性仪式，标志着从“死亡”的冬季的生命和新生的春天。

　　These days we give chocolate eggs as gifts at Easter but eggs have been symbols of fertility for thousands of years.

　　这些天我们在复活节巧克力蛋，但鸡蛋作为礼物被几千年生育的象征。

　　The ancient Persians gave each other painted eggs for the festival of Nowrooz, a celebration held at the spring equinox which marked the start of Persian New Year. The tradition continues to this day.

　　古波斯人互赠彩蛋为nowrooz节日，庆祝春分这标志着波斯新年开始举行。这个传统一直延续到了今天。

　　Centuries ago the early Saxon people marked buns with a cross to honour their goddess Eostre, whose name some people believe to be the origin of the word Easter. It is believed that early Christians incorporated such pagan festivals into their religion.

　　世纪以前，早期的撒克逊人用十字标来纪念他们的女神Eostre包子，谁的名字有些人认为这个词就是复活节的起源。据认为，早期的基督徒把这些异教徒的节日为他们的宗教信仰。

　　Some experts say the Easter bunny was originally a hare as this animal represented fertility and growth in pagan mythology due to its capacity for reproduction. Moreover, in some ancient cultures the hare was also a symbol of the moon, which is significant as the date of Easter changes each year depending on the lunar cycle.

　　一些专家说，复活节兔子是兔子这种动物代表生育和异教神话由于其容量为生殖生长。此外，在一些古老的文化兔子也是一个月亮的符号，这是重要的是复活节的日期每年改变取决于月球周期。

　　The Easter bunny has become an important symbol of Easter all over the world. But nowadays not everybody treats such symbols with respect.

　　复活节兔子成为复活节的世界各地的重要标志。但是并不是每个人都认真对待它们。

　　Pranksters in the Austrian town of Villach have stolen a giant Easter Bunny from the town square. Local police say it should not be too difficult to spot as it is two metres tall and weighs 60kg.

　　在菲拉赫的奥地利小镇的玩笑从镇上的广场上偷了一个巨大的复活节兔子。当地警方说，这应该不会太困难的地方是两米的身高和体重60kg。