Simone
古人把舜帝祭祀天地和先帝尧的那一天当做一年之始，把正月初一称为“元旦”。
The ancients regarded the day when Emperor Shun offered sacrifices to heaven and earth and Emperor Yao as the beginning of a year, and called the first day of the first lunar month "New Year's Day".
有个传说，是在4000多年前远古的尧舜盛世之时，尧天子在位时勤政于民为百姓办了很多好事，很受广大百姓爱戴，但因其子无才不太成器，他没把“天子”的皇位传给自己的儿子，而是传给了品德才能兼备的舜。
There is a legend that when Yao and Shun flourished more than 4000 years ago, Emperor Yao was diligent in doing many good things for the people and was loved by the people. However, because his son was not very talented, he did not pass the throne of "Emperor of Heaven" to his son, but to Shun, who had both moral and ability.
尧对舜说：“ 你今后一定要把帝位传交好，待我死后也可安心瞑目了。”后来舜把帝位传给了治洪水有功的禹，禹亦像舜那样亲民爱民为百姓做了很多好事，都十分受人爱戴。后来人们把尧死后，舜帝祭祀天地和先帝尧的那一天，当作一年的开始之日，把正月初一称为“元旦”，或“元正”，这就是古代的元旦。
Yao said to Shun, "You must hand over the throne to me in the future, and you can be at ease when I die." Later, Shun passed the throne on to Yu, who had made great achievements in flood control. Like Shun, Yu did a lot of good deeds for the people and was very popular. Later, people regarded the day when Emperor Shun offered sacrifices to heaven and earth after Yao's death as the beginning of the year, and called the first day of the first lunar month "New Year's Day", or "Yuanzheng", which was the ancient New Year's Day.
