老南京过春节可以概括为三句话：图吉利、讨头彩、盼来年。除夕那天，老南京人要祭祖、守岁、吃年夜饭等。守岁时，要吃一种甜羹，又叫福寿汤。这汤由红枣、莲子、荸荠等熬制而成，取“增福添寿”的意思。初一吃饺子不是南京人的传统，而是吃“元宝蛋”（就是茶叶蛋），客人来了，一定要吃一个。另外，要给客人端一碗糖水，里面放上一个“欢喜团”（把糯米粉蒸熟以后晒干，搓成一团），寓意甜甜蜜蜜、欢欢喜喜。

　　For senior citizens of Nanjing, spending the Spring Festival can be epitomized into three sentences, i.e. seeking auspiciousness, going after the first prize and looking forward to the new year. On the eve of the Spring Festival, senior citizens in Nanjing would offer sacrifices to ancestors, stay up throughout the night and enjoy the family-reunion dinner. While staying up at night, a kind of sweet dessert, also called happiness-longevity soup, would be served. Red dates, lotus-seeds and water-chestnuts are simmered in this soup, standing for "Increasing happiness and longevity". Eating "Yuanbao eggs" (eggs boiled with tea) on the first day of the first lunar month is the tradition of people in Nanjing., whereas eating pork-dumplings is not. An egg of this kind is a must for each guest. Besides, the guest would be served with a bowl of sweet water in which there is a "Huanxituan" (a ball of powdered glutinous rice steamed and aired dry) , denoting sweetness and joy.

　　曹建新 译