Ganesha Chaturthi is one of the largest Hindu festivals, held over an 11-day period every August or September in the Gregorian calendar. It is celebrated throughout India, but also in other countries around the world. 印度象神節是最盛大的印度教節慶之一，在每年陽曆八月或九月連續舉行十一天。不僅印度舉國慶祝，在世界其他國家也有慶典。
The festival is celebrated in honor of the Hindu god Ganesha. Idols of the god are placed in temporary public shrines and in private houses. They are then paraded around the streets in a procession down to the nearest convenient body of water and immersed. 象神節是為了紀念印度神祇伽尼薩。伽尼薩神像先安置在臨時的公共神龕及民宅，然後抬出來沿街遊行，到附近的河川水域施行浸禮。
Ganesha is a major god in the Hindu pantheon, and is instantly recognizable because of his elephant head. He is considered as the god of beginnings, the remover of obstacles and the patron of arts and sciences. Ganesha emerged as a distinct deity as early as the 4th and 5th centuries AD, although the form he took incorporated earlier attributes from ancient Indian texts.伽尼薩神是印度教眾神中的重要神祇，並因其獨特象頭而能夠立即辨認出。人們相信祂是起始之神，可以消除困難，並為藝術與科學的守護神。早在西元四到五世紀，伽尼薩神便以其獨特的形象存在，儘管其樣貌融合了更早期的印度經典的描述。
Elephants used their trunks to shower floral-clad Thais with water on Wednesday in a street fight celebrating the kingdom’s traditional new year, a raucous festival known as Songkran that will bring revelers out for a nationwide water battle this week. 週三在慶祝泰王國傳統新年的一場街頭對戰中，大象用牠們的象鼻子把水噴灑在穿著花衣裳的泰國人群身上。喧鬧的泰國傳統新年節慶又稱「宋干節」，本週將會吸引狂歡的人群一起出外參加全國遍地開花的打水仗活動。
The animals, whose wrinkled hides were decorated with paint, splashed and sprayed in the streets of Thailand’s former capital Ayutthaya, a tourist hotspot famed for its ancient temple ruins.滿佈皺紋的象皮被妝點上油彩顏料，大象們在泰國的舊首都──阿瑜陀耶──的街上潑起水來，噴灑著水花。阿瑜陀耶是一個觀光勝地，以眾多古老寺廟的遺跡聞名。
A mix of Thais and foreigners armed with water guns and buckets fired back at the elephants, who were controlled by handlers — known as mahouts — riding on their backs.混合泰國人與外國人的另一組人馬，用水槍和水桶武裝自己，向大象們「開水」射擊。被稱為「象夫」的管象人，則騎在大象的背上，控制這些動物。
“Today our children (elephants) are having fun and the foreigners who come to Ayutthaya are happy to inherit the Thai tradition,” Tawan Sudso, an organizer of the annual event, told AFP.這個年度活動的籌辦人塔彎‧蘇德索告訴法新社：「我們的象孩子們今天玩得很開心，造訪阿瑜陀耶的外國人也很樂於傳承此一泰國傳統。」
The Buddhist new year festival officially starts on April 13 and runs for three days.這個佛教新年節慶於四月十三日正式開始，一連持續三天。
Traditional celebrations include paying respect to elders and sprinkling water over Buddha figures at local temples, a ritual believed to accrue good karma.傳統的慶祝活動包括向年長者致敬，隨後對地方廟宇的佛像潑灑清水，這個儀式咸認為可以增添福報。
But the holiday has also become known as one of the world’s biggest water fights, drawing massive crowds of Thais and tourists to soggy street parties that bring much of the country to a standstill. 這樣的新年假期卻也逐漸成為世界上最大規模的水仗之一，每年吸引大批的泰國人與觀光客人潮參加濕答答的街頭狂歡活動，導致泰國絕大部分地區陷入停擺。
Police expect about 60,000 partiers to cram into just one Bangkok neighborhood for the watery warfare later this week.警方預估，光是鄰近曼谷的單一地區，本週稍晚就會湧入約六萬名的派對人潮，參加濕淋淋的潑水大戰。
Under military rule, Bangkok’s Songkran water fights have become less raucous in recent years with alcohol sales restricted and regular appeals from authorities to avoid provocative dancing.在軍政府統治下，酒精飲料販售受限，當局也經常呼籲大眾避免跳著煽情的舞蹈，因此曼谷的「宋干節」水仗近年來喧鬧程度稍減。
Similar but smaller water festivals are also held in neighboring Buddhist countries like Myanmar and Laos.內容類似但規模較小的潑水慶典也會在包括緬甸、寮國等鄰近佛教國家舉行(AFP)
1. ELEPHANTS IN THE TOURISM INDUSTRY ARE ABUSED 旅遊業中的大象正在遭受虐待
A wild elephant doesn't naturally allow a human to climb atop its back and trek through the jungle, for hours, every day of the week. It has to be tamed into submission. In Southeast Asia, the process of taming an elephant includes torture and breaking its spirit. 野生大象並不是生來就允許人們爬上他的背每天在叢林中跋涉數小時的。大象經過馴化後才會服從。在東南亞，馴化大象的過程包括身體折磨和精神摧殘。
The ancient tradition is called Phajaan, meaning "the crush." Poachers take the wild baby elephant away from its mother, sometimes killing the protective elephants around the calf. 這種古老的馴象傳統被稱為Phajaan，意思是"徹底粉碎"。偷獵者將野生大象寶寶從媽媽身邊帶走，有時還會殺死保護在小象身邊的大象。
The handlers tie, cage, starve and beat the animal with tools like a metal bull hook until it learns to fear and obey humans. 馴化者們將大象拴起來、關在籠子裡、不給他們食物，還用金屬牛角鉤等工具打他們，直到大象學會害怕和服從人類。
There are many graphic videos to prove it, like this one. 有很多視頻可以作證，比如下面這段視頻。
2. GIVING RIDES CAN DAMAGE ELEPHANTS' SPINES. 騎大象會損害大象的脊椎
An elephant's spine is not built to support the weight of a human being. Elephants that carry tourists on their backs for hours every day experience discomfort and can suffer from permanent spinal damage. There is also the added element of the Howdah: the seat that the human sits in atop the elephant. The seat causes irritation against the elephant's skin and can lead to infection. 大象的脊椎並非天生用來承載人類的重量。大象每天將遊客背在背上數小時，會感到不適，且脊椎會受到永久性損傷。另一種傷害來自Howdah：人們坐在大象背上的座椅。這種座椅會刺痛大象皮膚，還會導致皮膚感染。
3. ELEPHANTS ARE SOCIAL, INTELLIGENT CREATURES. 大象是聰明的群居動物
Elephants are very similar to humans. They have family and friends and feel deep emotion. According to Elephant Voices, "elephants are well-known for their intelligence, close family ties and social complexity, and they remember for years other individuals and places." 大象和人類非常相似。他們有家人和朋友，非常有感情。據《大象的聲音》稱，"大象以聰明、家庭關係親密以及社會複雜性而著稱，他們對其他個體和地點的記憶可以儲存多年。"
Not only do elephants remember and feel the pain of torture deeply enough to suffer from post-traumatic stress, but when elephants are brought on trekking camps, they are often ripped away from their herd and forced to live in loneliness. 大象對折磨的痛苦有著深刻的感受和記憶，因而飽受創傷後壓力的折磨，不僅如此，當大象被帶到大象營時，人們通常將他們和象群分離，強迫他們獨自生活。
"Just as we consider solitary confinement as punishment for humans, we should also be thinking that way about elephants," said Stanford professor Caitlin O'Connell in an interview with National Geographic in 2016. "It is not healthy to house elephants by themselves." 2016年，斯坦福大學教授凱特琳•奧康奈爾接受《國家地理》採訪時表示："正如我們認為單獨禁閉是對人類的懲罰一樣，我們應該想到對於大象也是這樣。讓大象獨居對他們來說是不健康的。"
4. ASIAN ELEPHANTS ARE ENDANGERED.
亞洲大象瀕臨滅絕。
The Asian elephant is on the Red List of Threatened Species. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the population declined more than 50 percent over the last 60 to 75 years. Asian elephants that work in the tourism industry sometimes die from hunger, dehydration and exhaustion. Like captive elephant Sambo, who died in Cambodia earlier this year from a heart attack while giving tourists a ride in 104 degree Fahrenheit heat. 亞洲象被列入《瀕危物種紅色名單》。據國際自然保護聯盟稱，在過去60-75年裡，大象的數量減少了50%以上。在旅遊行業工作的亞洲象有時會死於饑餓、脫水和疲勞。例如，今年早些時候在柬埔寨，圈養大象桑博在華氏104度（40攝氏度）的高溫下背馱遊客時心臟病發作而亡。
5. THERE ARE BETTER, SAFER WAYS TO INTERACT WITH ELEPHANTS.
與大象互動的方式可以更好、更安全
You don't have to visit a camp that promotes elephant rides to interact with these beautiful creatures. There are conservations in Southeast Asia like Boon Lott's Elephant Sanctuary, Elephant Nature Park and Elephant Jungle Sanctuary that save elephants from captivity and allow humans to visit. You can hang out with elephants, and help bathe, feed and observe them. ENP even offers a range of volunteer opportunities for tourists. 你不需要到一個提倡騎大象的營地和這個美麗的生物互動。東南亞有大象保護區，比如，本露特大象庇護所、大象自然公園和大象叢林庇護所，這些地方可以保護大象不被圈養，而且允許人們前來參觀。你可以和大象一起閒逛，幫他們洗澡、餵食，觀察他們。大象自然公園甚至為遊客提供一系列志願服務機會。
Dustin Levick, a tourist from Texas, visited the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary in Chiang Mai, Thailand, last month. While there he was able to appreciate the elephants in an ethical way. 上個月，來自德克薩斯州的遊客達斯汀•李維科參觀了泰國清邁的大象叢林庇護所。在那裡，他能夠以一種不違背道德的方式觀賞大象。
"They are so happy when they go swimming. They just roll around in the water and it's amazing to watch how happy they are," said Levick. "Standing in front of a 55-year-old elephant who weights 2 tons, massaging her trunk with mud as she stands perfectly still, you can't help but feel a connection to such an amazing animal." 李維科說："大象在游泳的時候真的很開心。他們就在水中打滾，看到他們這麼高興真的很棒。站在一頭55歲、2噸重的大象面前，給一動不動的她抹泥巴，你會不由自主地感覺到與這個神奇的動物之間的聯繫。"
