A Cognitive Metaphor Study on the Translation of Culture-Specific Items in Traditional Chinese Festivals: Concepts of "Year of the Dragon" and "Ancestor Worship" as Examples

From the perspective of cognitive linguistics, this paper focuses on the translation of culture-specific items in traditional Chinese festivals. Taking core concepts such as the "Year of the Dragon" and "Ancestor Worship" as research subjects, it conducts an in-depth analysis of the metaphorical conflicts and cognitive differences present in their translation processes. By comparing the effectiveness of different translation strategies, the paper proposes a dynamic translation model based on cognitive metaphor. This model aims to resolve issues of semantic loss and cultural misinterpretation in translating culture-specific items, thereby providing theoretical support and practical guidance for cross-cultural communication.