书城外语英语PARTY——域外风情
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第9章 Customs and Festivals风俗与节日(5)

Most people color them. Some people hide them. Others just eat them. But no matter what one does with Easter eggs,they are an important Easter tradition throughout the Western world.

From Honolulu to Helsinki,people from many different cultures celebrate Easter. In both America and Belgium,children look for Easter eggs hidden on lawns and in bushes. In America,children believe the eggs are hidden by the Easter bunnybunny n.复活节兔子. But in Belgium,the hidden eggs are supposed to have fallen from church bells.

In Bulgaria,red Easter eggs are blessed in churches,Bulgarian families also hit these Easter eggs together to see whose has the strongest shellshell n.壳. The winner looks forward to good fortunefortune n.运气 that year.

Still dozens of other Easter traditions exist. In parts of Austria,for example,children sing from door to door and are rewarded with colorful eggs.

复活节的彩蛋

春天是新生命的季节。长冬过后,花朵开始盛开,鸟儿开始筑巢下蛋。在森林和田园中,许多动物都在一年的这个时候生育。白天逐渐变长,太阳逐渐变暖。人们开始享受户外活动和春天的美好气候。

春天最重要的节日,尤其对基督徒而言,就是复活节。这个基督教的节日,不见得每年都在同一天,但都是在星期日。从3月22日至4月25日之间的任何一个星期日都可能是复活节。许多人会买新衣来庆祝复活节,小孩子的庆祝方式则是寻找父母在家里四处藏好的彩蛋。人们也会互相赠送装满糖果和点心的复活节篮子来庆祝这个节日。

但这个节日的意义不仅仅只限于新衣和好吃的东西。在复活节,许多人会上教堂庆祝耶稣死而复生。圣经中谈到耶稣,谈到他的死和复活。耶稣因人们的罪而死,可是他又复活了,赦免每一个相信他的人,并赐给他们新生命。这难道不是一件值得在春天庆祝的事吗?

许多人将它们上色,有些人将它们藏起来,其他人则是吃掉它们。无论你怎么处置复活节蛋,它们是西方世界各地的一个重要传统。

从檀香山到赫尔辛基,许多不同文化的人都庆祝复活节。在美国及比利时,孩童们寻找藏在草坪及矮树丛中的复活节彩蛋。在美国,孩子们相信这些蛋是复活节兔子给藏起来的;但是在比利时,藏起来的蛋听说是从教堂铃铛掉下来的。

在保加利亚,复活节红蛋在教堂中被祝福,然后,大家轮流一起敲打这些蛋,比赛谁的蛋壳最坚硬,赢者可以期待那一年获得好运气。

还有许多其他的复活节传统。例如,在奥地利的一些地区,孩童挨家挨户唱歌而且以得着彩蛋为奖赏。

April Fool,s Day

Unlike most of the other nonfoolish holidays,the history of April Fool,s Day,sometimes called All Fool,s Day,is not totally clear. There really wasn,t a “first April Fool,s Day” that can be pinpointed pinpoint v.查明 n.精确 adj.极微小的 on the calendar. Some believe it sort of evolved simultaneously simultaneously adv.同时地 in several cultures at the same time,from celebrations involving the first day of spring.

The closest point in time that can be identified as the beginning of this tradition was in 1564,in France. Prior to that year,the new year was celebrated for eight days,beginning just after the first day of spring. The celebration typically typically adv.代表性地,作为特色地ended on April 1. With the reform of the calendar under Charles IX,the Gregorian Calendar was introduced,and New Year,s Day was moved to January 1.

However,communications being what they were in the days when news traveled by foot,many people did not receive the news for several years. Others,the more obstinate obstinate adj.倔强的,顽固的crowd,refused to accept the new calendar and continued to celebrate the new year on April 1. These backward folk were labeled as “fools” by the general populace populace n.平民. They were subject to some ridicule,and were often sent on “fools errands” or were made the butt of other practical jokes.

This harassment harassment n.折磨evolved,over time,into a tradition of prankplaying on the first day of April. The tradition eventually spread to England and Scotland in the eighteenth century. It was later introduced to the American colonies of both the English and French. April Fool,s Day thus developed into an international fun feast feast n.节日,盛宴,筵席,宴会,酒席 vt.盛宴,款待,享乐,请客 vi.参加宴会,享受,so to speak,with different nationalities specializing in their own brand of humor at the expense of their friends and families.

In Scotland,for example,April Fool,s Day is actually celebrated for two days. The second day is devoted to pranks involving the posterior region of the body. It is called Taily Day. The origin of the “kick me” sign can be traced to this observance.

Mexico,s counterpart of April Fool,s Day is actually observed on December 28. Originally,the day was a sad remembrance remembrance n.回想,记忆,问候,纪念品,记忆力of the slaughter slaughter n.屠宰,残杀,屠杀 v.屠宰,残杀,屠杀of the innocent children by King Herod(about 73 B.C.- 4 B.C.). It eventually evolved into a lighter commemoration involving pranks prank n.胡闹,开玩笑,恶作剧 vt.装饰,打扮 vi.打扮得漂亮and trickery trickery n.欺骗.

Pranks performed on April Fool,s Day range from the simple,(such as saying,“Your shoe,s untied!”),to the elaborate. Setting a roommate,s alarm clock back an hour is a common gag. Whatever the prank,the trickster usually ends it by yelling to his victim,“April Fool!”

Practical jokes are a common practice on April Fool,s Day. Sometimes,elaborate practical jokes are played on friends or relatives that last the entire day. The news media even gets involved. For instance,a British short film once shown on April Fool,s Day was a fairly detailed documentary about “spaghetti spaghetti n.意大利式细面条 farmers” and how they harvest their crop from the spaghetti trees.

April Fool,s Day is a “forfunonly” observance. Nobody is expected to buy gifts or to take their “significant other” out to eat in a fancy restaurant. Nobody gets off work or school. It,s simply a fun little holiday,but a holiday on which one must remain forever vigilant vigilant adj.警惕着的,警醒的,for he may be the next April Fool!

愚人节

不同于大多数别的节日,愚人节,有时被称为所有愚人的节日,它的历史不是完全清楚的。没有人能够在日历上标明第一个愚人节是什么时候。一些人相信它是同时从几种文化演变而来的,从庆祝春天的第一天开始。

这个传统的历史最早可以追溯到1564年的法国。在那年以前,人们有8天的时间庆祝新年,正好从春天的第一天后开始。庆祝活动通常在4月1日结束。查理九世在位期间,他进行了历法改革,引进了罗马教皇Gregory的日历,并把新年第一天移至1月1日。

然而,在消息还要靠徒步旅行传播的年代里,通信变得十分困难。许多人要等几年才能收到消息。其他固执己见的人拒绝接受新日历并且沿袭在4月1日庆祝新年的传统。这些守旧的人被一般的平民称作“笨蛋”。他们受到嘲笑,并且经常被派去做只有笨蛋才做的差事,或者成为恶作剧的笑柄。

这种折磨随着时间慢慢演变成在4月的第一天搞恶作剧的传统。这种传统在18世纪传播到英格兰和苏格兰,之后传入到英国人和法国人在美洲的殖民地。愚人节就这样发展成为一个国际性的趣味节日。可以说,不同国家的人们乐衷于创造自己独有的幽默,而他们的朋友和家人就成了实验对象。

例如,在苏格兰,愚人节实际上有2天的庆祝时间。第二天专门对人体身后的区域胡闹,这一天被称作Taily节。“踢我”迹象的来源可以追溯至此。

墨西哥的“愚人节”发生在12月28日。以前,这一天是用来纪念被希律王(约公元前73至公元前4年)屠杀的无辜的孩子,后来演变成为包含恶作剧和诡计的纪念日。

在愚人节上被使用的恶作剧从简单的—— 例如说:“你的鞋带散了!”—— 到精心策划的,无奇不有。把室友的闹钟调回来一小时是一个普通的把戏。无论怎么胡闹,骗局结束的时候,人们通常对受害人喊道:“笨蛋!”

恶作剧是愚人节的惯例。有时,精心策划的恶作剧在朋友或亲戚中持续一天。甚至连新闻媒体也不甘寂寞。例如,一部曾经在愚人节放映的英国短片名叫“面条农夫”,描述的是农夫们是如何从面条树上收割庄稼的。

愚人节是一个“享乐”的节日。没有人被指望买礼品或邀“他们很在乎的那个人”到一家高级餐馆吃饭。没有人为了庆祝愚人节,不上班或不上课。它只是一个有趣的小节日,但是在这一天,你必须时刻保持警惕,因为你很有可能成为下一个“笨蛋”!