盡興狂歡

Let’s Celebrate the Strangest Festivals on Earth

到一個地方旅游，每個人都有不同的側重點。有人是為了游山玩水，有人則為了追溯歷史，也有人希望領略獨特的風土人情。如果你屬于第三種人，那可千萬不能錯過富有當地特色的節日哦。本期“環球風情”將帶大家到世界各個角落，尋找各種奇特的節日。Let’s go！

It’s a freezing cold winter’s day，but that’s not stopping 10，000 men in the northern Japanesecity of Konomiya from stripping^[剝去] down tonothing but a loincloth^[纏腰帶] . With the snow flying，these adventurers–with their extremities ^[四肢]turning blue–run all over town on a very specificmission: to find the one completely naked man amongthem. In fact， this is a ritual^{[典禮，儀式]} repeated allover Japan， and always on one of the coldest daysof the year. Why? Because if they find the naked manfast enough， they believe it will bring 12 months ofgood luck.

Welcome to the wacky world of cultural festivals，which are as integral^[完整的] to society as lawsand taxes. Festivals and holidays， of course， breakup the normal routine^[常規] of everyday life， createreasons for parades^{[游行，行進]}， allow for exchanging ofpresents， and provide excuses for large meals. Butmost important， they allow people to celebratea significant aspect of their culture–whatever itmight be.

The following are some of the world’s strangestfestivals， all of which make perfect sense in theculture of those celebrating.

Lop Buri Monkey Buffet

Where: Lop Buri， Thailand

What: Primate^{[靈長類動物]} party. This feast celebratesthe greedy appetites^[食欲] of the city’s most persistent^[固執的] pests^{[有害動物]}: monkeys.

Why: The macaque^[短尾猴] monkeys that populate LopBuri are well-known gluttons[貪食者]: anyone wholeaves a snack unattended for a split second^[一剎那] issure to have it snatchedaway by a furry “friend.”But residents of the citydecided in 1989 that thebest way to deal with themonkeys was to embracethem. So every year， allthe monkeys’ favoritefood–including peanuts，cucumbers， bananas， andraw crabs–are laid outin front of the Pra Prang Sam Yot temple. There’s atea party too (although Lop Buri’s monkeys are knownto prefer Coca-Cola).

When: The last weekend in November.

The Anastenaria

(the feast of Saint Constantine and

Saint Helena)

Where: Northern Greece， SouthernBulgaria

What: Fire walking! During this eightdayreligious celebration， worshippersare ostensibly^[表面上] possessed^[著魔的]by Saint Constantine^注1 and areable to walk， dance， and stomp^[跺腳]barefooted over fire. Live musiciansplay to accompany^[伴奏] the dancers，and as the music gets faster，worshippers “touched by the saint”say they don’t feel the flames.

Why: The legend behind this ritual dates back to theMiddle Ages， when the Church of Saint Constantineaccidentally caught fire. According to the story， asflames engulfed^[吞沒] the church， the icons of the saintand of his mother， Saint Helena， could be heard cryingfor help from the inside. The brave churchgoers^{[經常去做禮拜的人]} who ran in to rescue the icons were unscathed^{[沒有受傷的]} by the fire.

When: Begins May 21st. Theeight days of dancing， allnightchurch services，and festivities end with asacrifice of a sacred bull，from which every villagefamily is given meat andsandals^[涼鞋] made from thehide^[皮革].

La Tomatina

Where: Bu?ol， Spain

What: The world’s largest food fight. Each year some30，000 people (including locals and many visitors) fillthis town’s main square to hurl^{[用力投擲]} locally growntomatoes at each other. Tractors ride through thestreets dumping piles of red ammunition^[彈藥]–and for90 minutes it’s a marinara注2 free-for-all.

Why:Well，why not?Wonder-fully，there’s no explanationfor how this tradition began. While sources agreethat Bu?ol’s first tomato was thrown in 1944 or1945， no one is sure whether the toss^[投，擲] occurred incelebration of Saint Louis Bertrand， the town’s patronsaint^[守護神]; as a form of antireligious^{[反宗教的]} protest;or as just a whimsical^[古怪的] impulse^[沖動] after atomato cart overturned.

When: The last Wednesday in August.

Cheung Chau’s Bun^{[小圓面包]} Fes-tival

Where: Cheung Chau， Hong Kong， China

What: Race to the top of a tower of baked goods. To driveaway evil spirits and ensure smooth sailing， the seafaring^{[航海事業的]} residents of Cheung Chau (an island off thecoast of Hong Kong) disguise^[假扮] themselves as deities^[神]. But the really fun part comes when three 60-foottowers， covered from top to bottom with doughy^[面團的]pastries^{[面粉糕餅]} called sweet buns， are set up in front ofthe temple of Pak Tai. People climb up the bun towers，grabbing as many as they can; the more they gather， thebetter their luck will be for the year ahead. The ritualwas abandoned after a tower collapsed^[倒塌] in 1978， buthas since resumed^[恢復] (using plastic towers).

Why: For some 2，500 years， the main livelihood forCheung Chau residents has been fishing. This festival，started in the 18th century by a local， is an event toappease^[安撫] the spirits of the dead killed in the past byshipwreck^[海難]， pirates， or plague.

When: The eighth day of the fourth month in the Chinesecalendar， usually in May.

Nenana Ice Classic

Where: Nenana， Alaska， USA

What: Spring ice-melting lottery^[彩票]. Alaska’s longestrunningbetting lottery is a contest to guess the exacttime and day that the winter ice will crack and makeway for springtime. Locals set a giant wooden structureon the ice and tie it to a clock on the shore. When theice gives way， the rope pulls theclock， stopping it and declaringa winner. Tickets cost $2.50; thelargest pot^[巨款] to date is $303，895，given in 2008 to a single ticket holder.

Why：It was during an especially long winter in 1917 thata group of railroad engineers first placed bets on whenthe ice on the Tanana River would break.The next year，afew more folks got in on the act，and by 2008 ，more than240，000 tickets were sold for the year’s jackpot^{[累積獎金]}.

When：This year，the Tanana Riverofficially went out on May6^th，at10：53pm Alaska Standard Time.

雖然是在寒冷的冬天，但這阻止不了日本北部（愛知縣）國府宮的一萬名男子脫得只剩下一條纏腰帶。在紛飛的雪花中，這些手腳凍得發紫的冒險者要跑遍全市，只為完成一個任務：找到他們當中那個一絲不掛的男人。其實日本各地都有這個儀式，而且總在一年中最冷的那天舉行。為什么？因為他們相信要是能盡快找到那個赤身的人，就能帶來12個月的好運。

歡迎來到奇異的文化節日世界——這些文化節日像法律和稅收一樣是社會不可缺少的一部分。當然，節日和假期打破了日常生活的常規，給人們游行的理由，讓大家能夠交換禮物，還提供了享受大餐的借口。但最重要的是，這些節日讓人們得以慶祝其文化中意義深刻的一面——不管是哪一方面。

以下是世界上一些最奇異的節日。……