芬蘭的仲夏節(jié)

By George Dunford/陳傳光（譯）

◆語篇導(dǎo)讀

春分一過，白晝漸長。芬蘭人終于迎來了一年之中非常重要的節(jié)日——仲夏節(jié)。這一天也是他們的升旗日和重要的公共假期，整個國家都將開啟休假模式。那么，芬蘭的人們是如何慶祝這個節(jié)日的呢？讓我們來了解一下吧！

The Midsummer Festival is the greatest summer holiday in Finland.Most Finns come together to celebrate it with family and friends.

Midsummer Bonfire

Burning bonfires to celebrate a great feast is an old tradition.Once large bonfires were built on hills and lakeshores in every village of eastern Finland.Everyone in the village come to watch the bonfire burn and to dance,sing and play games together.

Midsummer Pole

Like the maypoles raised in the continental Europe and Britain,the pole is decorated with green leaves,garlands,wreaths and flowers before raising.During the evening,traditional folk music is played with people dancing and playing around the pole.Some people may wear national costumes to highlight the celebration.

Midsummer Decorations

An old tradition is to decorate the house and yard with young trees.The cut trees were placed standing at either side of doorways,gates or doorsteps,and windows were bordered with branches.

In some parts of Finland,it was a custom for young men to build arbours on farm yards,using branches.Even cows were decorated with green leaves or lilies of the valley to ensure they would be milking properly.

Midsummer Night Magic

Midsummer is the turning point at which the days begin to shorten again,and darkness will slowly start increasing.In the old times,this raised fear and uncertainty about the future.Strangest things were known to happen on midsummer night,when evil spirits and witches were thought to be roaming around.

By performing magical rites people believed they could secure a better future for themselves,to ensure a good fortune for the household,rich crops and protect the animals from illnesses.

◆詞語積淀

bonfire/'b?nfa??(r)/n.篝火；營火

highlight/'ha?la?t/v.強(qiáng)調(diào)；突出

border/'b??d?(r)/v.給……鑲邊

arbour/'ɑ?b?(r)/n.涼亭；藤架

ensure/?n'???(r)/v.確保；保證

witch/w?t?/n.女巫；巫婆

secure/s?'kj??(r)/v.獲得；弄得

◆典句賞析

1.Burning bonfires to celebrate a great feast is an old tradition.點燃篝火來慶祝重大節(jié)日是一個悠久的傳統(tǒng)。

該句是一個簡單句。“Burning bonfires to celebrate a great feast”是動名詞短語，作句子的主語。動名詞（短語）作主語時，謂語動詞用單數(shù)形式。

【即時嘗試】我認(rèn)為和你一起工作是一種樂趣。

2.By performing magical rites people believed they could secure a better future for themselves...通過表演魔法的儀式，人們相信他們能夠擁有一個更好的未來……

by doing sth.是常見的搭配形式，意為“通過做某事”，by是介詞，后接動名詞形式；“they could secure a better future for themselves”是省略了連接詞that的賓語從句。

【即時嘗試】張華經(jīng)常通過踢足球保持健康。

譯文助讀

仲夏節(jié)是芬蘭最大的暑期節(jié)日。大多數(shù)的芬蘭人會同家人和朋友們一起慶祝這個節(jié)日。

仲夏篝火

點燃篝火來慶祝重大節(jié)日是一個悠久的傳統(tǒng)。從前，在芬蘭東部每個村莊的山岡和湖岸都會燃起大堆的篝火。村莊里面的每個人都會來觀看篝火，并聚在一起跳舞、唱歌和做游戲。

仲夏柱

像歐洲大陸和英國豎起的五月花柱一樣，仲夏柱在豎起之前，要用綠葉、花環(huán)、花冠和鮮花來裝飾。整個晚上，伴隨著傳統(tǒng)的民樂，人們繞著仲夏柱載歌載舞。有些人會穿著民族服飾來突出慶祝活動。

仲夏裝飾

一個很古老的傳統(tǒng)是用新生的樹木來裝飾房子和庭院。砍下的樹木被放在出入口、大門或者門前臺階的兩旁，而且窗戶也用枝葉鑲邊。

在芬蘭的一些地區(qū)有這樣一個傳統(tǒng)：年輕人在農(nóng)家院里用樹枝搭建涼亭。甚至自家的牛也會被樹葉和鈴蘭來裝飾一番，以確保順利擠奶。

仲夏夜魔法

仲夏節(jié)是一個轉(zhuǎn)折點，從此白天開始變短，夜晚慢慢開始變長。在古代，這使人們產(chǎn)生很多恐懼和對將來的迷茫。人們相信仲夏之夜來臨時，很多奇怪的事情會發(fā)生，惡魔和巫婆會到處漫游。

通過表演魔法的儀式，人們相信他們能夠擁有一個更好的未來，全家人都會好運(yùn)，莊稼會大豐收，牲畜會遠(yuǎn)離疾病。