May Day

王超

The first of May， or May Day as it's best known， has long been significant. It marks the approach of summer， ?a ?new ?season ?of ?fertility. ?In ?pre-Christian times， the day was part of a major festival during which huge bonfires were lit to honour the sun.

May Day has been a festival of dancing， merrymaking， and flowers from earliest times. It is thought to have had ?its ?beginning ?in ?the ?ancient ?Roman ?festival ? in ?honour of Flora， the goddess of flowers. In England and many other countries， May Day was celebrated by dancing around the maypole and playing games. Baskets filled with spring flowers were left at the homes of friends. Some of these customs are still observed. In some cities in the United States maypoles are erected in the parks and playgrounds， and a number of fetes are held for the school-children at various times during the month of May.

Young people in particular observed numerous customs throughout England. They collected leaves and flowers to decorate their homes. They crowned a young girl “Queen” for the day. They decorated a pole， and danced round it， and washed their faces in the morning dew which was believed to have magical properties on May Day.

Nowadays with the exception of a few customs such as choosing the May Queen or dancing round the maypole， the first of May is rarely celebrated as before. Instead， it's becoming increasingly political with speeches and processions by trade union organizations， and since 1978 it's been a public holiday in Britain on the first Monday in May.

五月一日是人人皆知的五朔節，很久以來就具有紀念的意義。它標志著一個豐富多產的新季節——夏天的到來。在基督教產生之前，這一天是一個重大的節日的一部分，人們在這一天燃起熊熊大火，向太陽致敬。

從古至今，五朔節就是個跳舞、娛樂、處處鮮花的節日。據猜測，這個節日源于古羅馬的一個紀念花神——弗洛拉女神的花日。在英國和其它許多國家，人們圍繞著五月花柱（用鮮花裝飾的柱子）跳舞游戲，來慶祝五朔節。一籃籃春天的鮮花送到朋友家作禮物。今天，五朔節的某些風俗仍保留著。在美國有些城市里，五月柱豎立在公園里和游樂場。在那里五月份期間常為小學生們舉行各種慶祝活動。

在英格蘭各地，許多人，尤其是年輕人按照傳統的風俗過五朔節。他們找來樹葉和鮮花裝飾自己的家園，把一位年輕姑娘立為這個節日的“皇后”。他們裝飾一個花柱，圍著花柱跳舞。他們早晨用朝露洗臉，因為他們相信，五朔節早晨的露水具有魔術般的奇異特性。

今天，除了推選五月皇后和圍著五月花柱跳舞等風俗外，五朔節不再像從前那樣慶祝了。取而代之的是越來越多地帶有政治色彩，如發表演說，或工會組織游行。自1978年以來，五朔節在英國成了公共假日，時間在五月里的第一個星期一。