“笨人節”的三種傳讲

The origin of April Fool's Day

　立即便要愚人節了。閉於這個節日的來歷有各類不合的說法，有人說与一群不愿接受公歷編年的法國守舊者有關；也有人說它来源於留唸豐產女神的女兒被誘拐到天獄；还有人說，那個節日初於英國一個名叫“愚人村”的蠢才村仄易远；别的一些說法律以為春季的氣象變化多端，因此人們正在春分前後能夠抉擇某一日倒寘坤坤，以荒謬的鬧劇來敺逐春神的到往...

　　以下對於“笨人節”的三種傳讲，其興趣各有所長，至於哪一種愈加實在齊憑您的明眼一辨實实嘍！

　　As it was called years ago, All Fools' Day is observed in many countries around the world. The origin of April Fool's Day remains clouded in obscurity. But what is clear is that the tradition of a day devoted to foolery had ancient roots. As we look back in time, many ancient predecessors of April Fool's Day are found.

　　A  French legendary  

　　The most widespread theory about the origin of April Fool's Day links the Gregorian calendar reform.

　　In 1582 France became the first country to switch from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar. This meant that the beginning of the year was moved from the end of March to January 1. If someone failed to keep up with the change and continued to celebrate the New Year between March 25th and April 1st, various jokes would be played on him. This story might explain why April 1st specifically became the date of the modern holiday.

　　Mythological roots

　　There have been quite a few attempts to provide mythological explanations for the rise of April Fool's Day.

　　One story dates back to Roman mythology, particularly the myth of Ceres (the Goddess of grain and the harvest) and Proserpina. In Roman mythology Pluto, the God of the Dead, abducted Proserpina and brought her to live with him in the underworld. Proserpina called out to her mother Ceres for help, but Ceres, who could only hear the echo of her daughter's voice, searched in vain for Proserpina. The fruitless search of Ceres for her daughter was commemmorated during the Roman festival of Cerealia and believed by some to have been the mythological antecedent of the fool's errands popular on April 1st.

　　British folklore linked April Fool's Day to the town of Gotham. According to the legend, it was traditional in the 13th century for any road that the King travelled over to become public property. People in Gotham didn't want to lose their main road and spread a false story to stop the King. A messenger was sent to Gotham after King John learned the people's trick. But when the messenger arrived in Gotham he found the town was full of lunatics who were engaged in foolish activities such as drowning fish or attempting to cage birds in roofless fences. The King fell for the hoax and declared the town too foolish to warrant punishment. And ever since then, April Fool's Day has supposedly commemmorated their trickery.

　　Anthropological explanations

　　Anthropologists and cultural historians provide their own explanations for the rise of April Fool's Day. According to them, the celebration traces its roots back to festivals marking the Springtime.

　　Spring is the time of year when the weather becomes fickle, as if Nature is playing tricks on man, and festivals occurring during the Spring traditionally mirrored this sense of whimsy and surprise，中文翻譯日文. They often involved temporary inversions of the social order. Normal behavior no longer governed during the brief moment of transition as the old world died and the new cycle of seasons was born. Practical jokes,trickery，日翻中, and the turning upside down of status expectations were all allowed.

　　In addition,the linkage between April Foolery and the Springtime is seen in another story that traces the origin of the custom back to the abundance of fish to be found in French streams during early April when the young fish had just hatched. These young fish were easy to fool with a hook and lure. Therefore, the French called them 'Poisson d'Avril' or 'April Fish.' Soon it became customary to fool people on April 1, as a way of celebrating the abundance of foolish fish.

　　Vocabulary: 

　　observe : celebrate（慶賀）

　　Gregorian calendar: 格裏下裏歷法，即現行的陽歷，公歷，由教皇格列下利十三世於1582年倡导應用，為朱利安歷法的改进版

　　Ceres: 穀類女神，犹如希臘神化中的Demeter，主持農業，富饶女神

　　Proserpina: 普羅塞耳皮娜，富饒女神的女女，後被Pluto誘拐成為天堂的女神

　　Pluto: 普羅托，羅馬神話的冥神

　　Cerealia：農神節，正在這一天，人們能够縱情狂悲，僕隸們甚至能够演出仆隸主的腳色統治自己的僕人

　　fool's errands : fruitless mission or undertaking（徒勞無用的事件）

　　Gotham: 哥譚鎮, 英國傳說中的愚人村, 同時也是紐約的別號

　　lunatics: 笨瓜，瘋子

　　fall for: 愛好，愛上

　　too foolish to warrant punishment: 由於村莊裏的人很愚笨，所以能夠獲得赦免

　　fickle: capricious（出尒反尒）