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April 30th is undoubtedly one of the oldest and most important spring holidays in Europe, and is known as Beltane or May Eve. The name itself is thought to have derived from a 1)Celtic word meaning “bright or sacred fire.” It is held to mark and celebrate the blossoming of spring.
It is a celebration of the fertility of the land and their animals. The main traditional element which was common to all Beltane festivals was the fire which gave it its name. All the fires of the community would be extinguished and a new, sacred fire was lit by either the village head or spiritual leader. From this source two bonfires were lit, and the animals of the community would be driven through or between them. It was believed that the smoke and flame of the fires would purify the herd, protecting them in the year to come and ensuring a good number of offspring. The inhabitants of the village would then take some of the fire to their homes and relight their 2)hearths, and dance 3)clockwise around the bonfires to ensure good 4)portents for them and their families.
Across England people would go May 5)Birching: getting 6)sprigs during 7)the dead of night and placing them on their doors. 8)Rowan sprigs were taken from the 9)Isle of Man to make the “crosh cuirn”, a cross made from twigs of rowan bound together with sheep’s wool. The rowan was a tree 10)imbued with magical powers since 11)pre-Christian times, and people would walk considerable distances to collect it. The twigs had always to be broken, and never cut with a knife. It was always placed above the door of the cottage, and no evil thing could pass in where the “crosh cuirn” was. In addition, the “crosh cuirn” would be tied to the tails of cows or placed in the cowshed, to protect the cattle from harm. Fishermen would also hide a “crosh cuirn” somewhere in their boat to protect them from ill-luck.
One of the Beltane 12)rites, called “13)Hand Fasting,” is in fact the 14)pagan version of the modern marriage ceremony.
On Beltane Eve, a very long time ago, the young men of the village would go into the woods and 15)don 16)stag 17)horns and skins in a kind of “play fight” with the 18)rutting stags to see which was bravest. The man who got the better of the stags would take on the role of the Stag Lord for the Beltane 19)revels on May Day. This is still called the “Stag Night”.
The Goddess at this time of year is dressed in white. Her head is 20)wreathed with May blossoms and a veil hides her face. This aspect of the pagan Goddess represents the young 21)maiden who is about to become a mother. We often still see the 22)May Queen being paraded through village streets as the 23)Morris Dancers wear 24)antlers and dance around her with their bells ringing. And, of course, the white wedding dress 25)festooned with tiny flowers is still very special.
For the Beltane rite, these two young people are ceremonially bound together to represent the coming together of the male and female aspects of the divine. Ribbons of red, black and gold are wrapped about their hands and rings and fasten them together. This represents the eternal cycle where life, death and rebirth are exchanged. In this ceremony, performed when the May blossoms are falling and the first of the summer’s sun is shining again, the two people are bound together for a year and a day—or as long as love remains between them. The following year they give their blessings to the couple chosen for the rite and so the tradition continues from generation to generation.
四月三十日被称为“五朔节”或者“五月前夜”，它无疑是欧洲春天里最古老并且最重要的节日之一。据说，这个节日的名称是从一个意为“明亮的或圣洁的火”的凯尔特词演变而来的。节日旨在庆祝春天里百花盛开的景象。
这是庆祝土地丰收，牲畜丰产的时节。五朔节的主要传统要素是火，它贯穿于节日的所有活动中，节日的名称也源于此。节日期间，村落里的所有火都会被熄灭，一个新的圣火火种会由村长或精神首领点燃，再由此生起两堆篝火。然后，村落里的牲畜都会被驱赶着跨过火堆或从两堆火中间穿过。人们认为篝火的烟和火焰可以为牲畜洁身，让它们在来年受庇护、多产崽。接着，村民会把火带回家，重新点燃家里的火炉，再围着篝火按顺时针方向跳舞，以确保自己和家人都顺顺利利。
在英格兰全境，人们会在深夜采摘五月的桦枝，然后把小树枝挂在门上。人们会从马恩岛取来花楸枝做成“crosh cuirn”——一种用羊毛捆扎花楸枝而制成的十字架。从公元前开始，人们就相信花楸树有魔力，会走很远的路去采集它。它的小枝必须用手折断，而绝不能用刀砍。树枝会被放在屋门的上方，这样一来，在有crosh cuirn的地方，邪恶的东西就进不去。另外， crosh cuirn还会被绑在牛的尾巴上或者放在牛舍里，用来庇护牛群不受伤害。渔民也会把crosh cuirn藏在船的某个地方以确保他们一帆风顺。
五朔节的一个被称为“束手”的仪式其实就是现代婚礼的非基督教版本。
很久很久以前，在五朔节的前夜，村子里的男人会到树林里去，头戴雄鹿角，身披雄鹿皮，然后与正在发情期的雄鹿打一种“游乐仗”，比一比谁最勇敢。最终战胜了雄鹿的人会在五月一日五朔节狂欢的时刻扮演雄鹿王的角色。这一天如今仍被称为“雄鹿之夜”。
女神在每年的这个时候换上白色衣服，头戴用五月时令花卉编成的花环，以纱遮面。非基督教女神的这种装扮表示年轻的女子即将成为母亲。如今，我们还可以看到“五月女王”在乡村的街道巡游，莫里斯舞者头戴鹿角围着她跳舞，身上的铃铛也随之响动。不用说，用小花结成挂饰的白色婚纱至今仍有非同一般的意义。
这两个年轻人（编者注：即指前文提及的“雄鹿王”和“五月女王”）会被象征性地绑在一起，此举代表着神学意义上男女的结合。红、黑、金三色带缠绕他们的手和戒指，把他们绑在一起。这象征着生命、死亡和重生的永恒轮回。这个仪式通常是在五月各种花卉凋谢，夏季的第一束阳光照耀大地的时候举行。两个年轻人在以后一年又一天的时间里——或者在他们相爱的全部时间里——被连在一起。到了下一年，他们要向被选中的另外一对年轻人送上他们的祝福，就这样使传统代代相传下去。
It is a celebration of the fertility of the land and their animals. The main traditional element which was common to all Beltane festivals was the fire which gave it its name. All the fires of the community would be extinguished and a new, sacred fire was lit by either the village head or spiritual leader. From this source two bonfires were lit, and the animals of the community would be driven through or between them. It was believed that the smoke and flame of the fires would purify the herd, protecting them in the year to come and ensuring a good number of offspring. The inhabitants of the village would then take some of the fire to their homes and relight their 2)hearths, and dance 3)clockwise around the bonfires to ensure good 4)portents for them and their families.
Across England people would go May 5)Birching: getting 6)sprigs during 7)the dead of night and placing them on their doors. 8)Rowan sprigs were taken from the 9)Isle of Man to make the “crosh cuirn”, a cross made from twigs of rowan bound together with sheep’s wool. The rowan was a tree 10)imbued with magical powers since 11)pre-Christian times, and people would walk considerable distances to collect it. The twigs had always to be broken, and never cut with a knife. It was always placed above the door of the cottage, and no evil thing could pass in where the “crosh cuirn” was. In addition, the “crosh cuirn” would be tied to the tails of cows or placed in the cowshed, to protect the cattle from harm. Fishermen would also hide a “crosh cuirn” somewhere in their boat to protect them from ill-luck.
One of the Beltane 12)rites, called “13)Hand Fasting,” is in fact the 14)pagan version of the modern marriage ceremony.
On Beltane Eve, a very long time ago, the young men of the village would go into the woods and 15)don 16)stag 17)horns and skins in a kind of “play fight” with the 18)rutting stags to see which was bravest. The man who got the better of the stags would take on the role of the Stag Lord for the Beltane 19)revels on May Day. This is still called the “Stag Night”.
The Goddess at this time of year is dressed in white. Her head is 20)wreathed with May blossoms and a veil hides her face. This aspect of the pagan Goddess represents the young 21)maiden who is about to become a mother. We often still see the 22)May Queen being paraded through village streets as the 23)Morris Dancers wear 24)antlers and dance around her with their bells ringing. And, of course, the white wedding dress 25)festooned with tiny flowers is still very special.
For the Beltane rite, these two young people are ceremonially bound together to represent the coming together of the male and female aspects of the divine. Ribbons of red, black and gold are wrapped about their hands and rings and fasten them together. This represents the eternal cycle where life, death and rebirth are exchanged. In this ceremony, performed when the May blossoms are falling and the first of the summer’s sun is shining again, the two people are bound together for a year and a day—or as long as love remains between them. The following year they give their blessings to the couple chosen for the rite and so the tradition continues from generation to generation.
四月三十日被称为“五朔节”或者“五月前夜”，它无疑是欧洲春天里最古老并且最重要的节日之一。据说，这个节日的名称是从一个意为“明亮的或圣洁的火”的凯尔特词演变而来的。节日旨在庆祝春天里百花盛开的景象。
这是庆祝土地丰收，牲畜丰产的时节。五朔节的主要传统要素是火，它贯穿于节日的所有活动中，节日的名称也源于此。节日期间，村落里的所有火都会被熄灭，一个新的圣火火种会由村长或精神首领点燃，再由此生起两堆篝火。然后，村落里的牲畜都会被驱赶着跨过火堆或从两堆火中间穿过。人们认为篝火的烟和火焰可以为牲畜洁身，让它们在来年受庇护、多产崽。接着，村民会把火带回家，重新点燃家里的火炉，再围着篝火按顺时针方向跳舞，以确保自己和家人都顺顺利利。
在英格兰全境，人们会在深夜采摘五月的桦枝，然后把小树枝挂在门上。人们会从马恩岛取来花楸枝做成“crosh cuirn”——一种用羊毛捆扎花楸枝而制成的十字架。从公元前开始，人们就相信花楸树有魔力，会走很远的路去采集它。它的小枝必须用手折断，而绝不能用刀砍。树枝会被放在屋门的上方，这样一来，在有crosh cuirn的地方，邪恶的东西就进不去。另外， crosh cuirn还会被绑在牛的尾巴上或者放在牛舍里，用来庇护牛群不受伤害。渔民也会把crosh cuirn藏在船的某个地方以确保他们一帆风顺。
五朔节的一个被称为“束手”的仪式其实就是现代婚礼的非基督教版本。
很久很久以前，在五朔节的前夜，村子里的男人会到树林里去，头戴雄鹿角，身披雄鹿皮，然后与正在发情期的雄鹿打一种“游乐仗”，比一比谁最勇敢。最终战胜了雄鹿的人会在五月一日五朔节狂欢的时刻扮演雄鹿王的角色。这一天如今仍被称为“雄鹿之夜”。
女神在每年的这个时候换上白色衣服，头戴用五月时令花卉编成的花环，以纱遮面。非基督教女神的这种装扮表示年轻的女子即将成为母亲。如今，我们还可以看到“五月女王”在乡村的街道巡游，莫里斯舞者头戴鹿角围着她跳舞，身上的铃铛也随之响动。不用说，用小花结成挂饰的白色婚纱至今仍有非同一般的意义。
这两个年轻人（编者注：即指前文提及的“雄鹿王”和“五月女王”）会被象征性地绑在一起，此举代表着神学意义上男女的结合。红、黑、金三色带缠绕他们的手和戒指，把他们绑在一起。这象征着生命、死亡和重生的永恒轮回。这个仪式通常是在五月各种花卉凋谢，夏季的第一束阳光照耀大地的时候举行。两个年轻人在以后一年又一天的时间里——或者在他们相爱的全部时间里——被连在一起。到了下一年，他们要向被选中的另外一对年轻人送上他们的祝福，就这样使传统代代相传下去。