第804期:关于复活节的英语小常识
今天是西方世界普遍庆祝的节日复活节(Easter)。
从宗教意义而言，复活节是基督教最重要的节日，甚至超过圣诞节。
以前佛老一直没有专门讲过跟复活节相关的英语，今天就用一篇小文来做一个简单的 Easter Q&A. 力求简单，大家随便看看就好。
- What is Easter?
Some 2,000 years ago, God the Father raised Jesus from the dead. The Easter Sunday celebrates the Resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day after his Crucifixion.
复活节就是庆祝耶稣死后三天复活的节日。
- When is Easter every year?
每年复活节的日期是不同的，但有一个统一的规律：每年春分后的第一个星期天.
Easter always
occurs on the first Sunday after the Paschal Full Moon, according to The
Old Farmer’s Almanac.
So, what’s the Paschal Full Moon?
It is the first
full Moon that occurs after the vernal equinox, which signifies the
beginning of spring in the northern hemisphere.
* vernal equinox 就是春分，也叫 spring equinox.
- Why is it called Easter?
（1）The naming of the celebration as “Easter” seems to go back to the name of a pre-Christian goddess in England, Eostre, who was celebrated at beginning of spring. (Eostre is the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring and fertility.)
（2）Another theory is that the English word Easter comes from an older German word for east, which comes from an even older Latin word for dawn.
我比较认同Easter和Christmas最早都来自先民纪念春分(spring equinox)和冬至(winter solstice)的古老习俗。
-
Why is Good Friday called Good Friday?
复活节前的那个星期五叫 Good Friday. 因为那是圣经中记载的耶稣受难的日子。
为什么叫 Good呢？
这又是一个文化悬案，没有公论。据牛津大词典的解释：The OED states that “good” in this context refers to “a day or season
observed as holy by the church”, hence the greeting “good tide” at
Christmas or on Shrove Tuesday. In addition to Good Friday, there is
also a less well-known Good Wednesday, namely the Wednesday before
Easter.
- What are Easter symbols?
复活节的象征物和传统有好多：
– Easter Bunny 复活节兔子
also called the Easter Rabbit or Easter Hare. 西方传说兔子雌雄同体，以此象征圣灵感孕的圣母玛利亚，所以复活节的兔子性别是母兔子。）
– Easter Eggs 复活节彩蛋
鸡蛋象征着生命，空蛋壳象征耶稣复活后的空坟墓。Eggs in general, were a traditional symbol of fertility and rebirth in Christianity.
– Easter Candy 复活节糖果
复活节是美国第二大糖果销售节日，仅次于万圣节。美国最受欢迎的复活节糖果是巧克力做的Peanut Butter Chocolate Eggs
– Easter Parade 复活节游行
始自1870年代的美国。每年复活节人们穿戴节日盛装上街庆祝。以纽约第五大道为中心，后来传到很多美国城市。
– Lamb 羊肉/羊羔
For Christians, the lamb is more a representation of Jesus sacrificing himself and dying on the cross – Jesus being “the lamb of God”.
羊在基督教中普遍用来指耶稣或基督徒。
– Easter Lily 复活节百合
In Christendom the lily has come to symbolize the resurrection of Jesus
because of its delicacy of form and its snow white colosr.
百合因其洁白的外观象征纯洁、希望、生命、高贵、新生，在基督教中象征耶稣的复活。
不论你过不过复活节，都希望你有一个平安、愉快的星期天。
