Ten Extraordinary Valentine¡¯s Day Customs 非同尋常的十大情人節(jié)習俗

你以為情人節(jié)的禮物就只有玫瑰和巧克力？那我告訴你，在伊麗莎白時期，手套才是情人節(jié)表達愛意的最佳禮物。你以為情人節(jié)只有情侶們才會慶祝？那我告訴你，在18和19世紀，英國的小孩子們同樣是情人節(jié)狂歡的主角。你以為情人節(jié)只是男性向女性示愛的日子？那我告訴你，在19世紀，情人節(jié)還是男性詆毀和諷刺女性的惡搞節(jié)日#8943;#8943;要想知道更多情人節(jié)里非同尋常的習俗，來看看下文吧！

From the festivals of ancient Rome to modern public awareness campaigns， the Valentine’s Day hasn’t always been about roses and candy. Now let’s look at the following ten extraordinary Valentine’s Day customs.

無論是從古羅馬的慶祝活動，還是從現(xiàn)代的公眾意識普及運動來看，情人節(jié)都并非總是與玫瑰和糖果相伴?，F(xiàn)在就讓我們來看看下面這非同尋常的十大情人節(jié)習俗。

Ballot1) Box: In ancient Rome， when Valentine’s Day was still a pagan2) festival， young women would put their names in a box， to be randomly chosen by men—who， according to one account， “paid particular attention to the young women whose name they drew.” Early Christian leaders tried to discourage the practice by substituting saints’ names for women’s， but the tradition persisted.

A traveler’s diary from the early 18th century notes: “On the eve of St. Valentine’s Day， an equal number of maids and bachelors get together; each writes his or her true or some feigned name upon separate billets3)， which they roll up， and draw by way of lots4)， the maids taking the men’s billets， and the men the maids’ … Fortune having thus divided the company into so many couples， the valentines give balls and treats to their mistresses and wear their billets several days upon their bosoms5) or sleeves.”

抽簽選情人：在古羅馬時期，情人節(jié)還是個異教徒的節(jié)日。在這一天，年輕姑娘們會把她們的名字放進一個箱子里，由小伙子們隨機抽取。有一種說法講道，小伙子“會對自己抽到的那位姑娘格外關注”。早期的基督教領袖將姑娘們的名字換成了圣徒的名字，試圖以此阻止這種習俗。但這一“抽簽選情人”的傳統(tǒng)還是保留了下來。

18世紀初的一位旅行者在日記中曾這樣寫道：“在情人節(jié)前夜，人數(shù)相等的單身男女聚在一塊兒。每個人將自己的真名或者編造的名字單獨寫在小紙條上，接著將小紙條卷起來放在一起，然后大家開始抓鬮：女方抽男方的紙條，男方抽女方的紙條……就這樣，命運將這一群人分成了一雙一對。情郎們要請自己的姑娘跳舞，熱情款待她們，而且要將寫有姑娘芳名的紙條一連幾天地戴在自己的胸前或袖子上?！?/p>

Gloves Love: Prior to the Elizabethan era6)， gloves were worn almost exclusively by men. But， by the late 16th century， gloves became a traditional Valentine’s Day gift for women. In fact， it became custom for a young woman to approach her man of choice7) and utter the verse: “Good-morrow Valentine， I go today/To wear for you， what you must pay/A pair of gloves next Easter Day8).” Having thus been ambushed， the man was expected to send the woman a gift of gloves to wear on Easter Sunday. Sometimes men sent women gloves without an invitation. If the lady wore the gloves on Easter， it was a sign that she favored the gentleman’s romantic overtures.

手套探真心：在伊麗莎白時代之前，基本上只有男士才戴手套。但到了16世紀末，手套成為情人節(jié)時送給女士的傳統(tǒng)禮物。事實上，按照當時的習俗，年輕姑娘要走近她的意中人，并對他說：“早安情郎，今日我走/請君送我，手套一副/下個復活節(jié)日到，我將為君戴此物?！笔艿竭@樣的攻勢，男方理應送給女方一雙手套作為禮物，讓她在復活節(jié)的時候戴。有時候，在女方?jīng)]有提出請求的情況下，男方同樣會送手套給女方。如果女方在復活節(jié)戴了這雙手套，就表示她答應了男方的愛慕追求。

Sweet Dreams: In the 1700s， rural Englishwomen would pin five bay9) leaves to their pillows—four on the corners， one in the middle—on the evening before Valentine’s Day. By doing so， it was said， they would see their future husbands in their dreams. A variation of this tradition called for women to sprinkle10) bay leaves with rosewater and lay them across their pillows. “When you go to bed put on a clean nightgown turned wrong side outwards，” reads one folkloric account， “and， lying down， say these words softly to yourself: ‘Good Valentine， be kind to me. In dreams let me my true love see.’ ”

夢中見情郎：18世紀時，在情人節(jié)前夜，英國農村的女性會在枕頭上別五片月桂樹葉：四片別在枕頭的四個角上，一片別在枕頭中間。據(jù)說，這樣做就能讓她們在夢里見到自己未來的丈夫。這一傳統(tǒng)的一種衍生做法是，女性將玫瑰香水灑在月桂葉上，然后將葉子鋪在枕頭上。民俗記載中有這樣一種說法：“上床睡覺的時候，你穿上干凈的睡衣，要里外反穿，然后躺下，在心中輕輕默念，‘好人瓦倫丁，對我發(fā)善心，保我在夢里，得見有情人。’”

Sing Out Loud: In the 18th and 19th centuries， British children celebrated Valentine’s Day by going door to door， singing songs and sometimes begging for treats， such as fruit， pennies and cakes. Folklorists and historians have preserved the lyrics of some of these tunes: “Morrow， morrow， Valentine/I’ll be yourn11) if you’ll be mine/Please to us a Valentine”; and “Good morning， Valentine/Curl your locks12) as I do mine/Two before and three behind/So good morning， Valentine.”

情歌放聲唱：在18和19世紀，英國孩子們慶祝情人節(jié)的方式是挨家挨戶地敲門、唱歌，有時還會討要水果、幾便士零錢和蛋糕等禮物。民俗學家和歷史學家保存了一些這樣的歌曲的歌詞，比如，“早安，早安，有情人/你若愿意屬于我，我便愿意屬于你/請賜予我們信物吧”；又如，“早上好，有情人/像我一樣，卷卷頭發(fā)/兩綹在前，三綹在后/道聲早安，有情人”。

Leaps of Love: In the 19th century， Valentine’s Day cards in the United States and Britain began capitalizing on13) the tradition of “Leap Day14)”—the one day， every four years， when proper15) society permitted women to propose marriage. As the British magazine Punch16) observed in 1872: “This being Leap Year， if a single gentleman receives a Valentine from a single lady， and can trace the sender through the Post-office， he will be entitled to consider her missive17) as equivalent to a proposal of marriage， and to accept it， if the lady can give satisfactory references as to property， connections， temper， accomplishments， and ability to manage a modern mansion.”

Satirists had a field day18) writing about the terror of single men. An 1880 leap-year poem mused: “Maidens’ dissembling day; Bachelors’ trembling day; Men walk in trouble and fear; Girls run and skip about， daintily19) trip about; Knowing St. Valentine’s here.”

四年等一回：19世紀時，美國和英國的情人節(jié)賀卡開始利用“閏日”這一傳統(tǒng)大做文章。閏日每逢四年才有一次，也只有在閏日這一天，保守的社會才允許女性向男士求婚。正如1872年的英國《笨拙》雜志所述：“今年是閏年，如果單身男士收到單身女性寄來的情人節(jié)卡片，并能夠通過郵局找到發(fā)件人，他便有權將該女性的信件看做是求婚之舉。如果這位女性在財產(chǎn)、家世、品性、才藝以及操持現(xiàn)代居所的能力等方面令該男士滿意的話，該男士便可以點頭應允。”

諷刺作家們可算找到了一個盡情嘲諷的機會，紛紛撰文描寫單身漢的恐懼。一首寫于閏年1880年的詩中寫道：“這一天，姑娘們‘虛掩’真情；這一天，單身漢戰(zhàn)戰(zhàn)兢兢；男士們緩步慢行，又慌又怕；姑娘們連跑帶跳，輕捷優(yōu)雅；憑此就知道，情人節(jié)來到。”

Poisoned Pens: Not all Valentine’s Day cards celebrated love. During the 1840s and 1850s—as caricatures20) emerged as a popular art form—so too did demand for satirical cards. Even by today’s standards， the imagery was bawdy21)， and， at their worst， these “mock Valentines” were a petty excuse for cruelty. “They lampooned22) people of all trades and professions; they stereotyped racial and ethnic groups， especially African-Americans and the Irish，” writes Leigh Eric Schmidt， currently a professor of American religious history at Princeton University. “Women were a particular target of attack valentines. Widows， old maids， loud or assertive23) women， flirts and coquettes were standard subjects of misogynistic24) derision25)…. Intractable， willful， or publicly active women were portrayed as devils， snakes， tigers， or hissing cats.”

The “mock Valentine” craze eventually waned—but not before an 1860 column in the New York Times bemoaned that， in recent years， “St. Valentine’s votaries ceased to be poets and became buffoons26) and his pleasant missives were degraded into vulgar vehicles of silly caricature and indecent impertinence27).”

毒筆傷情人：并非所有的情人節(jié)賀卡都在歌頌愛情。在19世紀40和50年代，諷刺畫開始成為一種流行的藝術形式，對諷刺性賀卡的需求也隨之增多。即使以今天的標準來看，那時賀卡上的意象也算得上粗俗下流，而最糟糕的一種情況就是將這些“惡搞情人節(jié)”賀卡當做惡意攻擊的卑鄙借口。“它們挖苦的對象遍布各行各業(yè)；它們帶有成見地刻板描繪不同種族及民族的人，尤其是非洲裔美國人和愛爾蘭人，”目前執(zhí)教于普林斯頓大學的美國宗教史教授利·艾瑞克·施密特寫道，“婦女也是這種惡意情人節(jié)賀卡的主要攻擊對象。寡婦、老姑娘、大嗓門或者有沖勁的女性、輕浮以及賣弄風情的女人——這些都是厭惡女性者嘲諷的常見對象……難以馴服、性格固執(zhí)或者在公開場合表現(xiàn)活躍的女性都被刻畫成魔鬼、毒蛇、老虎或者嘶嘶叫喊的貓?！?/p>

1860年，《紐約時報》的專欄文章還在感嘆說，近些年來，“圣瓦倫丁的追隨者已經(jīng)不再是詩人，而是粗鄙小人，而圣瓦倫丁愉悅人心的信件也被他們篡改，墮落成了愚蠢諷刺和粗魯無禮的惡俗表達。” 不過，“惡搞情人節(jié)”的熱潮最終還是逐漸消退了。

Eat Your Heart Out: French women traditionally have relied on subtle culinary28) cues to signal their amorous29) intentions. The July 1956 issue of the journal Western Folklore reported: “a young maid lets her swain30) know whether the answer is ‘yes’ or ‘no’ by what she feeds him on St. Valentine’s Day. It’s a custom that goes back for centuries. Any egg dish， for example， definitely means No! On the other hand， an apple or pear means Yes!”

以食示真心：法國女性傳統(tǒng)上會借烹飪食物來委婉地暗示與傳達自己的愛慕之情。1956年7月的《西方民俗學》雜志中寫道：“年輕姑娘會在情人節(jié)當天給自己的追求者烹調食物，以此告訴他自己到底是‘愿意’還是‘不愿意’接受這份愛。比如，雞蛋肯定代表‘不愿意’！而蘋果或梨則表示‘愿意’！”

Role Reversal: After an executive at the Mary Chocolate Company introduced Valentine’s Day to Japan in 1957， an error in translation led Japanese marketers to believe that tradition called for women to send chocolate candies to men. Now， “Many Japanese consider Valentine’s Day the one occasion in which women are allowed the greatest amount of personal expression，” writes Millie Creighton， an associate professor in the department of anthropology and sociology at the University of British Columbia. “A high-ranking official at one department store asserts， ‘This is the only day girls can express their feelings very openly.’ ”

女向男示愛：1957年，瑪莉巧克力公司的一位管理人員將情人節(jié)引入日本時，由于翻譯出現(xiàn)錯誤，日本的營銷人員誤以為情人節(jié)的傳統(tǒng)做法是女方要給男方送巧克力糖果。如今，“許多日本人認為，情人節(jié)是女性能夠最充分地表達個人感情的時候，”加拿大英屬哥倫比亞大學人類學與社會學系副教授米麗·克里頓寫道，“百貨商場的高層主管認為，‘只有在這一天，女孩子們才能非常公開地表達她們的情感?！?/p>

On the March: Every year since 2003， the human rights group Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) has held peaceful demonstrations on Valentine’s Day， demanding access to education， health care and an end to government oppression of activists. Dressing in red and white outfits， they distribute paper roses and cards with messages such as， “Defend your right to love and let love overcome hate. Defend all your rights and stand up for the truth.”

為愛而游行：從2003年開始，人權組織“津巴布韋婦女站起來”(WOZA)每年在情人節(jié)當天開展和平游行活動，爭取婦女的教育和衛(wèi)生保健權利，要求政府停止對積極分子的鎮(zhèn)壓。她們身著紅白兩色的服裝，分發(fā)紙玫瑰和卡片。卡片上寫道：“捍衛(wèi)你愛的權利，讓愛戰(zhàn)勝仇恨。捍衛(wèi)你所有的權利，為真理挺身而出?！?/p>

To Your Health: In recent years， Valentine’s Day has emerged as an occasion for public health education. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control seek to raise awareness about heart disease， with e-cards that read: “Valentine， dear Valentine， My heart beats just for you. To keep our hearts beating， Let’s walk a mile or two.” (Hey， they’re doctors， not poets.)

健康教育日：近年來，情人節(jié)成了公共衛(wèi)生教育的時機。美國疾病控制中心在這一天致力于心臟病知識的教育普及，它的電子賀卡上寫道：“心上人，親愛的心上人，我的心只為你跳動。為了讓我們的心臟繼續(xù)跳動，讓我們走幾英里散散步?！?嘿，別對這些文字要求太高，他們是醫(yī)生，又不是詩人。)

1.ballot [#712;baelig;l#601;t] n. 投票

2.pagan [#712;pe#618;ɡ#601;n] adj. (相對于主要宗教而言的)異教徒的；多神教徒的

3.billet [#712;b#618;l#618;t] n. 便條

4.lot [l#594;t] n. 抓鬮

5.bosom [#712;b#650;z#601;m] n. 胸，胸部

6.Elizabethan era：伊麗莎白時代(1558~1603)，指英格蘭伊麗莎白一世統(tǒng)治時期，這是英國趨向強盛的最重要時期，也是文藝復興運動達到頂峰的時期，被很多歷史學家稱為英國的“黃金時代”。

7.of choice：精選的，中意的，特別的

8.Easter Day：復活節(jié)，又稱Easter Sunday。復活節(jié)是基督教紀念耶穌復活的節(jié)日。傳說耶穌被釘死在十字架上，死后第三天復活升天。教堂每年慶祝的復活節(jié)是春分月圓后的第一個星期日，如果月圓那天剛好是星期天，則復活節(jié)推遲一星期。因而復活節(jié)可能在3月22日至4月25日之間的任何一天。

9.bay [be#618;] n. 月桂樹

10.sprinkle [#712;spr#618;#331;kl] vt. 噴灑

11.yourn [j#596;#720;n] pron. 你的

12.lock [l#594;k] n. (常用復數(shù))頭發(fā)

13.capitalize on：利用

14.Leap Day：閏日，指閏年里的2月29日。

15.proper [#712;pr#594;p#601;(r)] adj. 循規(guī)蹈矩的

16.Punch：《笨拙》，英國漫畫雜志，創(chuàng)刊于1841年，曾經(jīng)在英國影響很大，于1992年?？?，1996年復刊，但于2002年再次停刊。

17.missive [#712;m#618;s#618;v] n. 書信

18.have a field day：得到盡情嘲笑(他人)的機會(或場合)

19.daintily [#712;de#618;ntili] adv. 優(yōu)雅地；秀麗地

20.caricature：請參見35頁注釋19。

21.bawdy [#712;b#596;#720;di] adj. 淫穢的

22.lampoon [laelig;m#712;pu#720;n] vt. 諷刺，嘲笑

23.assertive [#601;#712;s#604;#720;t#618;v] adj. 武斷的，過分自信的，有沖勁的

24.misogynistic [m#618;#716;s#594;d#658;#618;#712;n#618;st#618;k] adj. 厭女癥的，厭惡女人的

25.derision [d#618;#712;r#618;#658;n] n. 嘲笑，嘲弄

26.buffoon [b#601;#712;fu#720;n] n. 缺乏教養(yǎng)的人，粗俗而愚蠢的人

27.impertinence [#618;m#712;p#604;#720;t#618;n#601;ns] n. 無禮的舉動(或言論)

28.culinary [#712;k#652;l#618;n#601;ri] adj. 烹飪的

29.amorous [#712;aelig;m#601;r#601;s] adj. 多情的，戀愛的

30.swain [swe#618;n] n. 情郎