Some Marriage Traditions 西方婚俗趣談

http://gb.chinabroadcast.cn/5324/2004/09/14/982@299227_2.htmSome Marriage Traditions 西方婚俗趣談

Dialogue Script 對話原文

Lisa: I have surprising news for you.

Billy: What『s that? Lisa: Barbara is getting married. Billy: Well, isn『t that simply wonderful! My best wishes to her. Who『s the lucky guy? Lisa: Jason. He proposed last Saturday night at the formal dance.Billy: My, how romantic! When is the big day? Lisa: This August. Billy: Will it be a church wedding or a civil wedding? Lisa: Well, Barbara is a catholic. So, there will be a church wedding. Billy: Good. So Barbara will be a bride. She will be very beautiful in her wedding gown. Lisa: She『s hoping I『ll be her maid of honour. Billy: Did you promise her? Lisa: Yes, I did. It『ll be my first time. Billy: Who did Jason ask to be his best man? Lisa: My boyfriend, Tom. Billy: That『s very interesting. The groom『s best man is the maid of honour『s boyfriend. Lisa: And they will go to a large restaurant for the reception after the wedding ceremony. Billy: That will be very expensive for the father of the bridegroom, won『t it? Lisa: No, the bride『s family is responsible for the entire wedding——arrangements, costs, etc. Billy: That『s why many American fathers joke they would rather hold the ladder for their daughter to climb down and elope than pay for a wedding.

講解：

1. The giving of an "engagement" ring was first practiced when the groom "purchased" his bride. By giving a token, such as a ring, he pledged to marry her in return for her dowry and social status, among other things. The tradition of giving a diamond began with the Italians. It was believed that diamonds were created from the "flames of love" and represented everlasting love.

The Wedding Kiss dates back to Roman times. The kiss was to seal the marriage legally between the couple and must be witnessed by another person.

In addition to the groom not being allowed to see the bride before the ceremony, the veil was also used to protect the bride from being seen by evil spirits and jealous suitors. To this day, it is considered bad luck for the groom to see the bride on her wedding day before the ceremony.

The rowdy bachelor parties were the invention of the Spartan Soldiers. It became customary for the groom to feast with his friends the night before the wedding, often celebrating his last night of freedom by getting severely drunk (not much has changed it seems). In modern times, women have decided they also want their night of fun, so now it is traditional for women to have Stagette or Bachelorette parties as well.

西方婚禮中的許多風俗都有獨特的象徵和內涵，這裡我們向大家介紹一些。首先是贈送鑽戒，《聖經》中說，在遠古時代，男子向女子求婚所用證物就是指環。9世紀時，教皇尼古拉一世頒布法令，規定男方贈送婚戒給女方是正式求婚不可缺少的程序。

新娘禮服的色彩代表著傳統，也有其特定的含義，例如白色代表純潔的童貞。美國、英國新娘選用黃色禮服則象徵愛神和富足。另外，新娘在婚禮當天佩戴頭飾的習俗由來已久，古代女子在適婚年齡都頭戴花環，以區別於已婚婦女，象徵著童貞。西方女子在結婚時也有戴面紗的習俗，最初，新娘戴面紗是年輕和童貞的象徵，而信奉天主教的新娘戴面紗則代表純潔。因此，許多新娘趕赴教堂舉行婚禮時都選擇戴雙層面紗。新娘的父親將女兒交給新郎後，由新郎親手揭開面紗。

最後，根據習俗，婚禮以新人的親吻宣告結束。這一吻富有深刻的含義：通過接吻，一個人的氣息和部分靈魂留在另一個人體內，愛情使他們合二為一。

2. 在這段對話中，Lisa告訴Billy，Barbara要結婚了。然後Billy說，Well, isn『t that simply wonderful! 哇，那簡直是妙極了！

3. 接下來Billy又問，Will it be a church wedding or a civil wedding?那麼church wedding不用多說，就是教堂婚禮；而civil wedding則是指不舉行宗教儀式的世俗婚禮，公證婚禮。

4. 由於Barbara是個天主教徒，所以要舉行教堂婚禮。在這裡有幾個詞要講一下，首先是wedding gown，大家一定能猜得出，它的意思是「結婚禮服」；另外，通過對話，我們知道了男、女儐相應該怎麼說，男儐相是best man，而女儐相則是maid of honour。

5. That『s why many American fathers joke they would rather hold the ladder for their daughter to climb down and elope than pay for a wedding. 這句話的意思是，這就是為什麼在美國，很多做父親的開玩笑說他們寧可扶著梯子讓女兒爬過去私奔，而不願為她的婚禮付款。

Part 2 On Wedding Day 西方婚禮的傳統和習俗

Dialogue Script 對話原文

Julia: I would prefer a sincere affair of a few people. Here you really felt that it was a meaningful thi

ng, and not just a showy prestigious affair for...for parents to show off what they can provide for their daughters or son. Ray: But that『s an important thing for the parents to do, isn『t it? I mean, parents at that...it ought to be ...parents ought to be allowed to do this. Julia: But one is getting married, not one『s parents. Ray: Yes, but it『s the parents who are paying for it. And it『s the parents who『ve, if you like,...brought up this young girl or man to...Julia: Surely the money that is spent...I『d prefer to see the money spent on something more worthwhile. Ray: Yes, but it『s not...it may not be your money as such. And I think if the parents are paying for it, then they should have a great deal to say about it. If they prefer a large wedding and they prefer to...to invite Aunty Fole, Uncle Bill who you haven『t seen since you were two years old, well, I think that『s their prerogative. Julia: So it really boils down to what they prefer rather than what...the son or daughter prefers... Ray: Well, not entirely. But nevertheless I think it is important that they should...that they be consulted.

講解：

1. Modern wedding customs and traditions have their origins in the past, many coming from the Middle Ages. In ancient Rome, the bride wore a girdle fastened with many tiny knots. The groom had the pleasure of untying all those knots before he could bed his new wife.

Up until the 1400『s, the bride usually wore her best dress regardless of the color. It was Queen Victoria (1840) who began the present day fashion of wearing white as the wedding dress. It is also considered unlucky for the bride to make her own wedding dress.

The idea of having bridesmaids, pages, a best man and ushers originated with the belief that evil spirits, envious of the couple『s happiness, would be out to harm them, but would be confused by so many similarly dressed people.

The custom of the best man probably goes back to the days when the groom took a friend with him when he went to kidnap the bride from her home. Bells were originally rung at weddings to frighten away the evil spirits, and noisy celebrations were held beforehand to try and drive them from the community. These were the ancestors of our stag and hen parties.

東方人自古以來，喜歡用濃重的顏色表示自己的快樂與喜慶；西方人，特別是虔誠的耶穌的信徒們，更是從宗教信義上出發，認為男女的結合是聖潔的，代表著神聖的生兒育女生活的開始，所以必須用聖潔的白色來妝點它，這才是最完美的。因此，西方人的婚禮多用白色來布置，從古老的教堂婚禮到現代的前衛婚禮，無不見新娘們穿著雪白的婚紗，挽著閃著珠光的白色小拎包，潔白的紗手套上捧著的是一大捧粉白的百合。這樣的習俗延續了幾百年，至今未變。

婚禮中配伴娘、男童、男儐相和迎賓員的觀念源於這樣一種信仰，即嫉妒新人幸福的邪惡幽靈會冒出來傷害他們，但如果婚禮上有許分著裝類似的人，就能迷惑幽靈。配男儐相的習俗大概要追溯到那種年代，那時新郎往往要用上一個朋友去新娘家把她綁架出來。鈴在婚禮上叮噹作響原是為了嚇走邪惡幽靈，而在婚禮之前舉辦熱鬧的慶祝會也是為了把那些邪惡幽靈從新人和他們的親朋好友中趕走。這就是"雄鷹會"和"母雞會"的由來。

西方人婚禮上隨處可見花，從教堂到酒店，小到教堂中的每一把椅子，無處不有花的存在。他們喜愛使用粉色系的花，粉白，粉蘭，粉紅，粉綠，粉紫，粉黃...而且他們喜歡使用新鮮的花朵，絕不會採用假花。一般每對新人結婚，鮮花的使用量是相當大的。隨處可見的就是花，因為每一位盛裝出席的女士，不論其年齡，都會在髮髻處戴上一小束花以示對新人們的尊重。

在西方國家，通常婚禮的活動就是拋花球的遊戲，其他小遊戲很少。在步出教堂後，新娘要背轉身將手中的花球向後拋去，最後被哪個女賓接到，她就是下一個幸福的新娘。所以在這個時候，所有未婚的女賓都會主動站到前一排來，做好搶花球的準備，為的是沾沾新娘的喜氣。

2. 在這段對話中，Julia和Ray在討論父母在子女結婚時所扮演的角色。Julia認為婚禮是子女們自己的事兒，不必興師動眾，大操大辦。父母親不應將其視為向別人炫耀的平台。Ray 則認為，由於婚禮的費用主要來自父母，因此他們應該有一定的發言權，況且，從尊重長輩的角度出發，無論如何，在終身大事的問題上與父母商量也是很重要的。

3. showy, 浮華的，（過分）艷麗的；show off是「向人炫耀，賣弄」的意思。

4. provide常常有兩種用法，一種是provide sb with sth，另一種是provide sth for sb，表達的意思差不多；另一個是bring up，意思是「教育，培養，撫養成人」。

5. Aunty Fole和Uncle Bill，指很久沒見面的阿姨或叔叔，不特指哪一個阿姨或叔父，也許很多人。
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