GERMAN EASTER CUSTOMS 德國復(fù)活節(jié)岡俗

黃曉琴

在國外，復(fù)活節(jié)除了宗教意義，還象征著春天的到來，萬物復(fù)蘇。在德國，復(fù)活節(jié)是一個重大節(jié)日，有著許多傳統(tǒng)活動和習(xí)俗，一起了解一下吧！

The German government l）stipulates a two-day rest for Easter. On Easter Day， people lighted candles in front of the church to show 2）sanctification and welcomed the holy candlesinto thousands of households. On this day， the happiest thing for the children is to send the torch to each home. They lit the branches with a 3）sacred fire in front of the church， and then ran to each house， filled with a cheerful festive 4latmosphere.

In Bavaria， Germany， residents hold a torch race every Easter to celebrate the rebirth of Jesus. The Luctai Easter Rolling Whel in North Rhine-Westphalia is even more famous. Six giant wooden wheels were ignited by fire and rolled down the valley， just like six fireballs falling from the sky. The darkvalley was illuminated by the big fire wheel. It complemented each other with colorful fireworks， showing once again that fire has brought new life to mankind.

It's not just Easter fireworks that excite people. During festivals， families will also reunite and taste various traditional foods. Friends and relatives should congratulate each other when they meet. The eggs， fire， water， and rabbits symbolizing life have become Easter 5lmascots. Eggs and rabbits are symbols of new life and prosperity in the West. The true color of the egg symbolizes the sun， and ldyeing the egg red symbolizes happiness in life.

On this day， parents should specially prepare chocolate candies in the shape of eggs and rabbits for their children. Friends and relatives should give each other easter eggs. In some towns in the middle reaches of the Rhine and east of Hessen， the ancient custom of “Easter Egg Tree” is still preserved. People paint hundreds of eggshells with color paintings， string them into egg chains， and hang them on pine trees on Easter Day to make an egg tree. Adults and childrensing， dance， and celebrate Easter around the egg tree. The girls from the Alps express their love by giving red eggs. On Easter Day， if a girl presents three red eggs to a young man， it means that the girl expresses her love to the young man.

As the only 7ethnic 8minority in Germany， the Sorbian people celebrated the resurrection of Jesus in the form of a hundred horse chorus. One by one Sorbian people wearing black shirts and black top hats， riding on horses decorated with 9lribbons， flowers and white shells， marched 10）mightily along the forest path.As they walked， they sang hymns with their rough and strong voices， and the scene was spectacular.

1） stipulate 【'stupjulelt】 v.規(guī)定

2） sanctification 【，saenktfi'kelfn】 n.神圣化

3） sacred 【'selkrld】 adj.神圣的

4） atmosphere 【aetmasfia（r）】n.氛圍

5） mascot 【'maeskat】 n.吉祥物

6） dye 【da1】 v.染色

7） ethnic 【'e0nk】 adj.種族的

9） ribbon 【'rben】 n.絲帶

8） minority 【malnoratij】n.少數(shù)民族

10） mightily 【'maltli】 adv.非常

德國政府規(guī)定復(fù)活節(jié)休息兩天。復(fù)活節(jié)這一天，人們在教堂前點燭以示圣化，并將圣燭迎進(jìn)千家萬戶。這一天，孩子們最快樂的事是把圣火送到各家。他們在教堂前用圣火點燃樹枝，然后奔跑著送到各家各戶，期間充滿著歡快的節(jié)日氣氛。

在德國的巴伐利亞地區(qū)，每年的復(fù)活節(jié)居民們都要舉行火炬賽跑，以慶祝耶穌的再生。北萊茵上威斯特法倫州的呂克臺復(fù)活節(jié)滾火輪更是遠(yuǎn)近聞名。六個巨型木輪被火點燃滾下山谷，就像六個火球從天而降。漆黑的山谷被大火輪照得通明，它與五彩繽紛的焰火交相輝映，顯示火給人類帶來了新生。

不僅僅是復(fù)活節(jié)的焰火讓人們異常激動，在節(jié)日里，家人也會團(tuán)聚并且品嘗各種傳統(tǒng)食品。親戚朋友見面要互相祝賀。象征生命的蛋、火、水、兔等成了復(fù)活節(jié)的吉祥物。雞蛋和兔子在西方是新的生命和興旺發(fā)達(dá)的象征。雞蛋的本色象征太陽，把雞蛋染成紅色則象征生活幸福。

在這一天，父母要特地為孩子們準(zhǔn)備制成雞蛋、兔子形狀的巧克力糖。親友間要互贈彩蛋。在萊茵河中游和黑森東部的一些城鎮(zhèn)，至今保留著“彩蛋樹”這一古老習(xí)俗。人們把數(shù)百個蛋殼涂上彩畫，串成蛋鏈，在復(fù)活節(jié)這天掛在松樹上，制成彩蛋樹，大人和孩子圍著彩蛋樹唱歌、跳舞、慶祝復(fù)活節(jié)。阿爾卑斯山的姑娘們則通過贈送紅雞蛋來表達(dá)自己的愛情。在復(fù)活節(jié)這天，如果姑娘贈送小伙子三個紅雞蛋，那是姑娘向小伙子表達(dá)愛慕之意。

作為德國唯一的少數(shù)民族索布族人，則用百騎大合唱的形式來慶祝耶穌的復(fù)活。一個個身穿黑色上衣、頭戴黑色禮帽的索布族人，騎在用彩帶、鮮花和白色貝殼裝飾的駿馬上，浩浩蕩蕩地行進(jìn)在林間小路上。他們邊走邊用粗獷雄厚的嗓音高唱贊歌，場面十分壯觀。