尽兴狂欢 用一场尽兴的狂欢,杀死生活的平淡

　　Let’s Celebrate the Strangest Festivals on Earth 　　到一个地方旅游，每个人都有不同的侧重点。有人是为了游山玩水，有人则为了追溯历史，也有人希望领略独特的风土人情。如果你属于第三种人，那可千万不能错过富有当地特色的节日哦。本期“环球风情”将带大家到世界各个角落，寻找各种奇特的节日。Let’s go！
　　
　　It’s a freezing cold winter’s day,but that’s not stopping 10,000 men in the northern Japanesecity of Konomiya from stripping[剥去] down tonothing but a loincloth[缠腰带] . With the snow flying,these adventurers�with their extremities [四肢]turning blue�run all over town on a very specificmission: to find the one completely naked man amongthem. In fact, this is a ritual[典礼，仪式] repeated allover Japan, and always on one of the coldest daysof the year. Why? Because if they find the naked manfast enough, they believe it will bring 12 months ofgood luck.
　　Welcome to the wacky world of cultural festivals,which are as integral[完整的] to society as lawsand taxes. Festivals and holidays, of course, breakup the normal routine[常规] of everyday life, createreasons for parades[游行，行进], allow for exchanging ofpresents, and provide excuses for large meals. Butmost important, they allow people to celebratea significant aspect of their culture�whatever itmight be.
　　The following are some of the world’s strangestfestivals, all of which make perfect sense in theculture of those celebrating.
　　
　　Lop Buri Monkey Buffet
　　
　　Where: Lop Buri, Thailand
　　What: Primate[灵长类动物] party. This feast celebratesthe greedy appetites[食欲] of the city’s most persistent[固执的] pests[有害动物]: monkeys.
　　Why: The macaque[短尾猴] monkeys that populate LopBuri are well-known gluttons[贪食者]: anyone wholeaves a snack unattended for a split second[一刹那] issure to have it snatchedaway by a furry “friend.”But residents of the citydecided in 1989 that thebest way to deal with themonkeys was to embracethem. So every year, allthe monkeys’ favoritefood�including peanuts,cucumbers, bananas, andraw crabs�are laid outin front of the Pra Prang Sam Yot temple. There’s atea party too (although Lop Buri’s monkeys are knownto prefer Coca-Cola).
　　When: The last weekend in November.
　　
　　The Anastenaria
　　
　　(the feast of Saint Constantine and
　　Saint Helena)
　　Where: Northern Greece, SouthernBulgaria
　　What: Fire walking! During this eightdayreligious celebration, worshippersare ostensibly[表面上] possessed[着魔的]by Saint Constantine注1 and areable to walk, dance, and stomp[跺脚]barefooted over fire. Live musiciansplay to accompany[伴奏] the dancers,and as the music gets faster,worshippers “touched by the saint”say they don’t feel the flames.
　　Why: The legend behind this ritual dates back to theMiddle Ages, when the Church of Saint Constantineaccidentally caught fire. According to the story, asflames engulfed[吞没] the church, the icons of the saint and of his mother, Saint Helena, could be heard cryingfor help from the inside. The brave churchgoers[经常去做礼拜的人] who ran in to rescue the icons were unscathed[没有受伤的] by the fire.
　　When: Begins May 21st. Theeight days of dancing, allnightchurch services,and festivities end with asacrifice of a sacred bull,from which every villagefamily is given meat andsandals[凉鞋] made from thehide[皮革].
　　
　　La Tomatina
　　
　　Where: Bu?ol, Spain
　　What: The world’s largest food fight. Each year some30,000 people (including locals and many visitors) fillthis town’s main square to hurl[用力投掷] locally growntomatoes at each other. Tractors ride through thestreets dumping piles of red ammunition[弹药]�and for90 minutes it’s a marinara注2 free-for-all.
　　Why:Well,why not?Wonder-fully,there’s no explanationfor how this tradition began. While sources agreethat Bu?ol’s first tomato was thrown in 1944 or1945, no one is sure whether the toss[投，掷] occurred incelebration of Saint Louis Bertrand, the town’s patronsaint[守护神]; as a form of antireligious[反宗教的] protest;or as just a whimsical[古怪的] impulse[冲动] after atomato cart overturned.
　　When: The last Wednesday in August.
　　
　　Cheung Chau’s Bun[小圆面包] Fes-tival
　　
　　Where: Cheung Chau, Hong Kong, China
　　What: Race to the top of a tower of baked goods. To driveaway evil spirits and ensure smooth sailing, the seafaring[航海事业的] residents of Cheung Chau (an island off thecoast of Hong Kong) disguise[假扮] themselves as deities[神]. But the really fun part comes when three 60-foottowers, covered from top to bottom with doughy[面团的]pastries[面粉糕饼] called sweet buns, are set up in front ofthe temple of Pak Tai. People climb up the bun towers,grabbing as many as they can; the more they gather, thebetter their luck will be for the year ahead. The ritualwas abandoned after a tower collapsed[倒塌] in 1978, buthas since resumed[恢复] (using plastic towers).
　　Why: For some 2,500 years, the main livelihood forCheung Chau residents has been fishing. This festival,started in the 18th century by a local, is an event toappease[安抚] the spirits of the dead killed in the past byshipwreck[海难], pirates, or plague.
　　When: The eighth day of the fourth month in the Chinesecalendar, usually in May.
　　
　　Nenana Ice Classic
　　
　　Where: Nenana, Alaska, USA
　　What: Spring ice-melting lottery[彩票]. Alaska’s longestrunningbetting lottery is a contest to guess the exacttime and day that the winter ice will crack and makeway for springtime. Locals set a giant wooden structureon the ice and tie it to a clock on the shore. When theice gives way, the rope pulls theclock, stopping it and declaringa winner. Tickets cost $2.50; the largest pot[巨款] to date is $303,895,given in 2008 to a single ticket holder.
　　Why：It was during an especially long winter in 1917 thata group of railroad engineers first placed bets on whenthe ice on the Tanana River would break.The next year，afew more folks got in on the act,and by 2008 ,more than240,000 tickets were sold for the year’s jackpot[累积奖金].
　　When：This year，the Tanana Riverofficially went out on May6th，at10：53pm Alaska Standard Time.
　　虽然是在寒冷的冬天，但这阻止不了日本北部（爱知县）国府宫的一万名男子脱得只剩下一条缠腰带。在纷飞的雪花中，这些手脚冻得发紫的冒险者要跑遍全市，只为完成一个任务：找到他们当中那个一丝不挂的男人。其实日本各地都有这个仪式，而且总在一年中最冷的那天举行。为什么？因为他们相信要是能尽快找到那个赤身的人，就能带来12个月的好运。
　　欢迎来到奇异的文化节日世界――这些文化节日像法律和税收一样是社会不可缺少的一部分。当然，节日和假期打破了日常生活的常规，给人们游行的理由，让大家能够交换礼物，还提供了享受大餐的借口。但最重要的是，这些节日让人们得以庆祝其文化中意义深刻的一面――不管是哪一方面。
　　以下是世界上一些最奇异的节日。对举行庆祝的人们来说，这些节日在其文化中都很有意义。
　　
　　华富里猴子盛宴
　　
　　地点：泰国华富里
　　节日详情：灵长类动物派对。这一节日是为了向猴子――这座城市最顽劣的有害动物――贪婪的胃口致意。
　　缘由：遍布华富里的短尾猴是众所周知的贪食者：只要有人把零食放下，只消一秒钟没留心，它就肯定会被某位毛茸茸的“朋友”夺走。但在1989年，这座城市的居民决定，对付这些猴子的最好方法就是接受他们。因此，人们每年都会在三塔寺前摆上这些猴子最喜欢的食物――包括花生、黄瓜、香蕉和生蟹。此外还有一个茶会（虽然据说华富里的猴子比较喜欢可口可乐）。
　　时间：11月最后一个周末。
　　
　　过火节
　　
　　(为纪念圣君士坦丁和圣海伦娜的节日)
　　地点：希腊北部、保加利亚南部
　　节日详情：在火中行走！ 在这个为期八天的宗教节日里，礼拜者仿佛被圣君士坦丁附身，可以赤脚在火中行走、跳舞和跺脚。现场有乐手为舞者伴奏，随着音乐节奏不断加快，这些“被圣人触碰”的礼拜者说他们根本感觉不到脚下的火焰。
　　缘由：这一仪式背后的传说可追溯到中世纪，当时圣君士坦丁教堂意外起火。根据传说，正当烈火吞噬教堂，人们听到圣君士坦丁及其母圣海伦娜的塑像在教堂里呼救。勇敢的教徒冲入火海营救塑像，而且毫发未损。
　　时间：从5月21日开始。经过八天的舞蹈、通宵礼拜和庆祝活动，过火节在献祭一头神圣公牛的仪式中结束。随后，村里的各家各户都会得到牛肉和由牛皮制成的凉鞋。
　　
　　疯狂番茄节
　　
　　地点：西班牙布尼奥尔
　　节日详情：世界上最大规模的食物大战。每年约有三万人（包括当地人和游客）涌到这座城镇的主广场，用当地种植的番茄互相丢掷。拖拉机穿街而过，投放大堆红色弹药――接下来的90分钟，所有人都可以免费享用马瑞那拉调味汁。
　　缘由：呃，需要理由吗？奇怪的是，人们无法解释这个传统是如何开始的。虽然很多人一致同意布尼奥尔的第一个西红柿是在1944年或1945年投出的，但没有人能确定番茄节的来历：它是在庆祝该镇守护神圣路易・伯特兰的节日上发生的插曲，还是作为一种反宗教的抗争形式，抑或只是一辆番茄车被翻倒而引发的古怪冲动。
　　时间：8月最后一个星期三。
　　
　　
　　长洲包山节（即太平清醮）
　　
　　地点：中国香港长洲岛
　　节日详情：爬上一座由包子搭成的塔。为了驱赶邪灵、保佑出航顺利，以出海为生的长洲岛（香港海岸的一个岛）居民（在此期间）会打扮成神灵。然而最有趣的部分是在北帝庙前搭建起的三座60英尺（约18米）高的塔――从上到下布满被称作“平安包”的面粉糕点。人们爬上包山，尽可能多抢包子；抢到的包子越多，来年他们的运气就越好。1978年一座包山倒塌之后，这种仪式就停止了，但后来（2005年）得以恢复（改用塑料包山）。
　　缘由：两千五百多年以来，长洲居民一直以打渔为生。这个仪式于18世纪由一位当地人开创，为的是安抚过去死于海难、海盗和瘟疫的亡灵。时间：农历四月初八，通常在新历五月。
　　
　　尼纳纳冰河彩票
　　
　　地点：美国阿拉斯加尼纳纳
　　节日详情：春季融冰日期彩票。这项阿拉斯加历史最悠久的彩票是一个比赛，人们要竞猜冰块消融破裂的确切日期和时间，预告春之将至。当地人在冰上立起一个巨大的木架，并拴住岸上的一个钟。当冰层破裂，绳子牵拉时钟使之停止，冠军就此诞生。每张彩票售价为2.5美元；至今最高奖金是2008年一票独得的303895美元。
　　缘由：1917年的冬天特别漫长，一群铁路工程师首次打赌塔纳纳河的冰何时会破裂。第二年，参与这项打赌的人增多了。到2008年，累计售出24万张彩票作为本年的累积奖金。
　　时间：今年，塔纳纳河于阿拉斯加标准时间5月6日晚上10:53破冰。