“蜜月”的来历

 　“蜜月”的来历

Surprisingly, the honeymoon¹  has been around a lot longer than the ceremony of marriage. In some ancient societies, if a man wanted a woman to be his only love, he would secretly take her from her family's house. The couple would then hide until the family of the woman ceased searching for her. Usually, this took about a month, or one moon cycle. This is where the "moon" part of honeymoon comes from.

　　你可能想不到，蜜月存在的历史竟比婚礼还要久。在某些古代社会中，假如一名男子想要一位女子成为他的唯一挚爱，他会偷偷把她从家中带走。这对小两口会躲起来，直到女子家人停止找她为止。通常这会花上一个月的时间，或是称为一个月亮周期。这就是Honeymoon中moon的由来。

　　The "honey" part refers to mead², a drink that the couple would have while they were hiding. This water and honey mixture was left out in the sun for some time and had a wine-like taste. It was said that if the couple drank mead every day, they were guaranteed to have plenty of children.

　　Honey指的是蜂蜜酒，也就是小两口躲起来时会喝的饮料。这种水加蜂蜜的饮品会放在阳光下一段时间，尝起来带有酒味。据说小两口如果每天喝蜂蜜酒，就保证会生很多小孩。

　　In modern times, the honeymoon is right after a wedding. Its purpose is to let a couple spend time alone and relax after the chaotic³ process of getting married. These vacations usually involve romantic beaches or remote islands. Honeymoons⁴ are no longer about hiding out from families. Instead, a wonderful honeymoon is one of the best wedding gifts a family can give a newly married couple.

　　时到现今，蜜月就紧接在婚礼之后。其目的是为了让夫妻有时间单独相处，并且在忙乱的结婚过程后好好放松一下。这些假期通常与浪漫的海滩或遥远的岛屿有关。蜜月不再需要躲避家人。一趟美妙的蜜月反倒是家人能送给新人最好的结婚礼物之一。

1 honeymoon   

n.蜜月（假期）；vi.度蜜月

参考例句：

• While on honeymoon in Bali,she learned to scuba dive.她在巴厘岛度蜜月时学会了带水肺潜水。
• The happy pair are leaving for their honeymoon.这幸福的一对就要去度蜜月了。

2 mead   

n.蜂蜜酒

参考例句：

• He gave me a cup of mead.他给我倒了杯蜂蜜酒。
• He drank some mead at supper.晚饭时他喝了一些蜂蜜酒。

3 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。

4 honeymoons   

蜜月( honeymoon的名词复数 )； 短暂的和谐时期； 蜜月期； 最初的和谐时期

参考例句：

• I suppose all honeymoons are more or less alike. 我想所有的蜜月多多少少都是相似的。
• Honeymoons are stupid things. 蜜月是乏味的事情。