The Origin of Carnival

 

狂欢节的起源

Carnival is a Christian creation derived from the Latin "Carne vale", meaning "farewell meat".

狂欢节是基督教创造的，起源于拉丁文中的Carne vale，意思是“肉啊，再见”。

And this referred to stop eating the meat. Despite its religious origin, Carnival has developed a secular meaning.

这是指停止吃肉。尽管起源于宗教，但是狂欢节已经有了非宗教的意义。

Today, Carnival is time for a revelry for all. It is a celebration for life and revival.

现在，狂欢节是人们尽情狂欢的时候。这是一个庆祝生命复苏的活动。

Thus parades, parties, with music and dances are part of it. Wild, noisy, colorful parades of revelers in bright costumes go to main streets to participate and share the joy.

因此伴着音乐和舞蹈的游行、聚会是庆典的一部分。在野性的、吵闹的、多彩的游行中，狂欢者们穿着明亮的服装，走上大街，参与庆典并分享着快乐。

Carnival took on aspects of some spring rites and still keeps them.

狂欢节上有与春天相关的仪式，至今保留着。

In the ancient festival of Saturnalia the Romans used to burn the statue of the king of ancient Saturnalia.

古代的农神节中，罗马人过去常会烧毁古代农神节中国王的雕像。

He was an ugly-looking man and the master of revels. He suffered a real death when the revels were over.

他是一个丑陋的人，也是狂欢的主人。当狂欢结束时，他就会经历真正的死亡。

In the countries like Italy, Spain, and France where the influence of Rome has been deepest and most lasting, the statue of Carnival is burnt, drowned, or beheaded to the pretended sorrow or true delight of the revelers.

在诸如意大利、西班牙和法国这些受到罗马深刻而持久的影响的国家，狂欢节时会用火烧，用水淹雕像，或者对其斩首，狂欢者以此假装悲伤或者表达喜悦。

This burnt out statue, as pointed out by the famous anthropologist Sir James Frazer, is no other than the direct ruler after the old king of Saturnalia.

著名的人类学家詹姆斯·弗雷泽爵士曾指出的那座烧坏了的雕像，就是古代农神节的国王，以后的直接统治者就没有这类的是发生了。

In fact, this tradition of statue burning had come as a part of an ancient rites of celebrating the end of the battle between summer and winter.

事实上，这种雕像燃烧的传统是古老仪式的一部分，仪式通常在夏季和冬季的战斗结束时举办。

The wild revelry, which is an important part of Carnival, is also what is left of the same ancient tradition of spring festival.

野外狂欢，是狂欢节重要的一部分，也是同样古老的传统春节留下的。

They are believed to imitate the wars between summer and winter so commonly fought at the coming of spring.

他们在夏季和冬季之间模仿演练战争，为来年春天常有的战争做好准备。

The colorful costumes of the revelers are also said to represent the spring when the white face of nature is cast aside for a colorful look.

狂欢者五颜六色的服装也象征着春天来临，冬日的白色会被春天多彩的自然所取代。

The popular tradition of wearing masks during the Carnival also comes from the feature of the New Year festivals.

狂欢节带上面具也是受欢迎的一项传统，这也来源于新年庆典。

The masks are said to represent the dead or spirits from the nether world who come closest to the human at his time of changeover.

据说，面具代表了死亡或者来自地狱的魂灵，这些都与人类在人世间的转换有关。

Carnival is still a wonderful festival of joy in Brazil, Peru, and other parts of South America.

狂欢节在巴西、秘鲁等南美的其他一些地方，然后是一个奇妙的欢乐的节日。

It is also celebrated with much excitement in the European countries ruled by the Catholics.

它也是一些信奉天主教的欧洲国家会热烈庆祝的节日。

Thus it is widely celebrated in Italy, France, Spain and Portugal.

意大利、法国、西班牙以及葡萄牙都会欢度狂欢节。