各国节日3
2008-05-12 23:12:17
Labor Day（美国劳动节）
Many immigrants settled in New York City in the nineteenth century. They found that living conditions were not as wonderful as they had dreamed. Often there were six families crowded into a house made for one family. Thousands of children had to go to work. Working conditions were even worse. Immigrant men, women and children worked in factories for ten to twelve hours a day, stopping only for a short time to eat. They came to work even if they were tired or sick because if they didn't, they might be fired. Thousands of people were waiting to take their places. This event convinced Peter that an organized labor movement was important for the future of workers' rights. He spent the next year speaking to crowds of workers and unemployed people, lobbying（游说） the city government for jobs and relief money. It was not an easy road for Peter McGuire. He became known as a "disturber of the public peace." The city government ignored his demands. Peter himself could not find a job in his trade. He began to travel up and down the east coast to speak to laborers about unionizing（成立工会）. In 1881, he moved to St. Louis, Missouri, and began to organize carpenters there. He organized a convention of carpenters in Chicago, and it was there that a national union of carpenters was founded. He became General Secretary of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America. The idea of organizing workers according to their trades spread around the country. Factory workers, dock workers and toolmakers all began to demand and get their rights to an eight-hour workday, a secure job and a future in their trades. Peter McGuire and laborers in other cities planned a holiday for workers on the first Monday in September, halfway between Independence Day and Thanksgiving Day. On September 5, 1882 the first Labor Day parade was held in New York City. Twenty thousand In 1894, Congress voted it a federal holiday. Today Americans celebrate Labor Day with a little less fanfare（热闹的宣传） on the first Monday of September. Some cities have parades and community picnics. Many politicians "kick off' their political campaigns by holding rallies on the holiday. Most Americans consider Labor Day the end of the summer, and the beaches and other popular resort areas are packed with people enjoying one last three-day weekend. Notting Hill Carnival（诺丁山儿童节） The Notting Hill Carnival has been taking place in London, on the last weekend in August, every year since 1964. Five disciplines go to make up the carnival as we know it today. Mas' from (costume, Masquerade), Steelband, Calypso (political, social and satirical commentary, set to music), Soca (the traditional music of Carnival, a fusion (结合)of Soul and Calypso) and Static Sound Systems all play their part on the two days of Carnival-on-the-Road. Decked (装饰) in spectacular colors, hundreds of children got their parade under way on Sunday, ahead of more than 100 floats and thousands of performers who will stage the main parade on Monday. Party-goers will eat, drink and dance their way through the terraced streets (带有台阶的街道) The carnival, which takes place in the streets of a west London district made famous by the movie ``Notting Hill'' starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant, has become one of the most celebrated symbols of multi-cultural Britain Bierborse（啤酒节） The Bierborse is an open-air event devoted to the art of brewing throughout the world. It is composed of two thirds beer-serving businesses and one third accompanying snack specialities. The range is supplemented by participants offering products typical of beer. That may be not only the local beer club but also the beer-mat seller or a tankard stand. The Opladener Bierborse goes back to 1987, i.e. 177 years later, when Herbert Sondermann, a native of Opladen, had the idea of introducing a beer event and put this into effect in the form of a small event with seven beer stands in the pedestrian precinct in Opladen. At that time as well, nobody anticipated what a wonderful event was to develop from these beginnings. Today, Herbert Sondermann wears the Bundesverdienstkreuz (Order of Merit) of the Federal Republic of Germany for his services to Opladen; because the small beer event in the pedestrian precinct in Opladen has now become the largest open-air event in the history of the city of Leverkusen and the largest event of this kind anywhere in the world. In more than ten years of development work, the Bierborse has been developed, according to stringent rules and numerous selection criteria, into one of the most successful German public festivals without any blending with other types of event such as funfairs or even junk markets. This also illustrates how it differs from the Munchener Oktoberfest. Only the large number of beer types from all over the world allow the visitors to sample even unusual varieties. These include, for example, San Miguel from Spain, Efes from Turkey or Corona from Mexico which revive memories of past holiday trips. The small house breweries whose beers are not often offered on draught outside their brewing locations are also regular guests at the BIERBORSE events. The range on offer is rounded off by the well-known German brands which form the foundation of the Bierborse. This is presented in a cosy beer-garden atmosphere. Mid-Autumn Festival（中秋节） The joyous Mid-Autumn Festival was celebrated on the fifteenth day of the eighth moon, around the time of the autumn equinox（秋分）. Many referred to it simply as the "Fifteenth of the Eighth Moon".
This day was also considered as a harvest festival since fruits, vegetables and grain had been harvested by this time and food was abundant. Food offerings were placed on an altar set up in the courtyard. Apples, pears, peaches, grapes, pomegranates（石榴）, melons, oranges and pomelos（柚子） might be seen. Special foods for the festival included moon cakes, cooked taro（芋头）and water caltrope（菱角）, a type of water chestnut resembling black buffalo horns. Some people insisted that cooked taro be included because at the time of creation, taro was the first food discovered at night in the moonlight. Of all these foods, it could not be omitted from the Mid-Autumn Festival. The round moon cakes, measuring about three inches in diameter and one and a half inches in thickness, resembled Western fruitcakes in taste and consistency. These cakes were made with melon seeds（西瓜子）, lotus seeds（莲籽）, almonds（杏仁）, minced meats, bean paste, orange peels and lard（猪油）. A golden yolk（蛋黄） from a salted duck egg was placed at the center of each cake, and the golden brown crust was decorated with symbols of the festival. Traditionally, thirteen moon cakes were piled in a pyramid to symbolize the thirteen moons of a "complete year," that is, twelve moons plus one intercalary（闰月的） moon. The Mid-Autumn Festival is a traditional festivity for both the Han and minority nationalities. The custom of worshipping the moon can be traced back as far as the ancient Xia and Shang Dynasties (2000 B.C.-1066 B.C.). In the Zhou Dynasty(1066 B.C.-221 B.C.), people hold ceremonies to greet winter and worship the moon whenever the Mid-Autumn Festival sets in. It becomes very prevalent in the Tang Dynasty(618-907 A.D.) that people enjoy and worship the full moon. In the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279 A.D.), however, people send round moon cakes to their relatives as gifts in expression of their best wishes of family reunion. When it becomes dark, they look up at the full silver moon or go sightseeing on lakes to celebrate the festival. Since the Ming (1368-1644 A.D. ) and Qing Dynasties (1644-1911A.D.), the custom of Mid-Autumn Festival celebration becomes unprecedented popular. Together with the celebration there appear some special customs in different parts of the country, such as burning incense（熏香）, planting Mid-Autumn trees, lighting lanterns on towers and fire dragon dances. However, the custom of playing under the moon is not so popular as it used to be nowadays, but it is not less popular to enjoy the bright silver moon. Whenever the festival sets in, people will look up at the full silver moon, drinking wine to celebrate their happy life or thinking of their relatives and friends far from home, and extending all of their best wishes to them. Moon Cakes There is this story about the moon-cake. during the Yuan dynasty (A.D. 1280-1368) China was ruled by the Mongolian people. Leaders from the preceding Sung dynasty (A.D. 960-1280) were unhappy at submitting to the foreign rule, and set how to coordinate the rebellion without being discovered. The leaders of the rebellion, knowing that the Moon Festival was drawing near, ordered the making of special cakes. Backed into each moon cake was a message with the outline of the attack. On the night of the Moon Festival, the rebels successfully attached and overthrew the government. Today, moon cakes are eaten to commemorate this legend and was called the Moon Cake. For generations, moon cakes have been made with sweet fillings of nuts, mashed red beans, lotus-seed paste or Chinese dates（枣子）, wrapped in a pastry. Sometimes a cooked egg yolk can be found in the middle of the rich tasting dessert. People compare moon cakes to the plum pudding and fruit cakes which are served in the English holiday seasons. Nowadays, there are hundreds varieties of moon cakes on sale a month before the arrival of Moon Festival. Hungry Ghost Festival（中元节） Much like Western culture's Halloween, some Eastern cultures celebrate a Fall festival where they believe the gates of hell are thrown open, releasing hungry ghosts to wander the earth in search of food and taking revenge upon those who wronged them in life. This month-long festival is known as the Hungry Ghost Festival and takes place during the 7th lunar month.
Unlike other celebrations of the dead in Eastern cultures that seek to honor dead ancestors, the Hungry Ghost Festival seeks to pacify the hungry ghosts, the ghosts of strangers and the un-cared-for dead. These are the ghosts of those who died by their own hands, by accidents, by drowning or hanging who have been denied entry into heaven. Angry because they are forced to dwell in hell without food or comfort, when released, they search for souls to take their place in misery. To Taoists（道教徒） and Buddhists（佛教徒）, these evil spirits are not to be taken lightly. They are most active at night and can take many forms including: snakes, moths（蛾）, birds, foxes, wolves, and tigers. They can even appear as beautiful men or women to seduce the living. When they possess an individual by entering the body they cause illness and mental disorders. Throughout this month, to keep the angry spirits amused, people stage street operas and other forms of public entertainment. In the past, people did not view the street operas as they were performed only for ghosts. Other rituals（典礼，仪式）are performed to help souls enter into heaven. Taoists do their best to avoid late nights away from these amusements and rituals to steer clear of the evil spirits. To appease these wandering spirits, Buddhists and Taoists burn bundles of joss sticks, paper hell money, food, and other offerings by the roadside. Communities along rivers or near the sea float lanterns in the shape of the lotus or carved from fruit or gourds in the water to guide them away from their homes. They follow the lanterns from the river bank or sea shore till they can no longer be seen. This is done to redeem the soul of those who died by drowning. The most important days of this month are the 14th and 15th, the days of the great feasts. On the 14th, a great feast would be held to honor family ancestors. Prayers and offerings would be made at family altars. On the following night, the 15th, they would feast for the hungry ghosts. Held outside under the full moon, these feasts feed the evil spirits so that they will leave the living alone and bribe（贿赂） the ancestors for luck with money and the harvest.
When Peter McGuire was 17, he began an apprenticeship in a piano shop. This job was better than his others, for he was learning a trade, but he still worked long hours with low pay. At night he went to meetings and classes in economics and social issues of the day. One of the main issues of concern pertained to labor conditions. Workers were tired of long hours, low pay and uncertain jobs. They spoke of organizing themselves into a union of laborers to improve their working conditions. In the spring of 1872, Peter McGuire and 100,000 workers went on strike and marched through the streets, demanding a decrease in the long working day.
workers marched in a parade up Broadway. They carried banners that read "LABOR CREATES ALL WEALTH," and "EIGHT HOURS FOR WORK, EIGHT HOURS FOR REST, EIGHT HOURS FOR RECREATION!" After the parade there were picnics all around the city. Workers and celebrants ate Irish stew, homemade bread and apple pie. At night, fireworks were set off. Within the next few years, the idea spread from coast to coast, and all states celebrated Labor Day.
This great festival began initially from the energies of Black immigrants (黑人移民) from the Caribbean, particularly from Trinidad (特立尼达岛), where the Carnival tradition is very strong, and from people living locally who dreamed of (梦想着) creating a festival to bring together the people of Notting Hill, most of whom were facing racism (种族主义), lack of (缺乏) working opportunities, poor housing conditions resulting in (导致) a general suppression of good self-esteem (自尊).
Labroke Grove is the heart of the spectacular Notting Hill Carnival, held each August Bank Holiday since 1964. This holiday always falls on the last weekend of August with Sunday and Monday being the major carnival days. There are scores of massive 'sound systems', many spectacular floats (游行彩车) and steel drum bands additionally. There are hundreds of stalls (货摊) lining the streets of the area selling all sorts of food and drink including Caribbean specialities (特产).
The German Munchener Oktoberfest goes back to an event in October 1810 and then developed into an annual event organised by the breweries and entertainment businesses in Munich. The German Munchener Oktoberfest very quickly acquired the reputation of being the largest public festival on Earth and, as a result of imitators all over the globe, became a festival form welcome everywhere. In 1810, nobody could have anticipated this meteoric development.
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