A three-meter-tall structure decorated with twigs, leaves and branches, a green mask and a regal crown wends its way through the streets of Hastings Old Town. Somewhere inside is a weary man or woman — they take turns over the course of the parade — laboring under the weight of the edifice mounted on their shoulders. This is the “Jack-in-the-Green,” and it is followed by a retinue of revelers in pagan garb, sometimes jovial, often outlandish, predominantly green, always related in some way to Nature and the coming of the summer.
The day is May 1, the town is Hastings on the south coast of England, and the parade is part of the annual Jack-in-the-Green festival. In a few hours, Jack will be led onto a stage on the West Hill overlooking the old fishing harbor and seafront, and will be ceremoniously “slain,” releasing the spirit of summer. Everybody goes home with part of the dismantled greenery.
The May Day celebration in England goes back to Roman times. In the late 18th century, people would wear garlands of flowers and leaves, and in time work guilds would compete with each other for the most elaborate garlands. The Jack-in-the-Green figure evolved from the chimney sweeps’ guild, who made a garland so large it covered the entire person.
Photos: Paul Cooper, Taipei Times
照片:台北時報記者古德謙攝
The tradition went out of fashion by 1889, with the Victorians frowning upon on the noisy and drunken revelry that often accompanied the celebrations. It was revived in Hastings in 1983 by a group of Morris dancers.
(Paul Cooper, Taipei Times)
那是一個三尺高的東西,用樹葉和大大小小的樹枝裝飾著,還配戴著綠色的面具和一個皇冠,在哈斯汀古鎮沿街走著。這裡面有個疲憊的人,負著肩上的龐然巨物努力前進。一整趟遊行的路程要分好幾個人輪流背。這龐然巨物就是「綠人傑克」,後面跟著一群狂歡者,身穿異教服飾,幾乎清一色著綠衣。他們態度快活,又大多怪里怪氣,打扮讓人聯想到大自然及夏天的到來。
Photos: Paul Cooper, Taipei Times
照片:台北時報記者古德謙攝
這天是五月一日,在英格蘭南部海濱的哈斯汀鎮,這個遊行是一年一度的綠人傑克節。再過幾小時後,傑克就會被帶到西丘,從那裡可俯視整個漁港及濱海區,然後傑克就會在儀式中象徵性地被殺掉,以便將夏天的神靈釋放出來。活動結束後大家都會帶些拆卸下來的樹枝樹葉回家。
英國的五朔節活動可追溯至古羅馬時期。在十八世紀晚期,人們會戴上以花和葉子製成的花冠,而最後不同的公會之間會互相比賽誰的花冠做得最為精美。綠人傑克的造型是由掃煙囪公會的花冠演變而來的:他們把花冠做得超大,把整個人都蓋住了。
這個傳統在一八八九年就不流行了,因為這些慶祝活動常常伴隨吵鬧和醉醺醺的狂歡,令保守的維多利亞時代人相當看不慣。到了一九八三年,才由莫里斯舞者在哈斯汀所復興。
Photos: Paul Cooper, Taipei Times
照片:台北時報記者古德謙攝
(台北時報編譯林俐凱譯)
South Korea’s famous kimchi is falling victim to climate change, with scientists, farmers and manufacturers saying the quality and quantity of the napa cabbage that is pickled to make the ubiquitous dish is suffering due to rising temperatures. Napa cabbage thrives in cooler climates, and is usually planted in mountainous regions where temperatures during the key growing summer season once rarely rose above 25 degrees Celsius. Studies show that warmer weather brought about by climate change is now threatening these crops, so much so that South Korea might not be able to grow napa cabbage one day due to the intensifying heat. “We
It’s widely recognized that there are far more right-handed people than left-handed people in the world. Being right-handed simply means preferring to use one’s right hand for tasks that involve only one hand, such as writing and eating. But have you ever wondered about the possible reasons behind the global dominance of the right hand over the left? As with many complex biological questions, multiple factors appear to be at play. First, one reason seems to be genetics. __1__ Therefore, the global dominance of right-handedness is something that has been passed down through many generations of humans. Next,
A: What’s even more horrible is that the five suspects who purposely supplied ketamine to actor Matthew Perry were all his “friends.” B: Who exactly are the five suspects? A: They include Matthew’s two doctors, a broker, a drug dealer, and even his live-in assistant. B: Those scumbags should go to jail. A: Yeah, one of the doctors may be sentenced to up to 120 years in prison. A: 更可怕的是,提供男星馬修派瑞「K他命」的5人全是他的「朋友」。 B: 嫌犯是誰啊? A: 其中包括他的2位醫生、1位仲介、1位毒販、甚至他的同居助理! B: 那些人渣真該去坐牢。 A: 對啊,其中1位醫生可能面臨120年徒刑。 (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
Continued from yesterday(延續自昨日) https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang Finally, cultural influence also plays a role in which hand people prefer. Historically, items that require physical manipulation have been designed for right-handed use. For example, tools like scissors and musical instruments are often constructed with right-handers in mind, making it difficult for left-handers to use them. __4__ While these factors offer some explanation, they remain speculative. The precise reasons for the global prevalence of right-handed people continue to be debated. Nevertheless, left-handedness will remain a phenomenon of great curiosity among scientists and researchers for many years to come. 最後,文化影響也在人們偏好哪一隻手上扮演一角。歷史上,需要用到肢體操作的物品都被設計來供右手使用。舉例來說,像是剪刀、樂器等工具常常就是考慮到右撇子而打造的,造成左撇子難以使用這些工具。因此,許多天生就是左撇子的人可能就必須透過學習使用右手來適應。 雖然這些因素都提供了一些解釋,但它們仍是推測而已。全球右撇子如此普及,確切的原因仍持續被爭論著。不過,在未來的許多年裡,左撇子依然會是科學家和研究人員相當好奇的一個現象。 What Did You Learn? (A) Specifically, different areas of