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)
A: Wow, three Taiwanese restaurants just won the 2024 “Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants” awards. B: Awesome! Which three restaurants? A: Taipei’s Logy at No. 22 and MUME at No. 34, and Taichung’s JL Studio at No. 33. B: Actually, there are many more great establishments in Taipei. How about other Asian cities? A: Singapore claimed nine spots this year, making it Asia’s new “food capital.” A: 2024「亞洲50最佳餐廳」名單揭曉了,台灣有3家餐廳上榜。 B: 好厲害,哪3家? A: 台北的Logy和MUME分獲第22和34名,台中的JL Studio獲第33名! B: 其實台北還有很多好餐廳,那其他的亞洲城市呢? A: 新加坡今年入選9家,可說是亞洲美食之都。 (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
Let’s explore another delicacy primarily known to Tainan locals: floating milkfish in thick soup. Despite its peculiar name, this dish is another Tainan specialty that showcases the popularity of milkfish, which is made into fish paste and served in thick soup. Unlike the version with tutuo fish, which also adds other ingredients to its thick soup, the floating milkfish version primarily features the “floating fish” itself in its thick soup, ensuring that the fish paste remains the star of the dish. 讓我們來探索另一道台南人熟悉的美食:浮水魚羹。這道菜名奇特的美食,再再展現了台南虱目魚料理的多樣。浮水魚羹是用虱目魚漿做成的羹品,雖然和𩵚魠魚羹一樣是羹湯,但不像𩵚魠魚羹會在湯中加入其他食材,而是讓虱目魚漿成為這道料理的主角。 peculiar (adj.) 獨特的;古怪的 The belly of a milkfish is considered the most
The practice of freezing embryos as part of in vitro fertilization (IVF) was thrown into chaos in Alabama this year, when the state supreme court ruled that such embryos should be considered children, exposing clinics to wrongful death claims in the event they are destroyed in the thawing process. In 2021, more than 80 percent of US IVF procedures involved the transfer of frozen embryos, according to a recent report by the US Department of Health and Human Services. HOW IS EMBRYO FREEZING USED IN IVF? IVF uses high doses of hormones to stimulate ovaries to produce as many eggs as possible. Once
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