狂欢英国五一节

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The Origins起源
　　
　　May Day is associated with the Celtic festival of Beltane and the Germanic festival of Walpurgis Night. It falls exactly half of a year from November 1, which is also associated with various northern European pagan and neopagan festivals such as Samhain. May Day marks the end of the uncomfortable winter half of the year in the Northern hemisphere, and it has traditionally been an occasion for popular and often raucous celebrations, regardless of the locally prevalent political or religious establishment.
　　五一节与凯尔特民族的五朔节和日耳曼民族的瓦尔普吉斯之夜有关联。这个节日是从11月1日算起，正好是半年；而11月1日也与北欧的异教和新异教的各种节日（如萨温节）有关。五一节标志着北半球长达半年令人不适的冬天的结束，从传统上来说，它是为大众设置的节日也是充满热闹的庆祝活动，不受当地政治或宗教机构的影响。
　　As Europe became Christianized, the pagan holidays lost their religious character and either changed into popular secular celebrations, as with May Day, or were given new Christian interpretations while retaining many traditional pagan features, as with Christmas, Easter, and All Saint's Day. Beginning in the 20th century, many neopagans began reconstructing the old traditions and celebrating May Day as a pagan religious festival once more.
　　在欧洲基督教化后，这些异教节日就失去了其宗教色彩，或是变成了大众的世俗节日，如五一节；或是在赋予了基督教新意义的同时保留了许多传统异教特色，如圣诞节、复活节、以及万圣节。从二十世纪开始，许多新异教开始重建旧的传统，再次将五一节作为一个异教的宗教节日来庆祝。
　　
　　May Day in the United Kingdom
　　英国的五一节
　　
　　Roodmas was an explicitly Christian mass celebrated in Britain at midnight on May 1, presumably to diminish the popularity of traditional Walpurgis Night celebrations.
　　十字架弥撒是典型的天主教弥撒，在英国是于五月一日凌晨庆祝，大概是为了降低传统瓦尔普吉斯之夜的普及度。
　　Traditional English May Day rites and celebrations include Morris dancing, crowning a May Queen, celebrating Green Man day and dancing around a Maypole. Much of this tradition derives from the pagan festival of Beltane. May Day has been a traditional day of festivities throughout the centuries. It is most associated with towns and villages celebrating springtime fertility and revelry with fetes and community gatherings. Perhaps the most significant of the traditions is the May Pole, around which traditional dancers circle with ribbons. The May Day Bank Holiday was traditionally the only one to affect the state school calendar, although new arrangements in some areas to even out the length of school terms mean that the Good Friday and Easter Monday Bank Holidays, which vary from year to year, may also fall during term time.
　　传统的英国五一节习俗和庆祝活动包括莫理斯舞、为五月女王加冕、欢庆“绿人日”、五月花柱舞。这个传统更多地来源于异教节日——五朔节。几个世纪以来，五一节一直是传统节日。它和那些庆祝春季土地肥沃和祭祀以及村社集会的城镇和农村的狂欢活动紧密相联。而这些传统活动的最重要意义在于五朔节花桩，传统的舞者戴着花带围绕着它跳舞。从传统意义上来说，只有五一银行假期会影响公共学校的日程安排，尽管一些地方的重新安排使得学校学期的长度平均，这意味着每年日期都不一样的耶稣受难日和复活节周一银行假期也许也会安排在学期中。
　　Also, 1st May 1707, was the day the Act of Union came into effect, joining England and Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain.
　　另外，1707年5月1日也是《联合法案》生效的日子，英格兰和苏格兰合并成立大不列颠王国。
　　
　　Regional Celebrations各地的庆祝活动
　　Cornwall康沃尔
　　
　　
　　Padstow in Cornwall holds its annual ''Obby-Oss'' (slang for 'Hobby Horse' festival) day of festivities. This is believed to be one of the oldest fertility rites in the country; revellers dance with the Oss (horse) through the streets of the town and even through the private gardens of the citizens, accompanied by accordion players and followers dressed in white with red or blue sashes who sing the traditional ''May Day'' song. The whole town is decorated with springtime greenery, and every year thousands of onlookers attend. Prior to the 19th century May Day distinctive May day celebrations were widespread through out West Cornwall.
康沃尔的帕德斯托每年举办“Obby-Oss”节日（“木马”节的俚语）。这被认为是英国最古老的丰收仪式；饮酒狂欢者随着木马跳舞，穿过城镇的街道，甚至穿过居民的私人花园，他们身后跟着唱着传统的“五一节”歌曲、配带红色或蓝色饰带、着白衣的手风琴弹奏者。整个城镇都用春季的绿色植物装饰，而每年都有上万游人参加。在19世纪前，五一节那与众不同的五一庆祝活动就已经在整个西康沃尔地区举行了。
　　
　　Oxford牛津
　　
　　
　　In Oxford on May Morning, many pubs are open from sunrise, and some of the college bars are open all night. Madrigals (a setting for two or more voices of a secular text, often in Italian) are still sung from the roof of the tower of Magdalen College, with thousands gathering on Magdalen Bridge to listen. Traditionally, revellers have jumped from the bridge into the River Cherwell below as part of the celebrations. About one hundred people did this in 2005. The river, however, was then only three feet deep in places and more than half of those who jumped needed medical treatment, suffering injuries ranging from broken ankles and legs to back injuries and large gashes on the bottom of feet. As a result, the bridge itself was closed to the public during the 2006 celebrations.
　　
　　在牛津，五月一日的清晨，许多酒吧打太阳升起时就开门了，而一些大学的酒吧则彻夜开放。中世纪抒情牧歌（一种有两个或两个以上声部的大众作品，通常用意大利语来歌唱）仍然从麦格达林学院的钟楼顶传来，成千上万的人都集聚在麦格达林大桥上倾听。传统上来说，作为庆祝活动的一部分，喝醉的人会从桥上跳入彻韦尔河。2005年，约有一百人从桥上跳了下去。 但是，这条河只有三英尺深，大多数跳下来的人需要得到医疗救治，他们有的脚裸脱臼、腿骨折，也有的背受伤或脚底破裂。结果，在2006年的庆祝活动中这座桥被禁止向公众开放。
　　
　　In Scotland
　　苏格兰
　　
　　St Andrews has a similar student tradition — some of the students gather on the beach late on April 30 and run into the North Sea at sunrise on the 1st, occasionally naked. This is accompanied by torchlit processions and much celebration.
　　圣安德鲁市也有类似的学生传统活动——有些学生在4月30日后半夜聚在海边，并在5月1日太阳升起的时候冲入北海（有的时候他们还光着身子）。这个活动还伴随有火炬照明和更多的庆祝活动。