Part 3   Some Marriage Traditions 西方婚俗趣谈

Dialogue Script  对话原文

Lisa: I have surprising news for you.
Billy: What's that?
Lisa: Barbara is getting married.
Billy: Well, isn't that simply wonderful! My best wishes to her. Who's the lucky guy?
Lisa: Jason. He proposed last Saturday night at the formal dance.
Billy: My, how romantic! When is the big day?
Lisa: This August.
Billy: Will it be a church wedding or a civil wedding?
Lisa: Well, Barbara is a catholic. So, there will be a church wedding.
Billy: Good. So Barbara will be a bride. She will be very beautiful in her wedding gown.
Lisa: She's hoping I'll be her maid of honour.
Billy: Did you promise her?
Lisa: Yes, I did. It'll be my first time.
Billy: Who did Jason ask to be his best man?
Lisa: My boyfriend, Tom.
Billy: That's very interesting. The groom's best man is the maid of honour's boyfriend.
Lisa: And they will go to a large restaurant for the reception after the wedding ceremony.
Billy: That will be very expensive for the father of the bridegroom, won't it?
Lisa: No, the bride's family is responsible for the entire wedding——arrangements, costs, etc.
Billy: That's why many American fathers joke they would rather hold the ladder for their daughter to climb down and elope than pay for a wedding.

讲解：

1. The giving of an "engagement" ring was first practiced when the groom "purchased" his bride. By giving a token, such as a ring, he pledged to marry her in return for her dowry and social status, among other things. The tradition of giving a diamond began with the Italians. It was believed that diamonds were created from the "flames of love" and represented everlasting love.

    The Wedding Kiss dates back to Roman times. The kiss was to seal the marriage legally between the couple and must be witnessed by another person. In addition to the groom not being allowed to see the bride before the ceremony, the veil was also used to protect the bride from being seen by evil spirits and jealous suitors. To this day, it is considered bad luck for the groom to see the bride on her wedding day before the ceremony.

    The rowdy bachelor parties were the invention of the Spartan Soldiers. It became customary for the groom to feast with his friends the night before the wedding, often celebrating his last night of freedom by getting severely drunk (not much has changed it seems). In modern times, women have decided they also want their night of fun, so now it is traditional for women to have Stagette or Bachelorette parties as well.

    西方婚礼中的许多风俗都有独特的象征和内涵，这里我们向大家介绍一些。首先是赠送钻戒，《圣经》中说，在远古时代，男子向女子求婚所用证物就是指环。9世纪时，教皇尼古拉一世颁布法令，规定男方赠送婚戒给女方是正式求婚不可缺少的程序。

    新娘礼服的色彩代表着传统，也有其特定的含义，例如白色代表纯洁的童贞。美国、英国新娘选用黄色礼服则象征爱神和富足。另外，新娘在婚礼当天佩戴头饰的习俗由来已久，古代女子在适婚年龄都头戴花环，以区别于已婚妇女，象征着童贞。西方女子在结婚时也有戴面纱的习俗，最初，新娘戴面纱是年轻和童贞的象征，而信奉天主教的新娘戴面纱则代表纯洁。因此，许多新娘赶赴教堂举行婚礼时都选择戴双层面纱。新娘的父亲将女儿交给新郎后，由新郎亲手揭开面纱。

    最后，根据习俗，婚礼以新人的亲吻宣告结束。这一吻富有深刻的含义：通过接吻，一个人的气息和部分灵魂留在另一个人体内，爱情使他们合二为一。

2. 在这段对话中，Lisa告诉Billy，Barbara要结婚了。然后Billy说，Well, isn't that simply wonderful! 哇，那简直是妙极了！

3. 接下来Billy又问，Will it be a church wedding or a civil wedding?那么church wedding不用多说，就是教堂婚礼；而civil wedding则是指不举行宗教仪式的世俗婚礼，公证婚礼。

4. 由于Barbara是个天主教徒，所以要举行教堂婚礼。在这里有几个词要讲一下，首先是wedding gown，大家一定能猜得出，它的意思是“结婚礼服”；另外，通过对话，我们知道了男、女傧相应该怎么说，男傧相是best man，而女傧相则是maid of honour。

5. That's why many American fathers joke they would rather hold the ladder for their daughter to climb down and elope than pay for a wedding. 这句话的意思是，这就是为什么在美国，很多做父亲的开玩笑说他们宁可扶着梯子让女儿爬过去私奔，而不愿为她的婚礼付款。