The Carnival of Venice

Enigmatic masks and gorgeous medieval get-ups， the Venice Carnival is one of the world's most easily identifiable celebrations， boasting an esoteric array of traditional attire and joyous festivities.The annual festival attracts thousands of people a year from all around the world to the beautiful city of Venice. For two weeks， St Mark's Square is filled with actors， acrobats， dancers， musicians， and masked revelers who create an atmosphere of celebration throughout the city.

謎一般的面具、華麗的中世紀裝扮、秘傳的傳統(tǒng)服飾和笑聲不斷的慶典讓威尼斯嘉年華成為世界上最獨特的盛會。每年，都有來自全球數以千計的游客造訪美麗的威尼斯。圣馬可廣場在這兩周內都會擠滿演員、雜技班、舞者、音樂家和戴著面具狂歡的人們，他們?yōu)檫@個城市創(chuàng)造了歡慶的氛圍。

The Venice Carnival has a long history. The celebrations were first mentioned in the historical record after 1162. That year， the Republic defeated Ulrico， Patriarch of Aquileia， and a tradition was established of slaughtering a bull and 12 pigs in the Piazza San Marco around Shrove Tuesday to commemorate the victory. The first mention of the use of masks in the festivities is seen in 1268， when several laws were promulgated forbidding masqueraders to practice the game of the \"eggs\".Some date the official start of the Carnival of Venice to 1296， when the Senate of the Republic authorized the carnival with an edict declaring the day before Lent as a day of celebration.Because people were obliged to fast during Lent， all meat， butter， and eggs had to be used up during the period leading up to Ash Wednesday. This religious formality became the excuse for a party that echoed pagan festivities.

威尼斯嘉年華歷史悠久。最早的歷史記錄始于公元1162年。那年，威尼斯公國打敗了亞格里亞大公爵烏爾瑞科，按照傳統(tǒng)，最初的慶典是為了慶祝戰(zhàn)爭勝利。人們在“懺悔星期二”（大齋首日的前一天），在圣馬可廣場以一頭公牛和十二頭豬獻祭。最早在慶典上使用面具是1268年，那時，法律禁止戴面具者玩“蛋”的游戲（一種古代游戲，未有詳細記載）。而官方的記載則可追溯到1296年，當時的共和國上院公布法令規(guī)定四旬齋的前一天為嘉年華。由于人們在四旬齋期間必須齋戒，所以快到“圣灰星期三”（即大齋首日）時，所有的肉、黃油和蛋都得用光。而這個宗教規(guī)定就成為了舉辦饕餮盛宴的理由。

The subversive nature of the festivities is reflected in the historical record from the early 14th century onwards， when new laws started to be promulgated with the aim of stopping the relentless moral decline of the Venetian people of the day. The records show cases of masqueraders entering churches and convents to commit \"multas inhonestates\". In 1608， a law was passed which declared that citizens could only wear masks during the days of carnival and at official banquets.Penalties for wearing a mask on non-sanctioned days entailed severe penalties.

由于早期的法律對當時威尼斯人的道德行為有極其嚴格的約束，歷史記錄記載顯示，因為曾有戴面具者進入教堂和女修道院進行不道德的行為（注：multas inhonestates，意大利語，指的是男人戴著面具穿著女人的衣服進入女修道院的行為）。所以1608年頒布了一項法律：威尼斯公民只能在嘉年華期間以及官方盛宴上佩戴面具，違規(guī)者必須接受嚴厲的懲罰。所以狂歡節(jié)慶典在某種程度上對14世紀的法律有顛覆性的意義。

In 1797， Venice became part of the Austrian-held kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia. The Austrians took control of the city on January 18， 1798 and carnival celebrations were effectively brought to a halt for almost two centuries. Carnival was also outlawed by Mussolini's fascist government in the 1930's. The traditions were only revived again in the late 1970's when young groups of masqueraders began egging people who were not masked. Although these activities ceased， city authorities began reorganizing carnival celebrations anew， and the celebrations have continued down to this day.

1797年，威尼斯成為了奧地利控制的倫巴底-威尼西亞王國的一部分。自奧地利于1798年1月18日控制該城后，嘉年華盛典足足停辦了兩個多世紀。20世紀30年代，嘉年華又被墨索里尼的法西斯政府禁辦。20世紀70年代，當幾群戴面具的年輕人開始向那些未戴面具的人扔蛋時，這項傳統(tǒng)復興了。雖然這些活動曾被禁止過，但是如今威尼斯重新舉辦了嘉年華慶典并讓這個盛會持續(xù)到今天。

The modern day Carnival of Venice has a different theme each year. Masks continue to be a central aspect of the celebrations， and many types of beautiful masks are worn by revelers. In the old days， these masks were used to hide one's social status. This enabled people who traditionally would not associate with one another (such as commoners and nobles) to come together， temporarily overturning the established social order. Maskmakers (mascherari) enjoyed a special position in society; they had their own guilds and were governed by their own laws.

現在的嘉年華每年都有不同的主題。面具仍是慶典的中心元素，狂歡者們戴著各式各樣的美麗面具穿梭往來。過去，面具是為了掩蓋佩戴者的真實身份。這讓互不相關的人（例如平民和貴族）可以聚在一起，暫時推翻已建立的社會秩序。面具制作者享有特殊的社會地位，他們有自己的協會并受其制度約束。

Festivities at the carnival today include musical performances， masked balls and gala feasts in costume， entertainment and games， beautiful carriage parades， stage comedy， acrobatics， and of course， competitions for the most beautiful masks. The celebrations start two Fridays before the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. It is truly a spectacle worth seeing， the most important and magnificent of all Venetian celebrations.

現今的嘉年華慶典包括音樂演奏、假面舞會、化裝盛宴、娛樂游戲、馬車游行、舞臺喜劇和雜技表演，當然最美面具大賽是不可少的。慶典于“圣灰星期三”的前兩個周五就開始了。威尼斯嘉年華是威尼斯所有慶典中最重要最華麗的，是真正不容錯過的盛會。

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