全球奇怪婚俗盘点

By+Ryn+Gargulinski

Flinging raw rice and breaking a glass underfoot may seem like strange ways to celebrate a marriage， at least if you're not used to American customs. Bizarre as some U.S. wedding traditions may be， they certainly cannot take the （wedding） cake1） for overall wedding weirdness. Those honors go to these five strange wedding traditions from around the globe.

抛洒生大米，用脚踩碎一个玻璃杯，这些庆祝婚礼的方式看起来可能有点奇怪，至少对尚不习惯美国婚俗的人是这样。尽管有些美国婚俗可能令人匪夷所思，但是在所有的奇怪婚俗中，它们也肯定不能拔得头筹。这些荣誉应该属于下面的全球五大奇怪婚俗。

Blackening of the Bride and Groom， Scottish

Tar and feathers2）， anyone？ For Scotland's tradition of blackening of the bride， which has expanded to now include the groom， absolutely anything goes. This includes tar， feathers， pillow stuffing， molasses3）， dirt， rotting food， sour milk， flour， sushi—you name it and you got it； you can certainly pile it on. The blackening takes place prior to the wedding， which at least spares the tux4） and wedding dress， but any time or location is fair game. Once blackened， the lucky newlywed-to-be is paraded through the streets or tied to a tree as said "friends" announce the wedding. Blackening supposedly prepares the person for any humiliation that life has yet to bring， as nothing could be as humiliating as being blackened.

Breaking Dishes， German

Hurling5） plates is typically something you do after you've been married a few years， unless you're from Germany. The wonderful tradition of breaking dishes actually takes place prior to the wedding at the rehearsal dinner. Tradition says the more dishes you break， the more good luck the new bride will receive. After this part， the bride and groom join forces to sweep up the mess， a gesture that ensures nothing will ever get broken in their home again ... unless the groom is one to tinker6） with electronics.

Keep Your Feet on the Floor， Irish

Irish legend has it that the bride must keep her feet on the floor while she's dancing with the groom to ensure little fairies charmed by her beauty won't kidnap her. The quick and clever fairies are always eager to get their hands on beautiful things， and legend says the bride has long been a prime target. Irish legends throughout the ages abound with tales of fairies stealing brides， although it's not clear where the brides end up and if the destination is better than where she planned to spend her honeymoon.

Passing a Rolling Pin， Polish

How many Polish people does it take to pass a rolling pin？ It depends on how many people are at the Polish wedding！ The tradition is pretty much what it sounds like， as people stand in a circle and pass a rolling pin from one person to the next， but there's a rule—no hands are allowed， and each person must grab and then pass the pin along using only their legs. While it is not immediately evident what the tradition means or why people do it， it is evident it would be great video to capture and retain for future generations to enjoy.endprint

No Bathroom Breaks for Three Days， Tidong Tribe， Northern Borneo

Can your bladder7） really explode？ Folks who follow a strange marriage tradition in Northern Borneo put this question to the test. Newlyweds in the Tidong tribe must stay in their home for three days—without a single bathroom break. That means no No. 1， no No. 2. The background of this tradition is extremely hazy ... as is the feeling people probably get after not relieving themselves for half a week.

苏格兰：新人双双被涂黑

浑身涂满柏油再粘上羽毛，谁愿意接受这样的惩罚呢？对苏格兰的婚俗——涂黑新娘，并且如今已经发展到连新郎都一块儿涂黑——来说，绝对是任何东西都能用。用在新人身上的东西包括柏油、羽毛、枕头填充物、糖浆、泥土、腐烂的食物、酸腐的牛奶、面粉、寿司——反正只要你能想到的、能找到的东西都可以往新人身上堆。涂黑活动在婚礼之前进行，这样至少不会弄坏新郎的礼服和新娘的婚纱，但是时间和地点就无所谓了。幸运的新婚夫妇一被涂黑，就要被人拥着沿街游行或者被绑到树上，所谓的“朋友们”则在此时宣布婚礼开始。涂黑活动可能是为了让新人为未来生活中可能遭受到的任何耻辱做好准备，因为没有什么能像被人涂黑一样让人感到丢脸了。

德国：大家一起摔盘子

摔盘子通常是你结婚几年之后才会做的事，除非你是德国人。摔盘子这个令人惊叹的传统实际上发生在婚礼之前的彩排晚宴上。按照这一传统，你摔碎的盘子越多，新娘就会得到越多的好运。摔完盘子后，新娘和新郎会一起把碎片清扫干净，以此来保证以后他们家里什么东西都不会再摔坏……除非新郎是个爱摆弄电子产品的人。

爱尔兰：新娘跳舞脚不能离地

爱尔兰有这样一个传说，新娘在和新郎跳舞的时候脚不能离地，以此来确保她不会被那些迷恋其美丽的小精灵们绑架。动作敏捷、头脑聪明的精灵们总是渴望得到美丽的东西，传说新娘子是他们长久以来的一个主要目标。爱尔兰流传已久的古老传说中充斥着精灵们偷新娘的故事，不过传说中并没说新娘最终被偷到哪里，也没说新娘去的地方是否比她本来计划度蜜月的地方要好。

波兰：大家一起传擀面杖

波兰人传递一个擀面杖需要多少人呢？这取决于这个波兰婚礼有多少人参加。这一传统完全名副其实，就是人们站成一个圆圈，把一个擀面杖从一个人传给下一个人，但是有一条规则——不可以用手传，每个人只能用双腿接过擀面杖，然后顺次传递下去。尽管并不清楚这一传统的意义何在，或者人们为什么要这么做，但显而易见，这将是一个值得拍下来并留给后代欣赏的精彩影像。

北婆罗洲蒂栋部落：新人三天不得上厕所

膀胱真会爆炸吗？遵从一种奇怪婚俗的北婆罗洲居民要对这个问题进行验证。蒂栋部落的新婚夫妇必须在家里待上三天，一次厕所都不能去。这意味着大小便都是不允许的。这一传统的背景极其模糊不清，就如同人们半个星期没小便可能会感觉到的那样。

1. take the cake： <口>得头奖；获胜

2. tar and feathers： 把（人）浑身涂满柏油再粘上羽毛的（一种惩罚）

3. molasses [m??l?s?z] n. <美>糖蜜

4. tux [t?ks] n. （男子的）无尾礼服

5. hurl [h??l] vt. 猛投，用力掷

6. tinker [?t??k?（r）] vi. 很不熟练地修补

7. bladder [?bl?d?（r）] n.【解】膀胱

译 / 静水流深endprint