CNN News:愚人節(jié)的起源

A UFO landing in Britain from 1989, Taco Bell buying the Liberty Bell from 1996, carrots with holes that whistle when you cook them from 2002. All of these are examples of April Fools hoaxes.

1989年UFO在英國著陸，1996年塔可鐘買了獨(dú)立鐘，2002年在烹飪有洞的胡蘿卜時，胡蘿卜會吹口哨。以上這些都是四月愚人節(jié)惡作劇的例子。

How did this stuff get started?

愚人節(jié)是如何起源的呢?

CHRIS BOYETTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Where did April Fools Day come from?

克里斯·波利特，CNN 記者：愚人節(jié)起源自那里呢?

Well, the origins are unclear, but one theory ties the unofficial holiday to a shifting calendar.

起源尚不清楚，但是有一個理論把這個非官方的節(jié)日和一系列的日期聯(lián)系到了一起。

In ancient cultures, New Year`s Day was celebrated on April 1. But in 1582, Pope Gregory XIII moved the holiday to January 1.

在古代文化中，人們在4月1日慶祝新年。但是在1852年，高麗十三世將這個節(jié)日改到了1月1日。

Not everybody got the message. Those that continued to celebrate on April 1 were called April fools.

但是并不是所有的人都知道這個消息。那些在4月1日慶祝節(jié)日的人們則被稱為“四月愚人”。

Funny, right?

很搞笑，對吧?

Much of Britain didn`t adopt the new calendar until 1752. But they were celebrating April Fools Day long before that.

直到1752年大部分的英國人才開始接受這個新的歷法。但是在很久以前，他們就在慶祝著愚人節(jié)。

In Scotland, it`s a two day affair. If you`ve ever had a kick me sign taped to your back, you might blame the Scots.

在蘇格蘭，這件事情持續(xù)兩天。如果發(fā)現(xiàn)自己的背上被貼上了標(biāo)志，你可能要責(zé)怪了蘇格蘭了。

April Fools Day has also been linked to the vernal equinox and the start of spring. That`s when the ancient Romans had their hilarious festival of Hilaria. Hindus have Holi and Purim is celebrated in Judaism.

愚人節(jié)與春分和春天的來臨有關(guān)系。那時古代羅馬人慶祝自己歡鬧的“嬉樂節(jié)。印度教徒慶祝胡里節(jié)，猶太教慶祝普林節(jié)。

Some of the biggest April Fools Day pranks are courtesy of corporations and the media. In 1940, a press release from The Franklin Institute, a science museum in Philadelphia, declared the world would end the following day. They were seeking publicity for a lecture series and a local radio station reported on it.

在愚人節(jié)，一些大型的惡作劇是公司和媒體的禮儀。1940，富蘭克林學(xué)院發(fā)布了一篇新聞，費(fèi)城的科學(xué)博物館，宣布第二天是世界末日。他們在一系列的講座以及當(dāng)?shù)氐臒o線電臺上報告這個新聞。

In 1957, the BBC falsely reported a bumper crop of spaghetti trees in Switzerland.

1957年，BBC新聞上錯誤地報道了瑞士意大利面樹上的收成。

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Another reason why this may be a bumper year lies in the virtual disappearance of the spaghetti weevil.

男：這一年是一個豐收年的另一個重要的原因是那一年意大利面條象鼻蟲消失了。

BOYETTE: And in 1998, Burger King announced the left-handed Whopper, specifically designed for the 32 million left-handed Americans, including myself.

波利特：1998年，漢堡王宣布專門為3200千萬左撇子美國人(也包括我自己)設(shè)計(jì)了特大號的左撇子面包。