(Greenwich Village Halloween Parade)
每年十月三十一日,是西方鬼怪出动的万圣节,据说其由来可追溯到公元前五世纪,当时居住于爱尔兰的凯尔特人(Celtic)将这天定为夏末,亦象征一年的结束,他们相信在新旧岁次交替的前夕,所有时空的规律也会暂时停顿,灵界大门在这晚会打开,令所有鬼魂趁机游走于人间,到处找寻适合的替身,藉此得以重生的机会。所以,凯尔特人为怕成为鬼魂的目标,便于当晚熄灭家中炉火,装成没有人在家,同时,戴上狰狞可怕的面具,并打扮成鬼怪模样一起走到街上巡游,营造喧哗吵闹的气氛,以驱赶那些游魂野鬼。
渐渐地,这些传统习俗已演变成今天年轻人的庆祝活动,大家尽情在这晚扮鬼扮马,过一个开开心心的节日。
纽约市也特别在万圣节晚上举行巡游,让一群吸血鬼,僵尸,巫婆,科学怪人等齐齐现身,还欢迎市民到场参观,到会者不限年龄、性别,不分阶级、国籍,即使你是胆小鬼,也可加入他们的行列,来个热热闹闹的人鬼嘉年华会。
其实这些鬼怪都是人扮的,所以并不可怕,相反有些小鬼脸更非常可爱,令人置身其中,就如参加大型化装舞会一样。
在各式各样的装扮角色中,以女巫和疆尸一族最多人扮演,而那些专卖万圣节用品的店铺也特别准备这类衣饰出售,以迎合大众所需;与此同时,生产商每年更会把当年大热的人物造型包括面具及衣物推出市场,务求令更多人投入这西方传统节日的热潮里,如在电影哈利波特的小巫师造型,已是许多孩子必选的扮演角色。
格林威治村的万圣节巡游﹝Greenwich Village Halloween Parade﹞始于1973年,由一位面具工匠兼木偶演员Mr Ralph Lee发起,据说最初他带着朋友和孩童一起在邻居处游行,后来渐渐演变成整个村的大型活动,而活动中当然少不了大型木偶表演,同时,巡行的目的更希望每一个人都是参与者而不是旁观者,所以即使人们只是抱着想看热闹的心态,当你踏进村子里,很快便会被邀请参与巡行,成为他们的一份子。
纽约市的万圣节巡游每年都吸引成千上万的纽约人和游客参加,而巡游会在格林威治村﹝Greenwich Village﹞举行,各队伍约在夜晚上七时从第六大道与春天街交界﹝6th Avenue & Spring Street﹞起步,一直游行至第二十三街﹝6th Avenue & 23rd Street﹞为止,全程大概个多小时。
无论是来自亚洲,南美,非洲,欧洲,以至中东地区的参观者,都可以把自己装扮成各式各样的人物,亦可带备简单乐器,即时演奏本土的独特音乐,融合无疆界的风土文化。可能我以前从未参加过万圣节的活动,更莫说这么精彩的巡游,所以特别觉得有新鲜感。
早于十月中,曼哈顿市已开始「闹鬼」了,在繁忙的街道上,已看见四处悬挂起万圣节的鬼怪装饰,很多百货公司也忙着把应节礼品及衣物堆放在橱窗里,吸引不少途人驻足观看,而超级市场及街市亦摆放大大小小的南瓜售卖,供市民买回家布置家园或制作南瓜灯之用,当然嘛,也有主妇烹煮南瓜作菜肴或糕饼,完全依足节庆传统。
在我家附近,许多邻居为了应节而特别布置家园,有涂上鬼脸的南瓜,写了幽默字句的墓碑,挂在树上的骷髅骨头,飞到屋顶的胖巫婆,还有从信箱中伸出的绿色怪手,更有些邻居把自己的前园装点成坟地,当晚上经过这些地方时,特别觉得阴森可怖,有些人在屋子外面铺上蜘蛛网,形如荒废很久的凶宅,总之各形各色,把万圣节的鬼魅色彩带到每一角落。
即使纽约人这夜选择留在家中,也可以感受到西方鬼节的气氛,因为无论电视台及电台均会推出有关万圣节的特备节目,而在网络世界,除了有形形式式的万圣咭不停发送外,很多大型网站已一早准备迎接这节日的到来,特别把网页改头换面,又或设计新游戏,等待更多人进入网区。
万圣节除了是大人喜爱的节庆外,也是小孩期待来临的日子。在这天晚上,一些扮鬼脸穿鬼服的孩童便会提着用南瓜制成的灯笼,南瓜外刻上眯眼睛和大嘴巴,透出内里点点烛光,跟我们在中秋节时自制的柚子灯笼很相似。这群小鬼会玩着“Trick or treat”(不给糖便会捣蛋)这传统恶作剧,四出到邻家讨糖吃,若果那一家没有给他们糖果,顽皮小鬼就会赖着不走,并说些不祥的话语,所以没有外出的人都会准备些糖果,让小朋友高高兴兴的离去。
据说这习俗原本是人们为了安抚那些鬼魂,所以预先把食物放在自家门前,鬼魂得到款待后,便会安静地离开,而到了现在,这迷信色彩已经消失,更变成小孩敲门要糖的活动,让大人小孩皆可以参与节庆,各自乐在其中。
记得某年我参加完万圣节巡游后,我和同学一同前往Wendy家,当时车子途经大街,有几个穿黑衣的小鬼走近我们的车旁,他们脸上涂了些荧光色料,猛不防他们走近窗边,还贴着玻璃向我扮鬼脸,登时把我吓了一跳,更大叫起来,同学们看到我的神情,几乎笑不拢嘴,燕仪更说巡游的恶鬼吓不到我,反而这小孩却使我惊惶失措。我当时真希望自己也涂上厚厚的浓装,甚或戴上面具,好避开各人的目光。
什么是万圣节大游行(Halloween Parade)?
【背景知识】
纽约市的万圣节大游行 (Halloween Parade) 堪称是纽约格林威治村 (Greenwich Village) 的年度盛事 (annual event)。这个游行源于1973年,刚开始只是一位面具制作家 (mask maker) 兼木偶操作师 (puppeteer) Ralph Lee 的简单想法。当时他带着几个小孩在社区内办了一次小型的万圣节游行。第二年,纽约剧院邀请他将此构想带上大街,开始了一年一度的大游行。后来10月的最后一周正式被定为\"万圣周\"(Halloweek)。
现在,每年大约有三万名化装的游行者和近二百万人前来观赏。阵容庞大的游行队伍里,随处可见各式各样的奇异装扮 (fancy costume),即使是看尽千奇百怪的纽约人 (New Yorker)也对它啧啧称奇。此外,还有数人同时操作的巨大人偶 (giant puppet),将奇幻的意象具体呈现出来。最后,游行路线 (route)会来到纽约市最狂野的同性恋区,大街小巷挤满了尽情表演的变装人 (cross-dresser),为这场疯狂大聚会划下完美的句号。
大游行每年都会搭配不同的主题 (theme),比如环保、爱滋病等。去年因为\"9o11\"恐怖袭击事件 (terrorist attacks),格林威治村树立起(erect)一座振翅飞起的凤凰雕像 (statue of the phoenix),象征纽约市的重生 (reborn after a baptism of fire)。今年的游行主题则是\"玩乐\" (play),想必世界各地游行爱好者已经蠢蠢欲动,我们就拭目以待 (Let\'s wait and see) 吧
今天为大家[s:119]的这首Halloween Parade就是对万圣节大游行的描写,歌词对万圣节游行描写的惟妙惟肖,歌手肯定是参加过好多次这样的游行的。
Lou Reed - Halloween Parade Lyrics
There\'s a down town fairy singing out \"roud Mary\"
as she cruises Christopher Street
And some Southern Queen is acting loud and mean
where the docks and the Badlands meet
This Halloween is something to be sure
Especially to be here without you
There\'s a Greta Garbo and an Alfred Hitchcock
and some black Jamaican stud
There\'s five Cinderellas and some leather drags
I almost fell into my mug
There\'s a Crawford, Davis and a tacky Cary Grant
And some Homeboys lookin\' for trouble down here from the Bronx
But there ain\'t no Hairy and no Virgin Mary
you won\'t hear those voices again
And Johnny Rio and Rotten Rita
you\'ll never see those faces again
This Halloween is something to be sure
Especially to be here without you
There\'s the Born Again Losers and the Lavender Boozers
and some crack team from Washington Heights
The boys from Avenue B and the girls from Avenue D
a Tinkerbell in tights
This celebration somehow get me down
Especially when I see you\'re not around
There\'s no Peter Pedantic saying things romantic
In Latin, Greek or Spic
There\'s no Three bananas or Brandy Alexander
Dishing all their tricks
It\'s a different feeling that I have today
Especially when I know you\'ve gone away
There\'s a girl from Soho with a teeshirt saying \"I Blow\"
She\'s with the \"jive five 2 plus 3\"
And the girls for pay dates are giving cut rates
Or else doing it for free
The past keeps knock knock knocking on my door
And I don\'t want to hear it anymore
No consolations please for feelin\' funky
I got to get my head above my knees
But it makes me mad and mad makes me sad
And then I start to freeze
In the back of my mind I was afraid it might be true
In the back of my mind I was afraid that they meant you
The Halloween Parade
At the Halloween parade
At the Halloween parade
See you next year - at the Halloween parade
【背景知识】
Halloween is a night when, across America, fantasies come to life. Lower Manhattan is no exception as New Yorkers turn out en masse to the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade. They come for the entertainment to see the parade\'s signature papier-mache puppet bobbing above the crowds, and to indulge in an elaborate game of dress-up.
Everyday rules are temporarily suspended and thousands of costumed New Yorkers parade in the streets without fear of being judged. Men in hats (and little else) walk alongside kazoo-playing old ladies. No one is worried by the bizarre or weird, because at the Village Parade, Halloween is a night when anything goes.
Anything but crime, that is. Halloween, a night of mayhem in most other U.S. cities, is peaceful in Greenwich Village. The joyous spirit of the partygoers results in a night when crime is lower than on any other night of the year. This proves, in more ways than one, that Halloween is when one\'s wildest fantasies can come true for New Yorkers.
全美各地,万圣节是一个梦想成真的夜晚。当纽约人全体涌向格林威治村举办的万圣节游行时,下曼哈顿也不例外。他们为了娱乐前去观赏游行的重头戏纸糊木偶在人群中晃动,同时也纵情于一场别出心裁的化装游戏。
平时的规矩暂时被搁在一边,数以千计盛装的纽约人在街上游行,无畏他人评判的眼光。男人会戴着帽子(穿得很少)一路走在吹笛的老妇身边。没有人会担心这些怪人或异类,因为在这次游行中,万圣节是一个为所欲为的晚上。
也就是说,除了犯罪什么都可以做。万圣节当晚,美国其他多数城市处于一片混乱时,格林威治村却很安宁。聚会狂欢者玩得很尽兴,使当晚的犯罪率比同年其他夜晚要低。这也从各方面证明了,对纽约人而言万圣节是把各种天马行空的幻想化为现实的一刻。
万圣节最著名的歌曲是那首? 那当然是This Is Halloween了,而今天[s:119]的歌曲是当红乐队Panic! At The Disco的版本,大家来一起听一下吧。
Panic! At The Disco - This Is Halloween
Boys and girls of every age
Wouldn\'t you like to see something strange?
[SIAMESE SHADOW]
Come with us and you will see
This, our town of Halloween
[PUMPKIN PATCH CHORUS]
This is Halloween, this is Halloween
Pumpkins scream in the dead of night
[GHOSTS]
This is Halloween, everybody make a scene
Trick or treat till the neighbors gonna die of fright
It\'s our town, everybody screm
In this town of Halloween
[CREATURE UNDER THE BED]
I am the one hiding under your bed
Teeth ground sharp and eyes glowing red
[MAN UNDER THE STAIRS]
I am the one hiding under yours stairs
Fingers like snakes and spiders in my hair
[CORPSE CHORUS]
This is Halloween, this is Halloween
[VAMPIRES]
Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!
In this town we call home
Everyone hail to the pumpkin song
[MAYOR]
In this town, don\'t we love it now?
Everybody\'s waiting for the next surprise
[CORPSE CHORUS]
Round that corner, man hiding in the trash cam
Something\'s waiting no to pounce, and how you\'ll...
[HARLEQUIN DEMON, WEREWOLF & MELTING MAN]
Scream! This is Halloween
Red \'n\' black, slimy green
[WEREWOLF]
Aren\'t you scared?
[WITCHES]
Well, that\'s just fine
Say it once, say it twice
Take a chance and roll the dice
Ride with the moon in the dead of night
[HANGING TREE]
Everybody scream, everbody scream
[HANGED MEN]
In our town of Halloween!
[CLOWN]
I am the clown with the tear-away face
Here in a flash and gone without a trace
[SECOND GHOUL]
I am the \"who\" when you call, \"Who\'s there?\"
I am the wind blowing through your hair
[OOGIE BOOGIE SHADOW]
I am the shadow on the moon at night
Filling your dreams to the brim with fright
[CORPSE CHORUS]
This is Halloween, this is Halloween
Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!
Halloween! Halloween!
[CHILD CORPSE TRIO]
Tender lumplings everywhere
Life\'s no fun without a good scare
[PARENT CORPSES]
That\'s our job, but we\'re not mean
In our town of Halloween
[CORPSE CHORUS]
In this town
[MAYOR]
Don\'t we love it now?
[CORPSE CHORUS]
Skeleton Jack might catch you in the back
And scream like a banshee
Make you jump out of your skin
This is Halloween, everyone scream
Wont\' ya please make way for a very special guy
Our man jack is King of the Pumpkin patch
Everyone hail to the Pumpkin King
[EVERYONE]
This is Halloween, this is Halloween
Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!
[CORPSE CHILD TRIO]
In this town we call home
Everyone hail to the pumpkin song
[EVERYONE]
La la-la la, Halloween! Halloween! [Repeat] |