印度教的婚礼是在一个由锦缎或其他装饰华丽的布料织成并饰以鲜花的华盖下举行。身穿红色丝绸莎丽的新娘第一个到达，但她得躲起来，等到身着白袍由亲戚朋友相伴而来的新郎出现后才能露面。新郎进门时，灯火要在他头上挥动闪烁，粒粒大米要撒在他的身上。这种婚礼仪式象征新人福星高照，多子多孙。
在佛教婚礼仪式上，新娘和新郎要啜饮三只依次增大的碗中的水，以象征他们相须而行，风雨同舟。
过去，新娘新郎从教堂走出来时，有往他们身上抛撒花瓣，而新人又需双双沿着一条撒满鲜花的路款款而行的习俗。这一抛撒花瓣的可爱习俗在批量生产的时代被五彩的碎纸所取代。在有些国家，向新人抛撒大米，象征多子多孙，生活富裕。但抛撒大米可得小心，用劲大了，会伤着人的。
1840年，维多利亚女王在与艾伯特王子举行的婚礼上，打破了着银色婚装的皇家传统而选择了白色。从那时起，白色婚礼服一直是新娘结婚的首选礼服。
载有新人的轿车往往要被兴致勃勃的朋友们用口红和剃须泡沫涂上几句贺词，并挂上气球、洋铁罐和旧靴子。挂“旧靴子”是个很古老的传统。很久以前，当父亲把自己的女儿交给新郎时，还要送给新郎一只女儿的拖鞋。从象征意义上来说，这就给了新郎一种主动权：一旦他的妻子让他不高兴，他就可以用拖鞋打她。这只拖鞋放在男人睡觉一侧的床头，提醒他的妻子谁是一家之主。然而，如果女人在家里占了主导地位，邻里们就会把掌握拖鞋的权力移交给她，并给她取绰号为“旧靴子”。
在犹太人的婚礼上，新人在一个由四根柱子撑起的用银丝或天鹅绒织成的华盖（chuppah）下举行仪式。这是在重现以前以色列的孩子们住帐篷的日子。这华盖象征着新房，有人认为这意味着新人携手共建的家；它的摇晃易倒提醒新人要意识到自身的软弱，要珍视他们的婚姻，同甘共苦，以享百年好合。在婚礼上，新娘新郎还要共饮一杯酒，象征着他们要有福同享、有难同当。然后，新郎要把玻璃杯摔在地上并用脚把它碾碎。有人说这是在提醒人们记住耶路撒冷神殿的毁灭，也有人说那是为了吓走邪恶的幽灵。此时此刻，朋友们都要高喊muzel tov（走好运）以示祝福。
练习
你知道哪些有关婚礼的习俗呢？说说看。
10 Easter Eggs 复活节彩蛋
Most English holidays have a religious origin. Easter is originally the day to commemorate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. But now for most people， Easter is a secular spring holiday， when everyone hopes to enjoy fine weather， when the days are lengthening fast， when trees are already in bud and leaf， and spring flowers appear， the most welcome of the year―violets， daffodils and narcissi. For children， Easter means more than anything else， Easter eggs or chocolate eggs.
Real， natural eggs， do not belong of course to a single season of the year. They are eaten all the year round， Duck eggs are a rarity in England， and the eggs of smaller birds are rarer still， a luxury for the very rich and privileged）. Eggs are everyday food―inexpensive， nutritious， and especially good for breakfast. Their association with spring， when hens begin to lay after the winter， is older than the manufacture of chocolate eggs. In some places， real eggs are used in an Easter game called “egg-rolling”. They are first hardboiled and then given to competitors to roll down a slope. The winner is the person whose egg gets to the bottom first. In some families， the breakfast eggs on Easter Sunday morning are boiled in different pans， each containing a different vegetable dye， so that when they are served the shells are no longer white or pale brown in color， but yellow or pink， blue or green. The dyes do not penetrate the shell of course.
Most British children would be very disappointed if these were the only eggs they had at Easter. Chocolate Easter eggs are displayed in confectioners’ shops as soon as Christmas is over. The smallest and simplest are inexpensive enough for children to buy with pocket money. These are of two sorts. Very small ones， perhaps a little longer than an inch in length， are coated thinly with chocolate on the outside and filled with a sweet， soft paste， called fondant. They are wrapped in colored foil in a variety of patterns. Slightly larger eggs， a little bigger， as a rule， than a duck’s egg， are hollow. There is nothing in side at all―just a wrapped chocolate shell. You break the shell and eat the jagged， irregular pieces.
As Easter approaches， more elaborate eggs than these fill the sweet-shop windows. They are designed to be given as presents， and the larger ones are expensive. Manufacturers compete in producing pretty and unusual designs. Chocolate Eggs are often sold in chin a egg-cups or mugs， or baskets， so that here is something to enjoy when the chocolate is eaten and forgotten. They are accompanied by all sorts of small presents designed to appeal to children. They are often decorated with small fluffy chickens， made of wool， and with feet and beaks in card. And in addition to eggs， there are chickens or rabbits molded in chocolate. Lucky children may receive several of these as presents from friends or relations.
Special cardboard boxes are on sale at Easter， made in the shape of eggs， but not made of chocolate and certainly not intended to be eaten. They are just as pretty as any chocolate egg. They are patterned， and are often finished with lace or ribbon and artificial flowers. They are meant to contain any present that the giver thinks the receiver would like. As a rule it is quite a small present―handkerchiefs， perhaps， or a scarf， or a tie. Sometimes a small piece of jewelry will be boxed and wrapped and put inside.
Easter eggs are meant to give enjoyment―and they do. They are pretty and decorative， they signal good wishes and shared happiness in the changing sea sons. Manufacturers seem able to find new variations of color and pattern every year. To my mind though， no springtime pleasure is equal to that of watching a hen hatch her brood of eggs. Weeks pass， when she must be left undisturbed. Then the time comes. Just one egg will crack. Then another. Then there is a faint cheeping as first one and then another of the chicks break the shell from the inside and struggle free of it. The damp feathers that give the newly hatched chicks such a bedraggled appearance soon dry， and within a few minutes， they are stepping out on their delicate red legs， bright-eyed， exquisitely fluffy， and pale yellow. Because of modern methods of egg production this is one pleasure of the early part of the year that is now a rarity， and altogether remote from the experience of most English children.
Vocabulary 词汇
lengthening [l？？kθ？ni？] v. 延长（lengthen的ing形式），使加长，放长
violet["vai？l？t] n. 紫罗兰，羞怯的人；
adj. 紫色的，紫罗兰色的
rarity ["rε？r？ti] n. 罕见，珍贵，稀薄，珍品（需用复数）
luxury ["l？k？？ri， "l？ɡ？？ri] n. 奢侈，奢华，奢侈品；
adj. 奢侈的
manufacture ["m？nju"f？kt？？] n. 制造，产品；
vt. 制造，捏造；
vi. 制造
thinly ["θinli] adv. 稀疏地，薄，瘦，细
fluffy ["fl？fi] adj. 蓬松的，毛茸茸的，无内容的
patterned ["p？t？nd] adj. 有图案的；
v. 摹制，复写，形成图案（pattern的过去分词）
handkerchiefs ["h？？k？t？ifs； ] n. 手帕（handkerchief的复数）
undisturbed ["？ndi"st？：bd] adj. 安静的，镇定的，未被扰乱的，泰然自若的
faint ["feint] adj. 头晕的，虚弱的，模糊的；
vi. 昏倒，变得微弱；
n. 昏厥，昏倒
exquisitely [ek"skwizitli] adv. 精致地，精巧地，敏锐地
Practice
Is there any difference about Easter between the British children and us？
译文
英国大部分节日都起源于宗教。复活节原是纪念耶稣复活的日子。而现在对大多数人来说，复活节只是一个人们享受美好春光的世俗节日。从这一天起，白昼很快变长，树上长满新芽嫩叶，一年中最受欢迎的鲜花——紫罗兰、樱草花、水仙花等竞相开放。而对孩子们来说，没有比复活节彩蛋或巧克力蛋更重要的了。
