Long, long ago, there were two brothers, the one rich and the other poor. When Christmas Eve came, the poor one had not a bite in the house, either of meat or bread; so he went to his brother, and begged him, in God's name, to give him something for Christmas Day. It was by no means the first time that the brother had been forced to give something to him, and he was not better pleased at being asked now than he generally was.
"If you will do what I ask you, you shall have a whole ham," said he. The poor one immediately thanked him, and promised this.
"Well, here is the ham, and now you must go straight to Dead Man's Hall," said the rich brother, throwing the ham to him.
"Well, I will do what I have promised," said the other, and he took the ham and set off. He went on and on for the livelong day, and at nightfall he came to a place where there was a bright light.
"I have no doubt this is the place," thought the man with the ham.
An old man with a long white beard was standing in the outhouse, chopping Yule logs.
"Good-evening," said the man with the ham.
"Good-evening to you. Where are you going at this late hour?" said the man.
"I am going to Dead Man's Hall, if only I am on the right track," answered the poor man.
"Oh! yes, you are right enough, for it is here," said the old man. "When you get inside they will all want to buy your ham, for they don't get much meat to eat there; but you must not sell it unless you can get the hand-mill which stands behind the door for it. When you come out again I will teach you how to stop the hand-mill, which is useful for almost everything."
So the man with the ham thanked the other for his good advice, and rapped at the door.
自古至今,人们都强调春节作为一年开端的意义。汉代的《尚书大传》说:"正月一日为岁之朝,月之朝,日之朝,故曰:'三朝',亦曰:'三始'。"意思是说:正月一日是一年的开端,一月的开端,一日的开端。隋代杜台卿《玉烛宝典》说:"正月一日为元日,亦云'三元':岁之元,时之元,月之元。"意思是说:这一天是新年的开端,新季节的开端,新月份的开端。
可是,这只是我们传统历法所确定的一年的第一天。
现代普通中国人关于春节最大的困惑也在于此,因为现在我们同时使用两种历法:即所谓"阳历"和"阴历",也即所谓"公历"和"夏历"。于是就出现了两个新年,即阳历新年──元旦、阴历新年──春节。一年之中竟然存在两个开端,总是难免让人困惑。所以谈春节,首先要说明历法制度的问题。辛亥革命后的1912年我国开始实行基督教世界通行的所谓"公历",也就是通常所说的阳历。它是按照地球围绕太阳运行一周所需要的时间365.24219天(即一个太阳年为一年,平年365天,闰年366天。公历的一年的开端就是我们现在所说的"元旦"。公历符合太阳运行的情况,但是它存在一个大缺点──与月亮的变化无关。公历中每个月的十五日不一定是月圆之日。我国传统历法,即通常所谓的"阴历",据说发明于夏代,所以称"夏历"。它实际上是一种阴阳合历,因为它的制订是兼顾太阳和太阴──月亮的运行情况。我国人民自古以来就追求阴阳调和,夏历的制订就必然地同时考虑太阳和月亮的运行情况。它以月亮圆缺一次的周期为一个月,并把其中的朔日规定为初一,这样每到望日(即十五这一天,就一定是月圆之日。大月三十天,小月二十九天,平年十二个月,为354或355天。这样就比太阳年大约少了11天,所以每十一年设置七个闰月,有闰月的年份实际上就有十三个月,为383天或384天。通过平年与闰年的搭配,这样就最终与太阳年保持一致。夏历内部还专门设计了"二十四节气",与太阳年完全保持一致,这一点只需要看一看其中的春分、夏至、秋分、冬至就可以理解,这几个节气分别是太阳直射线位于赤道、北回归线、赤道和南回归线的时刻。由于同时考虑太阳与月亮各自的运行情况,所以夏历的新年在单纯依据太阳的公历上的日期就不能固定。由此可知,春节日期在公历上的不固定,并不是由于我国传统历法不科学,而是由于我们祖先的哲学观念与西方人不同。西方哲学强调对立,所以基督教只能选择一神论,其历法就以太阳为唯一依据;中国哲学强调和谐,阴阳调和,才能生生不息,所以我们的历法对太阳与月亮并重。中西两种历法的不同反映了中西两种哲学的不同,这是一个文化选择的问题,一个价值观的问题,而不存在哪一方更科学的问题。由于西方文化的优势地位,他们的历法在世界范围得到普遍使用,为了方便,我国政府在公务活动中采取公历,这是适当的。但是,公历根本无法反映我们的哲学观念,我们传统的节日也根本无法在公历中体现出来。所以,政府也同时颁布夏历,用以安排日常生活。不仅我国如此,东邻韩国也同时实行这两种历法。
现在某些人不了解传统历法制度,不理解夏历所体现的哲学意义,企图取消夏历,以元旦代替春节。殊不知这么一来,不但春节被取消,元宵节、中秋节等等与月亮有关的所有节日也都会被取消。因为我们总不能在公历元月十五日、八月十五日这些月相不定的日子去"团圆"!历法既是一个科学的问题,也是一个哲学的问题。不理解历法制度的哲学意义,是没有办法谈历法的,更说不清春节的`意义。
上周,我妈妈要去看望我爷爷奶奶两天,所以她让我一个人呆在家里照顾好自己。我很高兴并答应她会照顾好一切的。我终于可以独自生活了。因此,我睡得很晚,也玩了很长时间的电脑游戏,饿的`时候,我就点外卖。妈妈回来的时候,她非常的惊讶,因为房子乱七八糟。我知道我不能照顾好自己。
© 2022 xuexicn.net,All Rights Reserved.