海外文化:英美民俗-吉祥物:馬蹄鐵

【英文原文】

Horseshoes One of the most familiar things that are supposed to be lucky is a horseshoe. There are some people even today who believe that finding a cast-of horseshoe brings good luck, and if they hang a horseshoe over a door, witches cannot enter. Some people say the horseshoe is considered to be lucky because it looks like a new moon. There have been many peoples who considered the new moon extremely lucky. The Irish say that the horse was in the stable where Christ was born, and therefore the horseshoe was given magical power. Other people say the horseshoe is made of iron, and iron has always been regarded as a protection against evil spirits. Besides, the horseshoe is made by the blacksmith, and blacksmith, like a wizard, used it as a charm in performing his “white magic”. Pliny says that there is no more excellent protection against illness than the castoff horseshoe found in the road. Nelson had a horseshoe nailed to the mast of the Victory.

【中文譯文】

馬蹄鐵

日常生活中最常見的吉祥物之一是馬蹄鐵。至今仍有人深信撿到廢舊的馬蹄鐵會帶來好運。如果他們把馬蹄鐵掛在門的上方，女巫會望之卻步。有人說馬蹄鐵之所以被視為吉祥物是因為它狀似新月。許多民族都相信新月能帶來極好的運氣。愛爾蘭人說耶穌出生在馬槽時，圈里有馬，因而馬蹄鐵隨之帶上了神力。還有人說馬蹄鐵是鐵打的，而鐵本身就有驅邪的功能。此外，馬蹄鐵是鐵匠打制的，而鐵匠像個魔法師，常用馬蹄鐵做護符，施行他的“白魔法”。古羅馬作家普林尼說祛病辟邪最好的東西莫過于路上撿來的廢舊馬蹄鐵。英國海軍統帥納爾遜曾將一塊馬蹄鐵釘在他的軍艦勝利號的桅桿上。