“三月三”的前世今生
广西的狂欢节“三月三”古时称为上巳节，是中国民间的传统节日。“The Carnival Sanyuesan (March 3rd of lunar calendar) in Guangxi was called Shangsi Festival in ancient times. It is a traditional festival in China.”。
汉代以前，农历三月上旬的第一个巳日叫“上巳”，上巳节就定在这一天。按照天干地支纪年法，每隔12天才会出现一个巳日，且所搭配的天干不同，让人难以记住。因此，魏晋以后，这个节日固定在农历三月初三，也称“三月三”。
春秋末期，这个节日是古代举行“祓除畔浴”活动最重要的节日。祓禊是以香草涂身、洗涤身体、驱除邪气的仪式，有辞旧迎新的意味。古人认为，这样可以除病去灾、养生续命。“In the late Spring and Autumn Period, this festival was the most important festival for holding cleaning activities in ancient times. The activity was a ceremony of applying and cleaning body with herbs and eliminating evils. It meant saying goodbye to the old and welcome the new. Ancient people believed that this could eliminate diseases and keep healthy.”。
这种仪式，来源于一个传说。相传东汉时，有一个叫徐肇的人，他的妻子生下了三胞胎女婴，女婴却在三月初三这天全部夭折。村里人觉得晦气，于是跑到水边清洗，去掉身上沾染的晦气。“This ceremony came from a legend. In the Eastern Han dynasty, a man named Xu Zhao, his wife gave birth to triplets at the beginning of March, but these three baby girls died on the third day of March. The villagers felt that it was unlucky and they went to the water to clean up the bad luck.”。从现代医学来说，夭折事件不难理解。但在古代生下三胞胎本就罕见，孩子还同一天夭折，这可吓坏了古人，所以他们急需一种方式来排解心中的恐惧。“From the point of view of modern medicine, it is easy to understand the abortion event. But in ancient times, triplets were rare, and the babies all died on the same day. people were frightened, so they needed a way to alleviate their fears.”。
到了晋代，祓禊已被简化为洗手脚。
上巳节还有一种活动是男女相会，这是祓禊的延伸。这一天，年轻男女会到河边游玩，谈情说爱，诸如踏青、荡秋千、蹴鞠、拔河、放风筝、射箭、彩舟竞渡等被纳入活动中。到了唐朝，上巳节的祓禊功能慢慢淡化，这个节日完全成了一个娱乐性节日。“In the Tang dynasty, the cleaning meaning of Shangsi Festival faded gradually. It had become a completely entertainment festival.”。
相传，上巳节谈情说爱的活动缘于原始社会群婚的习俗，即一群男子和一群女子互为夫妻的集团婚姻形式。“According to legends, the love and romance activities of Shangsi Festival originated from the custom of communal marriage in primitive society. It is a form of group marriage in which groups of men and women are husbands and wives.”。上古时候，在上巳节，帝喾部落和联姻的其他部落在举行祭祀仪式后，会洗浴身体狂欢野合。
因上巳节与清明节相近，而清明节始终保持着祭祀先人的功能，这个繁盛了800多年的上巳节被遗忘了。可喜的是，如今，广西发扬光大了这个节日，并逐渐发展出自己的特色，汇入唱山歌和做五色糯米饭等习俗，对于历史传承来说，是一桩美事。
本报记者 李理/整理 黄倩华/翻译
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