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Chapter 53 Custom Custom Culture (6)
A septet of Rip Van Winkles, the men who came to be known as the Seven Sleepers, had the misfortune of being devout Christians in third-century Turkey in the midst of Emperor Decian's anti-Christian persecutions. The seven fled their homes with the emperor's henchmen in hot pursuit. They ducked into a cave and launched into prayer, preparing for what seemed their imminent martyrdom. They shared what they believed would be their last meal. Then they all lay down to sleep, believing that Decian's men would discover them at any moment. But as miracles will have it, they slept undisturbed for 208 years. By the time they awoke and emerged from the cave, Decian had not only stopped looking for them, he was long since deceased. Hailed the Seven Sleepers as saints and kissed them, at which point they all lay down and died.
Sleepyhead Day marks the Seven Sleepers' collective feast day in Naantali, southwestern Finland. Soon after dawn, howling revelers fill the streets, headed for the home of the current year's “sleepyhead”: some unsuspecting local celebrity. A waking-up party is let into the house; the Sleepyhead is roused rudely, hauled out of bed, marched down to the town's harbour, and tossed into the drink.
Vocabulary
septet ["sep"tet] n. seven bytes, septet
misfortune [mis"f?: t??n] n. Misfortune, disaster, disaster
Emperor ["emp? r?] n. Emperor, monarch

Martyrdom ["mɑ: t? d? m] n. Martyrdom, sacrifice, suffering
Emerged (past participle of emerge [i"m?:d?]) vt. appear, emerge, expose
Practice
Can you associate this festival with other story about someone sleeping for a long time?

Translation
In 3rd century Turkey, there were 7 Rip van Winkle-like characters known as the 7 Sleepers, unfortunately, as devout Christians.They were persecuted by the then anti-Christian Emperor Desaian.The emperor's attendants pursued them, and the seven of them had to flee their homes.After hiding in a cave, they began to pray, preparing for the possible martyrdom.After sharing what they believed to be their last supper, they lay down to sleep, trusting that Desian's men would find them at any moment.However, it was a miracle that they slept peacefully for 7 years.When they woke up and walked out of the cave, not only did Disian not only stopped chasing and killing them, but he was already dead.At this time, the emperor himself was a Christian.He hailed them as saints and kissed them.But then they fell down and died.

In the town of Naantali in southwestern Finland, Sleepy Man's Festival is a collective festival commemorating seven sleepy men.At dawn, the streets are filled with shouting revelers.They flock to the home of the year's "snoozeman," a local celebrity who's oblivious to the matter.This horde of Awakeners is brought into the house, rudely wakes the sleepy man, drags him out of bed, takes him to the town's harbor, and throws him overboard.

Exercise
Can you think of any other long-sleeping stories?
09 Wedding Customs and Traditions Wedding Customs and Traditions
The idea of ​​having bridesmaids, pages, a best man and ushers originated with the belief that evil spirits, envious of the couple's happiness, would be out to harm them, but would be confused by so many similarly dressed people. The custom of the best man probably goes back to the days when the groom took a friend with him when he went to kidnap the bride from her home. Bells were originally rung at weddings to frighten away the evil spirits, and noisy celebrations were held beforehand to try and drive them from the community. These were the ancestors of our stag and hen parties.
The Ancient Egyptians were probably the first to use wedding rings: in hieroglyphics, the circle was the symbol of eternity. The ring can also symbolize the bonds of a captive.
The Hindu ceremony takes place under a canopy of brocade or some other richly decorated material, festooned with flowers. The bride, wearing a red silk sari, is the first to arrive, but she hides out of sight until the bridegroom, robed in white, has been brought in by his friends and relations. As he enters, lights are waved over his head and grains of rice are thrown, a ceremonial act symbolizing riches and fertility.
In the Buddhist ceremony the bride and groom sip three times from each of three bowls of increasing size to symbolize how their lives will grow together.
In past times it was customary to show the bride and groom with petals as they left the church, and for them to walk along a path strewed with flowers. This charming idea gave way in the era of mass production to paper confetti. In some countries , rice is thrown, to symbolize fertility and plenty. Beware, it could hurt if thrown with great vigour.
White wedding dresses have been in the front of bridal fashion since Queen Victoria broke with the royal tradition of a silver dress and opted for white for her wedding to Prince Albert in 1840.
The going-away car is often decorated by high-spirited friends with messages in lipstick and shaving foam, and tied about with balloons, tin cans, and old boots. The “old boot” tradition is an ancient one and stems from the time when the father, on giving away his daughter to the groom, presented him also with one of her slippers. This gave the new husband, symbolically speaking, the upper hand, for he was supposed to thrash her with it should she displease him. was put at the bed head on his side of the bed to remind his wife w ho was boss. However, if she became the dominant partner, neighbors transferred the power of the slipper to her, and christened her “the old boot.”

In the Jewish wedding ceremony the couple are married under a chuppah, a canopy of silk or velvet held up by four posts. This is a relic of the time when the children of Israel lived in tents. It symbolizes the bridal chamber. To some it signs the home the couple will make together; its fragility reminds the couple of their own weakness and the need to nurse their union in order to ensure its survival. During the ceremony the bride and groom drink wine from the same glass, symbolizing that they will share all things. The bridegroom then dashes the glass to the floor and grinds it under his foot. Some say that this is a reminder of the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem, others that it frightens off the evil spirits, friends call out muzeltov (good luck) at this point.
Vocabulary
bridesmaids ["braidzmeid] n. bridesmaids

Groom [ɡru: m] vt. Recommend, feed the horse, groom;

n. groom, groom, manservant
kidnap ["kidn? p] vt. kidnapping, abduction, abduction
Ancestors ["?nsest?s] (ancestor plural form) n. ancestors, ancestors, ancestors
Hieroglyphic ["hai?r?"glifik] n. Hieroglyphs; illegible or intelligible text

Ceremony ["serim? uni] n. Ceremony, etiquette, courtesy, virtual ceremony

Buddhist ["budist] n. Buddhists;
adj. Buddhist

church [t? ? :t? ] n. Church, worship;
adj. Church, worship;
vt. to receive a religious ceremony
Lipstick ["lipstik] n. lipstick, lipstick;
vt. to put on lipstick;
vi. to put on lipstick

Jewish ["d? u: i?] adj. Jewish, Jewish

fragility [fr? "d?iliti] n. Vulnerability, fragility, weakness
Practice
Do you know some other wedding customs?

Translation
The idea of ​​having bridesmaids, boys, best men and ushers in weddings stemmed from the belief that evil ghosts jealous of the couple's happiness would emerge to harm them, but if there were many similarly dressed people at the wedding, it would Can confuse ghosts.The custom of having a best man probably dates back to the days when the groom would take a friend to the bride's home to kidnap her.Bells were jingled at weddings to scare away evil spirits, and a lively celebration was held before the wedding to drive those evil spirits away from the couple and their friends and relatives.This is the origin of the "Stag Club" and "Hen Club".

The earliest people to wear wedding rings were probably the ancient Egyptians: in hieroglyphs, the circle is a symbol of eternity.The metal ring also signifies the shackles on the captive.

(End of this chapter)