May-December Marriage

今天看书的时候看到了一个英语谚语叫“May-December marriage”，意思是“老夫少妻式的婚姻”。就很好奇，这和五月，十二月有什么关系呢？背后有什么故事吗？

好奇的我就上网搜了一下，还真搜到了这个典故。就贴过来翻译一下。

也是外网有个人在问，下面有人做了比较详细的答复。

Because in May nature is fresh, green and fertile, and December is it is withered and "old" and appears dead. The idea dates back to the Middle Ages, when it was commonplace to picture the spring months personalised as beautiful young people, and the winter months as wizened old ones. Chaucer wrote in his "Merchant's Tale" about a doddering old man called "Sir January" who marries a lovely young girl called "May". In the 14th century when Chaucer was writing, the year officially began on the Feast of the Ascension (March 25th), but in the 18th century when Britain adopted the Gregorian Calendar New Year was shifted to January 1. Now that January was the beginning of the year, whereas December was the end, the proverbial idea very naturally changed from "May-January" to "May-December".

因为五月时节，大自然万物都是新鲜，嫩绿，充满生机的，而十二月的时候，大自然则是干枯，衰老甚至近于死亡的。这种表达可以追溯到中世纪，那时候人们通常会将春天的月份描绘成漂亮的年轻人，而将冬天的月份描绘成枯瘦衰弱的老人。乔叟曾经在他的《商人的故事》里写过这样一种婚姻，讲的是一个老迈蹒跚的男人叫“一月先生”娶了一个年轻可爱的姑娘叫“五月”。在乔叟写作的十四世纪，一年是从3月25日的主升天节开始的，但是到了18世纪，英国开始采用格里历，将新年伊始移到了一月一日。既然一月是一年开始，那么十二月自然就是一年结束了，然后这个谚语“一月-五月婚姻”就自然而然地变成了“五月-十二月婚姻”。