THESEUS :No doubt they rose up early to observe / The rite of May
根据“Wheel of the Year”， November 1 冬季开始，到 May 1, 正好是夏天的第一天，而 June 19-23 是 Summer Solstice, 称为 Midsummer。
我们从小知道的是"五一国际劳动节"，是一些社会主义国家庆祝的节日，即"Labor Day" or "International Workers' Day"。 而对西方许多国家，May Day 是春天的盛典，载歌载舞，非常喜庆。网上《牛津：历史和文化》一书中，可以读到有关五朔节的庆祝，很有趣。ebook链接太长无法引。
从wiki 摘一些五朔节的info:
"5月1日的五朔节是古老的北半球春季节日，通常是公共节日，同时在许多文化中也是传统春季节日。
最早的五朔节庆典出现在前基督时代，同时期还有罗马花朵女神佛洛拉的节日及沃普尔吉斯之夜。同时也与与凯尔特人节日 Beltane 有关。许多异教徒庆典在欧洲的转变过程中被舍弃或被基督教化。一个更世俗的五朔节持续在欧洲及美洲被观察到。这种五朔节庆典可能以跳五朔节花柱舞及加冕五月女王而闻名。各种异教徒团体在5月1日(以各种程度)重构不同版本的习俗。
许多欧洲异教文化中这天都是一个传统夏季节日。2月1日是春天的第一天，而5月1日是夏天的第一天，所以6月25日(现为6月21日)的夏至（summer solstice）实为仲夏（midsummer）。在罗马天主教传统中，5月是马利亚之月（Mary's month），在这些前提下五朔节会庆祝受上帝恩宠的马利亚 (耶稣的母亲)，艺术作品及学校幽默短剧及其他会用花装饰马利亚的头部。自20世纪末赠送五月篮子的习俗越来越不流行，在这种习俗中人们将装有糖果和/或花朵的篮子放在邻居的门阶上，通常是匿名的。"
Maypole dancing at Bishopstone Church, Sussex, UK.
Morris dancing on May Day in Oxford, England
回到《仲夏夜之梦》，既然故事发生在May 1 左右，而 midsummer 是夏至左右，那为什么剧名为 A Midsummer Night's Dream?
网上有篇文章”What’s Up With the Title?“， 其分析认为 ”Shakespeare's title captures the festive vibe of the play and even enacts some of its rituals." It makes sense.
http://www.shmoop.com/midsummer-nights-dream/title.html
What’s Up With the Title?
The title suggests an atmosphere of fantasy, whimsy, and imagination, which is a pretty accurate description of the magical wood where characters experience events that seem more like a dream than reality. Poor Bottom can't even begin to describe what's happened to him in the wood: "I have had a most rare / vision. I have had a dream past the wit of man to say what / dream it was" (4.1.9).
Shakespeare also knows that, after watching the play, we, the audience, might also experience some uncertainty about the difference between reality and illusion. (This is why Puck invites us to think of the play as a nothing more than a "dream" during the Epilogue. Go to "What's Up With the Ending?" for more about this.)
The title is also pretty obvious shout-out to Midsummer's Eve (June 23), or the summer solstice. Elizabethans would have heard this title and thought "party time!" In Shakespeare's day, Midsummer's Eve was all about celebrating fertility (not just the successful planting and harvesting of crops, but also the kind of fertility associated with dating and marriage). It was an excuse to party outdoors and the holiday involved dancing, drinking, and collecting medicinal herbs. For a lot of partiers, Midsummer's Eve was also supposed to be a time of mystery and magic, when spirits ran around causing mischief, and teenage girls had dreams about the guys they'd eventually fall in love with and marry.
Our point? Shakespeare's title captures the festive vibe of the play and even enacts some of its rituals.
While we're on the subject of festivities, we should point out that Shakespeare also works some May Day festivities into his play. Remember when Theseus stumbles upon the sleeping Athenian youths in Act 4, Scene 1? He thinks they're passed out on the ground because they got up early and went into the wood to "observe / The rite of May" (4.1.3). (Note: The rites of May – games, festivities, etc. – were performed throughout May and June, not just on May 1.) "Maying" involved going into the woods in the early morning to gather up blooming tree branches (for decoration) and putting up "Maypoles" to dance around. In the play, Lysander mentions that he once met Hermia and Helena in the wood to "do observance to a morn of May" (1.1.8). May Day revelers also celebrated with big feasts and even elected a "Lord of Misrule" to preside over the festivities. Check out "Characters: Puck" to learn about how he fits the role of a Lord of Misrule.
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