| 词源 |
St. Vitus’s dance. St. Vitus’s dance, or chorea, is named for the Roman St. Vitus, who became a martyr during the persecu- tion of Christians by the Emperor Diocletian. In the 15th cen- tury it became customary for young people to dance frenetic dances around statues of St. Vitus to insure good health for the coming year. Soon, because of the nature of the wild dance, St. Vitus’s aid was invoked against the nervous affliction most common among children and adolescents and the disease be- came popularly known as St. Vitus’s dance. |