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时间:2016-12-26
来源:原创
Christmas is coming!
很多小伙伴都想知道国外是如何过圣诞节的。其实圣诞节不是国内“买买买”的节奏,那么真实的圣诞节是什么样的呢?我们今天就翻开经典的文学作品,跟着书里的文字了解一下真正的圣诞文化。
Charles Dickens是英国著名的小说家,在作品A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Stories中,他对圣诞节做了很多精彩的描写,例如:
The Christmas family-party that we mean, is not a mere assemblage of relations, got up at a week or two’s notice, originating this year, having no family precedent in the last, and not likely to be repeated in the next. No. It is an annual gathering of all the accessible members of the family, young or old, rich or poor; and all the children look forward to it, for two months beforehand, in a fever of anticipation.
西方的圣诞节就如同中国的春节,家庭团聚才是这个节日的重头戏。很多同学都觉得西方人家庭观念不重,这种想法大错特错。在上面的描述中,大家可以看到外国人对于家庭尤其是圣诞节的家庭聚会是非常重视的!同时,这也是孩子们一年中最盼望的时刻。(ps.大家出国之后如果有机会可以向国外的同学了解一下他们的家庭是如何对待圣诞聚会的)
I have been looking on, this evening, at a merry company of children assembled round that pretty German toy, a Christmas tree. The tree was planted in the middle of a great round table, and towered high above their heads. It was brilliantly lighted by a multitude of little tapers; and everywhere sparkled and glittered with bright objects.
在这段话里,狄更斯提到了我们都非常熟悉的圣诞树,但是他把圣诞树叫做German toy,这又是为什么呢?
几个世纪以来,英国王室一直扮演着引领潮流的角色,乔治王子和凯特王妃穿过的衣服都早已卖断货就是证据!圣诞树在英国流行起来也多亏了王室。欧洲各国的王室之间经常联姻,维多利亚女王的丈夫阿尔伯特亲王就来自于德国。他与维多利亚女王结婚之后,将德国的一些圣诞习俗带到了英国,其中就包括圣诞树。1848年伦敦一家报纸刊登了皇室在装饰精美的圣诞树下庆祝节日的图片(就是下面这张图),很快装饰圣诞树就在全英国各个阶层人家里流行起来了。
那么圣诞树上应该挂些什么呢?
This time she was sitting under a lovely Christmas tree. It was much bigger and more beautifully decorated than the one she had seen when she peeped through the glass doors at the rich merchant’s house this very last Christmas. Thousands of lighted candles gleamed upon its branches, and coloured pictures, such as she had seen in the shop windows looked down to her.
相信大家对《安徒生童话》都不陌生,这是一段《卖火柴的小女孩》中对于圣诞树的描写。这恐怕是文学史上对圣诞树最忧伤的描写了。圣诞树上可以挂上各种彩灯、糖果、小礼物和装饰品,而卖火柴的小女孩看到的圣诞树一定是最美丽,最温馨的,因为只有这样才能和她的命运形成鲜明的对比。(ps.国外有专门的圣诞树装饰品,大家也可以DIY哦!)
读了文学史上的经典作品,我们来读一读当代作家笔下的圣诞节吧!现在,我们一起来走进J.K.Rowling魔法世界里的圣诞节。
“Merry Christmas,” said Ron sleepily as Harry scrambled out of bed and pulled on his bathrobe.
“You, too,” said Harry. “Will you look at this? I’ve got some presents!”
Harry picked up the top parcel. It was wrapped in thick brown paper and scrawled across it was To Harry, from Hagrid. Inside was a roughly cut wooden flute. Hagrid had obviously whittled it himself. Harry blew it—it sounded a bit like an owl.
这段文字正好提到了圣诞节的一项习俗,那就是互赠礼物。圣诞节前,人们都会去圣诞集市、商场或超市为自己的亲朋好友挑选圣诞礼物。挑选礼物的过程非常考验人们的心思,大家都希望自己的礼物可以成为对方美好的回忆。而且,价格在西方人看来并不重要,心意才是最重要的。
上面的文字选自Harry Potter系列小说的第一部。Harry从小在Vernon姨夫家长大,他从来没有收到过圣诞礼物,但是他到Hogwarts之后收到了很多份礼物。那么,接下来他收到的这份礼物也是圣诞节的传统之一。
“I think I know who that one’s from,” said Ron, turning a bit pink and pointing to a very lumpy parcel. “My mom. I told her you didn’t expect any presents and—oh, no,” he groaned, “she’s made you a Weasley sweater.”
Harry had torn open the parcel to find a thick, hand-knitted sweater in emerald green and a large box of homemade fudge.
“Every year she makes us a sweater,” said Ron, unwrapping his own, “and mine’s always maroon.”
“That’s really nice of her,” said Harry, trying the fudge, which was very tasty.
没错,圣诞节的时候,西方人都喜欢穿上各式各样的圣诞毛衣,围坐在圣诞树或壁炉旁边,或拍摄家庭合影或吃圣诞大餐。就连皇室贵族也不免俗,下图就是英国伊丽莎白女王一家身穿圣诞毛衣的合影。
家庭团聚、亲友互赠礼物、装饰圣诞树、穿着圣诞毛衣谈天说地才是西方人的圣诞习俗。各位小伙伴们千万不要被国内商业包装的“圣诞文化”误导哦!最后再次祝大家圣诞快乐!Happy Christmas!
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