2024年2月27日发(作者：)

Memories of Christmas

圣诞节的回忆

I still remember the last Christmas Granny spent with us. It began in the middle of November

on a cold, windy day. I remember the wind because Granny’s grey hair was a mess when she

arrived. That was also the day Granny moved in. Somehow, at the time, I didn’t know she was

sick. Maybe I was too young, maybe she hid it too well, or maybe I was just too excited that

Christmas was on the way.

我仍记得奶奶和我们一起度过的最后一个圣诞节。十一月中旬寒冷多风的日子就来了。我记得那天的风，因为奶奶到达时她的灰头发乱作一团。那天也是奶奶搬进来的日子。然而，那个时候我并未发现她病了。或许是因为我太小了，或许是她隐藏得太好了，或者可能是我对圣诞节的到来太兴奋了。

After Granny moved in, she spent most of her time on the brawn sofa by the fire. Sometimes

she was quiet, but she seemed happy. When I wrote a letter to Father Christmas telling him about

the presents I wanted, Granny made an effort to help me. Her hand was slightly shaky, but she

wrote “Father Christmas, the North Pole” on the envelope.

奶奶搬过来以后，大多数时间都待在炉火旁棕色的沙发上。有时她很安静，但她看起来很高兴。当我写信给圣诞老人，告诉他我想要的礼物时，奶奶尽力帮助我。她的手有点发抖，但她在信封上写上了“圣诞老人，北极”。

In December, our excitement grew each day—lights appeared in the streets, Christmas cards

arrived, and there was snow everywhere. Granny and I made sugar biscuits, stuffed the turkey and

then I sat on my granny’s lap and we sang Christmas songs. My favourite song was Frosty the

Snowman and I loved the bit that went “Thumpety-thump-thump, thumpety-thump-thump, look at

Frosty go!” Granny had patience to sing it over and over again.

十二月，我们的兴奋感与日俱增——街道上灯火通明，圣诞贺卡来了，到处都是雪。奶奶和我做了糖饼干，填了火鸡，然后我坐在奶奶的腿上，我们一起唱圣诞歌。我最喜欢的歌是《雪人（雪孩子）》，我喜欢那伴随着“砰砰砰，砰砰砰砰，看弗罗斯蒂走！”的节拍。奶奶有耐心地一遍又一遍地唱。

On Christmas Eve, Granny took a seat by the fire as we put up the Christmas tree. I hung

most of the decorations on the branches.

在平安夜，奶奶靠着炉火坐着，我们把圣诞树立起来。我把大部分装饰都挂在树枝上。

“That’s the most beautiful tree I’ve ever seen,” Granny said.

“那是我见过的最漂亮的树，”奶奶说。

Then she started singing, “Oh, Christmas tree, oh, Christmas tree, you fill my heart with

”

然后她开始唱，“哦，圣诞树，哦，圣诞树，你用音乐填满我内心……”

Before bed, Granny and I left a plate of sugar biscuits out for Father Christmas, and put a

stocking at the end of my bed. I remember Granny sitting on my bed and singing softly until I fell

asleep.

睡觉前，奶奶和我为圣诞老人准备了一盘糖饼干，并在床头放了一只长袜。我记得奶奶坐在我的床上，轻声唱歌直到我睡着。

My stocking was full of small toys and sweets on Christmas morning, and there were

presents under the tree. I was on my best behaviour as we opened the presents. Later, Granny

called me over.

圣诞节早上，我的袜子里装满了小玩具和糖果，而且树下有礼物。拆礼物时，我表现得特别好。后来，奶奶叫我过来。

“I have something special for you,” Granny whispered. “It’s for all your treasures. Merry

Christmas.”

“我有一个特别的东西给你，”奶奶低声说。“为了保存你所有的财富。圣诞快乐。”

It was a music box with a ballet dancer inside.

那是一个音乐盒，里面有个芭蕾舞演员。

After breakfast, Auntie Kath and my cousin David arrived. While Mum, Dad and Auntie

Kath got lunch ready, David and I played outside. We raced around the garden and rolled a big

snowball to make a lovely snowman. Granny stayed inside by the fire. I remember catching her

eye through the window.

早饭后，凯丝姑妈和我的堂弟大卫来了。当妈妈、爸爸和凯丝姑妈准备好午饭时，我和大卫在外面玩。我们在花园里跑来跑去，滚了一个大雪球，做了一个可爱的雪人。奶奶待在炉火旁。我记得当时从窗户里看到她的眼睛。

“Come outside, Granny,” I called, but she just waved.

“到外面来，奶奶，”我叫她，但她只是挥了挥手。

Lunch was late, but it was a loud and exciting affair. We put on silly paper hats and had a big

turkey with potatoes, followed by Christmas pudding. David put so much pudding in his mouth

that he couldn’t swallow.

午餐晚了，但这是一件既吵闹又令人兴奋的大事。我们戴上傻傻的纸帽子，吃塞有土豆的大火鸡，随后又吃圣诞布丁。大卫在嘴里塞了太多布丁，以至于都吞不下去了。

“How’s the pudding?” Granny asked.

“布丁怎么样？”奶奶问。

Mmmph, mmmph, mmmph," said David.

“唔，唔，唔，”大卫说。

Auntie Kath didn’t think it was funny, but the rest of us did. Granny laughed so much that her

paper hat fell off.

凯思姑妈不觉得有趣，但我们其他人都觉得有趣。奶奶开怀大笑，她的纸帽子掉了下来。

A few weeks after that Christmas, Granny passed away. I think of her often though,

especially at Christmas. Each year, I take out the music box she gave me. Inside I keep Granny’s

paper hat and the letter she helped me write that Christmas. Mum gave the letter back to me some

years ago when I no longer believed in Father Christmas. When I think about what makes

Christmas so magical, it’s not just gifts and Father Christmas that come to mind. It’s also my

memory of Granny. Now I’m the one who makes sugar biscuits each year, and I always make one

in a G-shape—G for Granny.

圣诞节后的几个星期，奶奶去世了。不过我经常想起她，尤其是在圣诞节。每年，我都会拿出她给我的音乐盒。我把奶奶的纸帽子和她帮我写的那封圣诞信放在里面。我不再相信有圣诞老人时，妈妈就把信还给了我。当我想到是什么让圣诞节如此神奇时，我想到的不仅仅是礼物和圣诞老人，还有我对奶奶的记忆。现在的我每年都做糖饼干，我总是做一个G形的饼干——G代表奶奶。

英汉对照

Spring Festival

春节

Notes from the editor: Spring Festival is an important tradition in China. It has unique

meanings. However, people may understand it differently, including those from other cultures.

Here are three readers’ accounts to our magazine, who shared their experiences and views about it.

来自编辑的注释：春节是中国的重要传统节日，有着独特的意义。但是，不同的人，包括文化背景不同的人，可能对春节有不同的理解。这是我们杂志的三位读者的叙述，分享了他们关于春节的经历和看法。

Tom Jenkins a 16-year-old exchange student living in Nanjing

汤姆·詹金斯，16岁，交换生，居住南京

It was my first time spending Spring Festival in

China with my host family. Spring Festival is highly

valued by every Chinese family. Preparations began a

week before the festival. First, the house was cleaned from

top to bottom. My host mother Mrs Chen said this was to

sweep away the dirt of the past year and get ready for the

new year.

这是我第一次在中国和我的寄宿家庭一起过春节。每个中国家庭十分重视春节。准备工作从节前一周开始。首先，房子从上到下都打扫了一遍。我的房东妈妈陈太太说这是消除过去一年的积尘，为新的一年准备。

Next, the Chinese character Fu was attached upside

down to our front door. It is believed that when Fu is put

upside down, happiness arrives. The character looked

really cool.

接下来，汉字“福”倒贴在我们的大门上。据说“福”字被倒贴时，幸福就会到来。这个字看起来很酷。

The greatest excitement began the night before Spring Festival. Fireworks were being let off

across the city, suddenly lighting up the night sky. Children were covering their ears but with an

expectant look on their faces. Mrs Chen said that it was to scare away the monster Nian. The

fireworks were a lot of fun! We then sat together to enjoy a big dinner,wishing everyone a happy

new year.

最让人兴奋的是除夕夜。烟花在城市上空燃放，瞬间照亮了夜空。孩子们虽捂着耳朵，脸上却充满期待的表情。陈太太说这是为了吓跑年兽。烟花很有趣！然后我们坐在一起享受丰盛的晚餐，大家互相祝福新年快乐。

Xu Gang a 28-year-old computer engineer working in Shanghai

徐

徐刚，28岁，计算机工程师，在上海工作

I usually start planning my trip home to Shanxi weeks

before Spring Festival, as train tickets or flights have to be

booked as early as possible. I take great care in choosing

gifts for my parents. This year, I bought a bottle of wine for

my father and a beautiful sweater for my mother.

我通常在春节前几周就开始计划回山西的行程，因为必须尽早预订火车票或机票。我非常细心地为父母挑选礼物。今年，我给父亲买了一瓶酒，给母亲买了一件漂亮的毛衣。

Every year, the moment I get on the train, I am

surrounded by Shanxi accents—I know that I am heading home to my family. I don’t get to travel

back to Shanxi very often, so when I get home, my parents will fill me in on what’s been

happening—who has got married or had children or gone away to university. It’s great to hear

what everyone’s been up to.

每年，一坐上火车，我就会被山西方言包围，我意识到我踏上了回家的路。我不经常回山西，因此每年回到家，我父母就会把这一年发生的事一股脑儿地告诉我，谁结婚了，谁有小孩了，谁上大学了。很高兴听到大家都在做什么。

We usually have hotpot—it’s so tasty! However, what we eat isn’t the most important thing.

What’s important is who we eat it with. It’s a wonderful thing to be back together with my family

and talk of old times. When I was a kid, Spring Festival was all about firecrackers, sweets and

decorations. As I get older, coming home and being with my entire family is the most important

part of it.

我们通常会吃火锅，很好吃！但是，吃什么不重要，重要的是和谁一起吃。和我的家人一起回到过去，谈论过去是一件很美好的事。当我还是个孩子的时候，春节就是爆竹、糖果和装饰品。随着年龄的增长，回家和全家人待在一起则成了春节最重要的一部分。

Li Yan a 70-year-old grandmother from Heilongjiang

李燕，70岁，一位奶奶，居住黑龙江

Spring Festival is family time for us. My husband and

I are both retired. We do not see our children and

grandchildren very often and we miss them a lot. Weeks

before Spring Festival, we start getting ready for their

homecoming. Things start to get really busy. We think

about what the children would like to eat, what we need to

buy and what dishes need to be prepared.

春节是我们的家庭时间。我和丈夫都退休了。我们不经常见到我们的孩子和孙子孙女，非常想念他们。春节前几周，我们开始为他们回家做准备。日子慢慢开始

变得忙碌起来。我们琢磨孩子们喜欢吃什么，我们需要买什么，需要准备什么菜。

Our house buzzes with activities when everyone comes home. Our grandchildren run around

shouting and playing, and the adults gather around the table to talk about the past year. Great fun

is also enjoyed in the kitchen as jiaozi are being made. We always have jiaozi during this time, as

they mean something special on this occasion—they are a sign of our wishes for health and

happiness in the coming year. To me, this is Spring Festival—the joy of a family gathering.

当每个人都到家时，我们的房子充满活动和各种声响。我们的孙辈一边跑一边喊，一边玩，大人们围在桌子旁谈论过去的一年。厨房里也很有趣，因为正在包饺子。在这段时间里，我们通常是吃饺子，因为它在这个场合有一些特别的意味——它是我们期望来年健康和幸福的标志。对我来说，家庭团聚的快乐——就是春节。

Throughout history, some of the original customs have changed, but the spirit of the

festival—the spirit of family—has largely been kept. Most of the important Spring Festival

traditions are still being practised by people across the country.

纵观历史，一些原始习俗已经改变了，但是春节的精神——家庭精神——在很大程度上得到了保留，全国各地的人们仍在践行着大部分重要的春节传统。