节日随想 1)Savoring the 2)Sentiment
I’m sitting here enjoying the presence of my beauti- fully 3)decorated Christmas tree.
我坐着，欣赏着那棵被装扮得美不胜收的圣诞树。
It’s the tree 4)erected in the sitting room and it gives me great comfort to glance upon its 5)glowing branches.
这棵树直立在起居室里，看着它那亮光闪闪的树枝，我感到很安慰。
You may be thinking there’s nothing unusual about that, but to me, it’s special.
你可能觉得这棵圣诞树很普通，但对我来说，它很特别。
This year, I am in no rush to take this 6)staple of the season down. We’ve just had the first snowfall of the year so why waste the 7)ambience of 8)twinkling lights on a cold snowy night, even if it is days after Christmas Day?
今年，我并不急着把这件圣诞节的常用品收起来。今年的第一场雪才刚刚下过，为什么要浪费闪烁的灯光在寒冷的雪夜里所营造的气氛呢？虽然圣诞日已过了好几天。
The tree in the sitting room has the most casual, simple 9)ornaments that were hung by tiny little helpers who spend their days in my 10)day care. No 11)breakables on this tree. There’s a soft, 12)fabric, stuffed heart from a friend. Its 13)stitching reads:
其实，放在起居室里的这棵圣诞树再普通不过了，树上简单的饰物是我日托所里的那些孩子们帮忙挂上去的。树上挂的都是不易打碎的东西，其中有一个软软的、用布料填充而成的心形饰物，是一个朋友送的。那上面缝了几个字：
14)Heartstrings are the 15)bows that tie the gift of friendship.
心弦是维系友谊的蝴蝶结。
Those words 16)bring to mind my good friend who I don’t see nearly as much as I’d like, but the song in my heart plays sweetly of our warm and loving memories.
这句话让我想起我的好朋友，我们见面的次数比我希望的少得多，但我们之间温馨亲切的回忆之歌却在我心里甜蜜地响起。
When I was a kid, Christmas decorations didn’t go up until about two weeks before Christmas and came down 17)promptly on New Year’s Day. Since I’ve been married, with children, we have 18)decked the halls the day after Thanksgiving and taken down the day after the new year.
在我小的时候，圣诞装饰物要到圣诞节前两周才挂起来，一到新年便马上取下来。自从我结婚并有了孩子以后，我们家往往会在感恩节过后就把房子的走廊装饰起来，过了新年才把那些装饰物取下来。
But this year is different.
不过，今年不一样。
With all the 19)chaos facing our 20)fragile world, with 21)Mother Nature 22)lashing out in the form of deadly flood, earth 23)shattering quakes, monstrous 24)mudslides, and horrific hurricanes, we all need to reach inside to focus on the good, to pray for 25)healing.
我们身处脆弱的世界，其中充斥着各种混乱，大自然毫不留情地给我们带来了凶猛的洪水、致命的地震、恐怖的泥流滑坡，以及可怕的飓风。我们都需要深入自己的内心，寻找美好的东西，为抚平创伤而祈祷。
Finding comfort in love and hope is what I’m reminded of while gazing at a collection of memories, each hanging by its own 26)limb of evergreen.
品味着圣诞树常绿树枝上挂着的那些难忘的回忆，我意识到要从爱和希望中寻找慰藉。
My husband took advantage of the brief break in the 27)frigid weather to take down his outdoor displays——the merry 28)elves, the 29)Santa’s workshop scene, the snowmen set by the tree, with 30)shimmering white lights that gave the impression of 31)icicles 32)dangling from bare branches. These are all safely stored away until next year.
我丈夫趁着寒冬的短暂空隙取下了他挂在门外的装饰品：快乐的小精灵、圣诞老人准备礼物的图片、摆放在树旁的雪人，还有那闪闪发亮的白灯，如同冰柱一般从光秃秃的树枝上垂下来。所有这些都会被好好地收藏起来，直到明年这个时候。
The lighted 33)snowflakes still hang in the front room windows as they blend with the real thing, falling from the sky, creating a beautiful winter 34)wonderland of soft, white snow, peaceful and bright.
光闪闪的雪花饰品还挂在前厅的窗前，它们与天上飘落的雪花一起，形成了一个美丽的冬日仙境——那里到处覆盖着柔软的白雪，宁静而明亮。
I know my little tree, in the corner of the sitting room, is long over due in coming down. The angels, the silver bells, the pretty, ornamental dog bones 35)etched with our pets’ names, past and present, the ornament of a teddy bear with a sign proclaiming, “World’s Best 36)Baby Sitter” need to put away.
我知道，放在起居室一角的小小圣诞树早就该移走了。树上悬挂的小天使、银色的铃铛、漂亮的狗骨头饰物——那上面写有家里历年来养的宠物的名字，还有一只写有“世界上最棒的保姆”的泰迪熊饰物，所有这些都应该收起来了。
The tree and all its priceless treasures will be placed in the Christmas section of the garage. And as I pack away this year’s memories in the Christmas corner of my ever grateful heart, I will do my best to keep a promise to myself—to keep the spirit of Christmas alive in my thoughts, 37)deeds and actions every day.
这棵圣诞树，以及树上那些无价的宝贝将会被放到车库里存放圣诞节物品的地方。当我整理今年的记忆，把它存放在我满怀感恩的心里那属于圣诞节的一角时，我会尽全力信守我对自己的承诺——让圣诞情愫贯穿于我每天的思想和言行。
Until next year, I will do my best to savor the sentiment whether or not the tree is standing there.
不管那棵圣诞树还在不在那里，我都会尽全力去体会这份心情，直到明年的这个时候。
