Christmas in Germany 俏皮木偶小香肠——欧洲心脏度圣诞
美式发音 适合精听
早在1434年,德国东部名城德累斯顿(Dresden)便办起世上首个圣诞集市(Striezelmarkt)。
然而有确切的文字记载、被列入史册的第一个圣诞集市则是1628年于德国纽伦堡举办的,掰掰手指,已经有将近600年历史了。每年11月中下旬起,汉堡、不莱梅、德累斯顿、科隆、纽伦堡、法兰克福等地的圣诞集市便相继登场,整整一个月的时间,德国各地都沉浸在欢乐当中,怎叫人不激动!
When it comes to traditional holiday images, Germany’s 1)Bavaria is the heartland.
Long a center of toy-making in Germany, a woody and traditional 2)ambiance prevails. Nutcrackers are characters of authority, uniformed, strong-jawed and able to crack the tough nuts. Smokers, with their fragrant incense 3)wafting, feature common folk like this village toy-maker. Prune people, with their fig body, walnut head and prune limbs, are 4)dolled up in Bavarian folk costumes. And hovering above it all is the golden “rausch angel”, an icon of Christmas in 5)Nürnberg. Rausch is the sound of wind blowing through its wings. It’s a favorite for capping family Christmas trees.
Bakeries 6)crank out old-fashioned gingerbread the “Lebkuchen Nürnberg,” using the original 17th century recipe. Back then, Nürnberg was the gingerbread capital of the world, and its love affair with gingerbread lives on. Shoppers can also 7)munch the famous Nürnberg bratwurst, skinny as your little finger, and sip hot spiced wine.
As in so many cultures, kids love their local version of Santa Claus. While Santa is a legend, his character is based on Saint Nicholas, a kind and generous 8)bishop who actually lived in Turkey in the 4th century. Holiday gift-giving, especially in 9)Catholic regions, is often associated with the feast day of Saint Nicholas,December 6th.
当论及各种传统节日形象,德国的巴伐利亚是它们的集中地。
此地作为德国玩具制造中心的历史由来已久,这里有浓厚的传统木制品氛围。胡桃夹子是以经典芭蕾剧中的角色为造型,身穿制服的小人儿有着强健的牙颌可以轧碎坚果。芳香四溢的薰香木偶勾勒出像这个乡村玩具匠般模样的一般人。洋李干小人,用无花果制成的小小身躯,胡桃木脑袋和洋李干串成的四肢,以巴伐利亚民族服饰盛装打扮。盘旋在它们上方的是金灿灿的翼风天使(rausch angel),这是纽伦堡的圣诞标志。“Rausch”意指穿过羽翼的风声。人们喜欢把翼风天使置于圣诞树顶上。
面包店沿用十七世纪原配方制作出传统姜饼“纽伦堡蜜饯果饼”。在那个年代,纽伦堡曾是世界姜饼之都,而如今这个城市对姜饼的热情仍不减丝毫。购物者还可以大嚼纤细如小指的著名的纽伦堡德式小香肠,再呷一口温热的烈酒。
在不同的文化中,孩子们喜欢的是当地版本的圣诞老人。圣诞老人这个传说,其人物原型为圣尼古拉—— 一位确实生活在四世纪土耳其,和善慷慨的主教。特别是在信奉天主教的地区,一般都把节日派送礼物这一传统与12月6日的圣尼古拉节联系起来。
But Germany is “10)Luther country.” Back in the early 1500s, the great reformer, Martin Luther, wanted to humanize the Christmas story by shifting the focus away from the saints and back onto the “birthday boy,” Jesus. Rather than “11)jolly old St. Nick” bringing the goodies on December 6th, Luther established the idea that gifts would be given on the 25th by the Christ Child, or, in German, “Christkind.” But for kids it was hard to imagine the little baby in the manger delivering gifts, so an angel served as the gift-giving Christ Child, and, somehow, the angel came to be represented by a young girl. She spends her reign spreading the joy of the season. The “Christkind” concludes by telling the 12)enthralled children, “If you’re very, very gentle, you can touch my wings.” Nürnberg’s favorite angel then leads her fans into the children’s section of the market, where expertly bundled kids enjoy a Christmas wonderland.
The Christmas season in Europe stretches for well over a month, not to maximize shopping days but to fit in the season’s many holy days. 13)Advent starts four Sundays before Christmas Eve. Then comes the Feast of St. Nicholas on December 6th. Santa Lucia day is on the 13th, and Europeans don’t 14)wrap things up on the 25th. The twelve days of Christmas stretch from the 25th through January 6th; that’s 15)Epiphany, the day the three kings finally delivered the gifts.
Happy Christmas! Joyeux Noël! (French) Buon Natalé a Tutti! (Italian) God Jul!(Norwegian) Merry Christmas! Froehliche Weihnachten! (German) O-yeh, O-yeh. I wish you all a very merry Christmas!
From our family to yours; peace on earth and goodwill to all. Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas!
然而德国是“路德国”。早在十六世纪初,伟大的改革家马丁·路德想把圣诞故事凡人化,他把焦点从圣人身上回归到“诞婴”耶稣上。路德本想开创由孩童耶稣(德文为Christkind)于12月25日派发礼物的先河,而非由“快乐的圣尼古拉老人”于6日派糖果。然而孩子们很难想象一个诞生于马槽中的婴儿会派送礼物,所以由一位天使担任孩童耶稣的替身给大家送礼,不知何故,这位天使慢慢演变成了由一名少女作代表。她利用其特权到处传播节庆的欢乐。孩童耶稣在派送完礼物离开前会告诉兴高采烈的孩子们,“如果你非常、非常温柔的话,可以摸一下我的翅膀。”然后,纽伦堡这位备受欢迎的天使就会带着她的追随者们走进集市的儿童区,在那里,素有经验、成群结队的孩子们将享受到圣诞乐土的无限乐趣。
欧洲的圣诞档期长达一个多月,不是为尽可能增加购物时间,而是为了配合这个节令中的多个宗教节日。基督降临节开始于平安夜前第四个星期天,然后有12月6日的圣尼古拉节,13日的圣露西亚节,欧洲人并不会让圣诞节在25日就结束了。十二天圣诞节则从12月25日直到来年1月6日——这天是主显节,是三位国王最后派发礼物的日子。
圣诞快乐!(欧洲多国语言)噢,好啊。祝愿你们有一个快乐无比的圣诞!
自我们到你们一家,处处和平,幸福美满。圣诞快乐!
圣诞快乐!
翻译:小敏
