Christmas Day in the morning

1 He woke suddenly and completely. It was four o'clock, the hour at which his father had always called him to get up and help with the milking. Strange how the habits of his youth clung to him still! His father had been dead for 30 years, and yet he still woke at four o'clock in the morning. But this morning, because it was Christmas, he did not try to sleep again.

2 Yet what was the magic of Christmas now? His childhood and youth were long past, and his own children had grown up and gone.

3 Yesterday his wife had said, "It isn't worthwhile, perhaps – "

4 And he had said, "Yes, Alice, even if there are only the two of us, let's have a Christmas of our own."

5 Then she had said, "Let's not trim the tree until tomorrow, Robert. I'm tired."

6 He had agreed, and the tree was still out by the back door.

7 He lay in his bed in his room.

8 Why did he feel so awake tonight? For it was still night, a clear and starry night. No moon, of course, but the stars were extraordinary! Now that he thought of it, the stars seemed always large and clear before the dawn of Christmas Day.

9 He slipped back in time, as he did so easily nowadays. He was 15 years old and still on his father's farm. He loved his father. He had not known it until one day a few days before Christmas, when he had overheard what his father was saying to his mother.

10 "Mary, I hate to call Rob in the mornings. He's growing so fast, and he needs his sleep. I wish I could manage alone."

11 "Well, you can't, Adam." His mother's voice was brisk, "Besides, he isn't a child any more. It's time he took his turn."

12 "Yes," his father said slowly, "But I sure do hate to wake him."

13 When he heard these words, something in him woke: His father loved him! He had never thought of it before, taking for granted the tie of their blood. Now that he knew his father loved him, there would be no more loitering in the mornings and having to be called again. He got up, stumbling blind with sleep, and pulled on his clothes.

14 And then on the night before Christmas, he lay thinking about the next day. They were poor, and most of the excitement was in the turkey they had raised themselves and in the mince pies his mother made. His sisters sewed presents, and his mother and father always bought something he needed, a warm jacket, maybe, or a book. And he always saved and bought them each something, too.

15 He wished, that Christmas he was 15, he had a better present for his father instead of the usual tie from the ten-cent store. He lay on his side and looked out of his attic window.

16 "Dad," he had once asked when he was a little boy, "What is a stable?"

17 "It's just a barn," his father had replied, "like ours."

18 Then Jesus had been born in a barn, and to a barn the shepherds and the Wise Men had come, bringing their Christmas gifts!

19 A thought struck him like a silver dagger. Why should he not give his father a special gift, out there in the barn? He could get up earlier, creep into the barn and get all the milking done. And then when his father went in to start the milking, he'd see it all done.

20 He laughed to himself as he gazed at the stars. It was what he would do, and he mustn't sleep too soundly.

21 He must have woken 20 times, striking a match each time to look at his old watch.

22 At a quarter to three, he got up and crept downstairs, careful of the creaky boards, and let himself out. A big star hung low over the roof, a reddish gold. The cows looked at him, sleepy and surprised. It was early for them, too.

23 But they accepted him calmly and he brought some hay for each cow and then got the milking pail and the big milk cans.

24 He had never milked all alone before, but it seemed almost easy. He smiled and milked steadily, two strong streams rushing into the pail, frothing and fragrant. The cows were behaving well, as though they knew it was Christmas.

25 The task went more easily than he had ever known it to before. Milking for once was not a chore. It was a gift to his father. He finished, the two milk cans were full, and he covered them and closed the milk-house door carefully, making sure of the latch. He put the stool in its place by the door and hung up the clean milk pail. Then he went out of the barn and barred the door behind him.

26 Back in his room he had only a minute to pull off his clothes and jump into bed, before he heard his father get up. He put the covers over his head to silence his quick breathing. The door opened.

27 "Rob!" his father called. "We have to get up, son, even if it is Christmas."

28 "Aw-right," he said sleepily.

29 "I'll go on out," his father said. "I'll get things started."

30 The door closed and he lay still, laughing to himself. In just a few minutes his father would know. His dancing heart was ready to jump from his body.

31 The minutes were endless – 10, 15, he did not know how many – and he heard his father's footsteps again. The door opened.

32 "Rob!"

33 "Yes, Dad – "

34 "You son of a – " His father was laughing, a queer sobbing sort of a laugh. "Thought you'd fool me, did you?" His father was standing beside his bed, feeling for him, pulling away the cover.

35 He found his father and clutched him in a great hug. He felt his father's arms go around him. It was dark, and they could not see each other's faces.

36 "Son, I thank you. Nobody ever did a nicer thing – "

37 "It's for Christmas, Dad!"

38 He did not know what to say. His heart was bursting with love.

39 "Well. I guess I can go back to sleep," his father said after a moment. "No, come to think of it, son, I've never seen you children when you first saw the Christmas tree. I was always in the barn. Come on!"

40 He pulled on his clothes again, and they went down to the Christmas tree, and soon the sun was creeping up to where the star had been. Oh, what a Christmas morning, and how his heart had nearly burst again with shyness and pride as his father told his mother about how he, Rob, had got up all by himself.

41 "The best Christmas gift I ever had, and I'll remember it, son, every year on Christmas morning, as long as I live."

42 They had both remembered it, and now that his father was dead he remembered it alone: That blessed Christmas dawn when, along with the cows in the barn, he had made his first gift of true love. Outside the window now the stars slowly faded. He got out of bed and put on his slippers and bathrobe and went softly downstairs. He brought in the tree, and carefully began to trim it. It was done very soon. He then went to his library and brought the little box that contained his special gift to his wife, a diamond brooch, not large, but beautiful in design. But he was not satisfied. He wanted to tell her – to tell her how much he loved her.

43 How fortunate that he had been able to love! Ah, that was the true joy of life, the ability to love! For he was quite sure that some people were genuinely unable to love anyone. But love was alive in him; it still was.

44 It occurred to him suddenly that it was alive because long ago it had been born in him when he knew his father loved him. That was it: Love alone could waken love.

45 And this morning, this blessed Christmas morning, he would give it to his beloved wife. He could write it down in a letter for her to read and keep forever. He went to his desk and began: My dearest love.

46 When it was finished, he sealed it and tied it on the tree. He put out the light and went tiptoeing up the stairs. The stars in the sky were gone, and the first rays of the sun were gleaming in the east, such a happy, happy Christmas!

X

圣诞节早晨

1 他突然从睡梦中醒来，睡意全无。 现在是早上四点，以前他父亲总是在这个点把他叫醒，让他去帮着挤奶。 真是奇怪，他竟然还保持着青少年时的习惯。 虽然他的父亲已经过世30年了，但他还是一到早上四点就醒了。 不过今天早上，因为是圣诞节，他不想接着睡了。

2 圣诞节现在对他来说还有什么魔力呢？ 他的童年和青春早已过去，他自己的子女都已经长大成人，离开家了。

3 昨天他的妻子说：“也许没必要再花这个力气……”

4 他回答说：“不，爱丽丝，就算家里只有我们两个人，我们也要过一个自己的圣诞节。”

5 然后她说：“那我们明天再装修圣诞树吧，罗伯特，我累了。”

6 他同意了，圣诞树现在还放在屋外后门的边上。

7 他躺在自己房间的床上。

8 他今晚为什么会感觉如此清醒呢？ 现在天还没有亮，还是清澈无云、星光熠熠的夜晚。 当然，也没有月亮。但是星星却格外明亮！ 想到这儿，他意识到在圣诞节的晨曦来临之前，天上的星星似乎总是那么大、那么明亮。

9 他最近很容易怀旧，所以他的思绪又回到了过去。 那时他才15岁，还住在他父亲的农场里。 他深爱自己的父亲。 他没有意识到这点，直到圣诞节来临的前几天，他偶然听到父亲对母亲说的话。

10 “玛丽，我真不想每天早上那么早就把罗伯叫起来， 他现在正是长身体的时候，他需要多睡觉。 我真希望自己一个人就能搞定。”

11 “嗯，亚当，你一个人是搞不定的，” 他母亲的声音干脆利落：“再说，他也不是孩子了，应该开始帮家里干活了。”

12 “话是这么说”，他父亲缓缓地说：“可我真不想把他叫醒。”

13 当他听到这些话的时候，他内心突然意识到一件事：他的父亲爱他！ 以前他从来没有想过这个，只是理所当然地认定他们之间存在着血脉关系。 现在既然他已经知道了他的父亲那么爱他，那他早上就不会再磨磨蹭蹭，不用让父亲一再叫他。 他起了床，睡眼朦胧、跌跌撞撞地在黑暗中摸索着穿上衣服。

14 在圣诞节的前夜，他躺在床上想着第二天的事情。 他们家很穷，圣诞节最让人兴奋的就是吃他们自己养大的那只火鸡和母亲亲手做的肉馅饼。 他的姐姐们会亲手缝制一些礼物，他的父母总是买一些他需要的东西作为礼物，可能是一件温暖的外套，也可能是一本书。 而他也总会存点钱，给他们每个人买礼物。

15 这个圣诞节他已经15岁了。他希望他能有更好的礼物送给父亲，而不是像以往那样送一条从廉价商店买来的普通领带。 他侧躺在床上，从阁楼的窗户望出去。

16 “爸爸”，当他还是个小孩子的时候，有一次他问：“马厩是什么呀？”

17 “就是一个谷仓，”他父亲回答道，“和我们家的一样。”

18 那么，耶稣是在谷仓里诞生的，牧羊人和智者都带着圣诞礼物，去那里看望过他。

19 就好像一把银光闪闪的匕首刺中他的身体一样，一个想法在他心中闪现：为什么不在谷仓里送父亲一件特殊的礼物呢？ 他可以早点起床，偷偷地溜进谷仓，自己一个人把奶挤好。 然后当他的父亲进到谷仓里的时候，就会发现奶都已经挤好了。

20 他凝望着满天的星星，不禁偷笑起来。 对，就这么干！他可不能睡得太沉。

21 这一夜他差不多醒了20次，每次都点亮一根火柴，看一眼他那块老旧的手表。

22 差一刻三点的时候，他起了床，偷偷地下楼，小心翼翼地不让地板发出响声，出了大门。 屋顶上低垂着一颗大星星，闪着微红的金光。 奶牛们看着他，睡眼迷蒙，有些惊讶。 这个点对它们来说也有点早。

23 但是它们平静地接受了他。他给每头奶牛喂了一些干草，然后拿来了挤奶桶和奶罐。

24 以前他从没一个人挤过奶，但是这看上去应该非常简单。 他微笑着，不紧不慢地挤着奶，两股奶流喷射进了挤奶桶，带着泡沫和奶香。 奶牛们都非常配合，好像它们都知道今天是圣诞节一样。

25 挤奶进行得比他以前任何一次都要顺利。 这一回，挤奶不再是累人的家务。 这是他送给父亲的礼物。 他完成了，两个奶罐都装满了。他把它们盖好，小心翼翼地关上了挤奶房的门，插紧门栓。 他把板凳放回门边的原处，把洗干净的挤奶桶挂起来，然后他走出谷仓，把身后的门闩插上。

26 回到屋里，他脱下衣服，跳上了床。没过一分钟，他就听到了他父亲起床了。 他用被子蒙住了头，来掩盖自己急促的呼吸声。 门开了。

27 “罗伯，” 他父亲喊道， “儿子，我们得起床了，就算是圣诞节也得起啊。”

28 “好-吧，”他睡意朦胧地回答。

29 “我先出去，”他父亲说：“我先开始干了。”

30 门关上了，他躺在那里一动不动，暗自偷笑。 再过几分钟，他父亲就会知道了。 他那剧烈跳动的心都要从他的胸腔里跳出来了。

31 这几分钟过得非常慢。十分钟，十五分钟，不知道过了多少分钟。他又听到了父亲的脚步声。 房门打开了。

32 “罗伯!”

33 “爸爸，怎么啦？”

34 “你这个臭……” 父亲在笑，但是是一种奇怪的带着抽泣的笑。 “你以为你能骗得了我？” 他的父亲就站在床边，摸索着，摸到了他的身体，掀开了被子。

35 他碰到了他父亲的身体，张开双臂抱紧了他。 他感觉到父亲的双臂也抱住了他，房间里漆黑一片，他们看不清对方的脸庞。

36 “儿子，谢谢你，这辈子没人对我这么好过。”

37 “爸爸，这是给你的圣诞礼物。”

38 他不知道该说些什么， 他的内心充满了爱。

39 “嗯，我想我还可以回去睡会，”过了一会他父亲说道。 “不，儿子，你想想，每次你们一早看到圣诞树的时候，我都没看到你们的样子。因为我那会儿都在谷仓里干活。来！”

40 他又穿上了衣服，他们一起下楼，走到圣诞树跟前。很快太阳爬了上来，星星隐去。 啊！这是一个多么美好的圣诞节早晨啊！当他的父亲告诉他母亲他，罗伯，是怎么自己一个人起来挤奶的时候，他内心充满了害羞与自豪。

41 “这是我收到过的最好的圣诞礼物，我不会忘记的，儿子，在我有生之年的每一个圣诞节早上，我都会想起来的。”

42 后来他们两人都没有忘记。现在他的父亲已经去世，他只有独自缅怀：那个美好的圣诞节早晨，和谷仓里的奶牛一起，他送出了第一个充满了真爱的礼物。 现在窗外的星光开始变得暗淡。 他从床上起身，穿上拖鞋和浴袍，轻轻地走下楼去。 他把圣诞树拿了进来，开始仔细装饰。 他很快就装饰好了。 然后他走到书房，拿出一个小盒子，里面装着他送给妻子的特别礼物，一个镶着钻石的胸针。胸针不大，但是设计精美。 但他并不满足于此，他想要告诉她，告诉她他是多么地爱她。

43 他是多么幸运！因为他有爱的能力。 这种爱的能力才是生命中真正喜悦的源泉。 他非常清楚地知道有些人真的是没有爱别人的能力。 但是爱曾在他的心中荡漾，现在仍是如此。

44 他突然想到，他的心中之所以有爱，是因为在很久以前，当他知道父亲爱他之后，他的心中就有了爱。 就是这样：爱本身就足以唤起别人心中的爱。

45 这个早晨，在这个美好的圣诞节早晨，他要向他心爱的妻子表达爱意。 他可以写一封信来表达爱意，这样他的妻子读完了还可以永久保存这封信。 于是他坐到书桌前，开始写：我最亲爱的宝贝……

46 写完之后，他把信装进信封封好，系到圣诞树上。 他关了灯，蹑手蹑脚地上了楼，天空中的星星已经消逝，第一缕阳光在东方闪耀。这是一个多么开心、多么幸福的圣诞节啊！

Chinese or Western, it's a time to relax

1 It's that time of the year when the world seems to be caught in a trance – the trance of end-of-year celebrations. End-of-year, I said.

2 The problem seems to be exactly that. Why should we in China refer to the week between December 24 and 31 as the end of the year when ours (according to the lunar calendar) is at least a month away?

3 We do so apparently because Christmas and New Year have become global festivals, not because they (especially Christmas) are essentially Western in nature and spirit, but because we can relax during those few days.

4 Nevertheless, some scholars and students have expressed concern over the increasing influence of Christmas on oriental, particularly Chinese, culture. Their fears may be justified to a certain extent. In fact, we Chinese do seem to attach a lot more time and attention to Christmas today than we did even a couple of decades ago.

5 For good or bad, the world has possibly undergone more changes in the past two decades than it did in the past two centuries. We have used more resources, burnt more fuel, caused more pollution and killed off more animals and plants as we have come closer to each other to form a truly global village. Television, we thought, was the last uniting factor till we got a feel for the Internet.

6 All these changes have made us take a different look at the world beyond and our home within. Nothing comes without a rider in this global market. If we want to be part of the dazzle and comfort that the West is known for, we had better accept some of its anomalies, too. This is not to say that festivals mean something else to the West.

7 Be it on the mainland or in the highly developed West or in the poorest of societies, a festival carries the same meaning. People across the world celebrate them with their family and friends. The basic concept is the same too, sharing a feast or a humble meal (with a few drinks in some societies like ours and the West).

8 We celebrate an occasion to vent our feelings, to relax and enjoy a break from the everyday skulduggery that life in these times has become. It's apparently no different from the break our ancestors enjoyed from the mundane affairs of their daily lives.

9 Most of the world follows the Gregorian calendar, including us, in their day-to-day lives. So the festivals and special events in that calendar are bound to influence us. That we, like many South, Southeast Asian, Middle East and perhaps some indigenous American people, follow the lunar calendar for our festivals is a different matter altogether.

10 We cannot afford to be left untouched by the festive spirit of the West, which doesn't mean we follow the West blindly. Not everything about their culture may be good, but decadence is not the sole preserve of the West. No culture in the world is free of decadence and that includes Chinese culture.

11 So the problem is not Western culture, or what we generally associate with it. The problem is those who are blinded by everything Western. We have to find out why more and more Chinese, especially the youngsters, feel at one with Western festivals as much as they do with the Chinese ones. But thankfully our festivals have lost none of their charm. And here is where the alarm bells sounded by scholars and students come in.

12 I can understand the zeal of these people. They want to conserve our culture, and that definitely doesn't make them what we generally refer to as "conservatives". They have a point. But they, or for that matter anybody else, cannot save any society from the influence of a world getting smaller by the day.

13 So instead of trying to shut our eyes and ears to Western festivals, we should accept the goodness they offer and practise what they stand for. And let's not forget that Jesus was not born in the West but the East (the Middle East, to be precise), and he preached love for mankind and help for the poor.

X

不管是中国的节日还是西方的节日，都是我们放松的时候

1 每年的这个时候，整个世界仿佛都陷入了一种迷狂——人们狂热地进行着岁末的庆祝活动。 我说的是岁末。

2 问题就出在这儿。 为什么我们中国人要把12月24日到31日这一周作为岁末来庆祝，而我们自己的岁末（按照阴历）至少还有一个月才到呢？

3 我们这么做，显然是因为圣诞节和元旦已经成了全球性的节日，并不是因为它们（尤其是圣诞节）在本质上和精神上主要代表了西方文化，而是因为在这几天里我们能好好放松一下。

4 但是，圣诞节对于东方文化，尤其是中国文化的影响与日俱增，对此，一些学者和学生表示担忧。 从某种程度上讲，他们的忧虑是有道理的。 的确，与几十年前相比，现在中国人花在圣诞节上的时间和精力似乎要多很多。

5 不管是好是坏，世界在过去二十多年间所经历的变化可能比过去两百年间所经历的还要多。 为了让彼此间联系得更紧密，营造出一个真正的地球村，我们消耗了更多的资源，烧掉了更多的能源，造成了更多的污染，灭杀了更多的动植物。 过去，我们一直把电视看作是连接全世界的终极手段，直到我们了解了互联网，才发现事实并非如此。

6 所有这些变化都让我们用另外一种眼光来看待外面的世界以及我们自己的家园。 在这个全球市场中，得到任何东西都是要付出代价的。 如果我们想拥有众所闻知的西方世界的眩目而舒适的生活，我们也必须接受西方文化中的一些异常事物。 这并不是说节日对于西方人来说有着不同的意义。

7 不管是在中国大陆，还是在高度发达的西方国家，抑或是世界上最贫穷的社会，节日承载着相同的意义。 世界各地的人们和家人、朋友一起庆祝节日。 节日的基本概念是一样的，就是大家分享一顿盛宴或是一餐便饭（在西方或是我们的国家里，人们会小酌几杯）。

8 我们庆祝节日，是为了释放情感，放松身心，是为了从现代生活的尔虞我诈中摆脱出来，得到片刻的安宁。 显然，这和我们的祖先从日常俗事中寻求解脱是一回事儿。

9 世界上多数国家在日常生活中采用格列高利历，中国也是如此。 所以这个历法中的节日和特殊事件注定会影响到我们。 而我们，和许多南亚、东南亚、中东，或许还有一些美国土著居民一样，根据阴历来过节，而这又完全是另外一回事儿了。

10 对于西方的节日气氛无动于衷，这我们做不到，但这也并不意味着我们要盲目跟风。 西方文化不全都是好的，但同时，颓废的东西也不是西方文化所独有的。 世界上没有一种文化能免于颓废，中国文化也不例外。

11 所以，问题并不在于西方文化，也不在于那些我们通常和西方文化联系在一起的东西。 问题出在那些唯西方马首是瞻的人身上。 为什么越来越多的中国人，尤其是中国的年轻人，对于西方节日和中国节日一样怡然自得，我们应该找出其中的原因。 好在我们自己的节日并没有失去它们的风采。 而正是因为担心这一点，我们的学者和学生们敲响了警钟。

12 我能够理解这些人的热情。 他们想保护我们的文化，但绝对不能因为这一点就认为他们是我们通常所说的保守派。 他们的观点有一定的道理。 但是在这件事情上，他们和其他人一样，无法使任何社会免受日益变小的世界的影响。

13 所以，我们不应该对西方的节日视而不见、充耳不闻，相反，我们应该取其精华，去实践这些节日所倡导的德行。 我们不要忘了，耶稣诞生于东方（确切地说，是中东），而不是在西方，我们也应该记住他要我们热爱全人类，扶贫助弱。

Day of the Dead

It may seem strange to imagine that a “festival” can celebrate “death”. Nevertheless, that is exactly what happens in Mexico every year on the Day of the Dead. 

On 1 and 2 November families celebrate a reunion with their dead relatives in a unique way. From mid-October onwards, the shops are filled with candies made of sugar in the shape of skulls and other symbols of death which to outsiders may look quite morbid: Papier-mâché skeletons and pan de muerto (“bread of the dead”), a type of cake decorated with bone-shaped candy, are all part of the celebrations.

During the festival, families will visit cemeteries where they clean and decorate the graves of their loved ones. They will bring special food offerings and marigolds, flowers which are thought to guide the souls of the dead to meet them. Candles and incense are also burned and bells may ring through the night. Families stay at the graveside and say prayers for the dead while eating and drinking in a party-like atmosphere.

The origins of this festival go back to the ancient indigenous peoples of Mexico such as the Purépecha, Maya and Aztec. They believed that the souls of the dead returned each year to visit their living relatives – to eat, drink and be merry, just as they did when they were living. Before the arrival of the Spanish in the 15th century, it was common for people to keep skulls, which they saw as symbols of life, not death.

Day of the Dead festivities vary from town to town. Some people build altars in their homes, showing pictures of the dead relatives and Catholic symbols such as crosses and small statues of Jesus surrounded by lots of candles. In other places the town square may be taken over with people dancing in colourful costumes and skull-shaped masks. The Day of the Dead is also an annual spectacle outside Mexico in countries such as the United States, where there are fairly large Mexican communities.

Despite the fact that death is a sad event, the mood is joyful rather than sad, celebrating the continuation of life and the belief that death is just another phase of life, not the end of everything.

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亡灵节

想象一下这个世界上有一个“节日”是庆祝“死亡”的，这似乎有点儿怪。但是在墨西哥，这正是每年的亡灵节里发生的事情。

每年的11月1号和2号这两天，墨西哥家庭会以一种独特的方式来庆祝他们与死去的亲人团聚。从 10月中旬开始，商店里就摆满了骷髅形状的糖果，以及其他一些在外人看来有点病态的象征死亡的东西：用纸板制作的骷髅，还有一种叫 pan de muerto（“亡灵面包”）的甜点，这是一种表面装饰着骷髅状糖果的蛋糕，所有这些都是节日庆祝的重要组成部分。

节日期间，人们会举家前往墓园祭拜亲人，打扫并装饰坟墓。人们带来特殊的祭用食品和金盏花，大家认为金盏花能指引亡灵来和他们相见。夜里，人们点蜡烛，焚香，敲铃铛。一家人守在墓旁，一边为亡灵祈祷，一边像聚会一样吃吃喝喝。

这个节日的起源可以追溯到墨西哥古代的土著人，如普尔皮洽人、马雅人，以及阿兹特克人。他们认为亡灵每年都会回来探访在世的亲人们——就像他们活着的时候一样，来世间吃喝玩乐。15世纪西班牙人到来之前，人们在家里放几个头骨是很平常的事情，因为他们把骷髅当作生命的象征，而不是死亡的象征。

墨西哥各地亡灵节的风俗不尽相同。一些地方的人们在家里搭祭坛，坛上摆放着去世亲人的照片，还有像十字架、耶稣雕像这样天主教的标志，周围再点上一圈蜡烛。在其他地方，城市的广场上人头攒动，人们身着色彩艳丽的服装，戴着骷髅面具，载歌载舞。亡灵节在墨西哥以外的国家，比如美国这样的墨西哥移民数量众多的国家，也是个一年一度的盛事。

尽管死亡是件令人悲伤的事情，亡灵节的气氛却欢快而不忧伤，人们庆祝着生命的延续，相信死亡不过是生命另一个阶段的开始，而并非所有一切的终结。

The modern American holiday of Mother's Day was first celebrated in 1908, when Anna Jarvis held a memorial for her mother in Grafton, West Virginia. Her campaign to make "Mother's Day" a recognized holiday in the US began in 1905, the year her beloved mother died. Due to the efforts of Anna Jarvis, in 1914 Woodrow Wilson signed the proclamation (公告) creating Mother's Day as a national holiday to honour mothers. Although Jarvis was successful in founding Mother's Day, she soon became resentful of its commercialization. By the early 1920s, some companies had started selling Mother's Day cards. Jarvis became so angered by what she saw as misinterpretation and exploitation that she protested against Mother's Day and even tried to remove it from the calendar. The original intention of the holiday was to appreciate and honour mothers by writing a personal letter, by hand, expressing love and gratitude; it wasn't to buy gifts and cards. Jarvis' holiday is now celebrated all over the world. Mother's Day falls on different days depending on the countries where it is celebrated. It is held on the second Sunday of May in many countries, such as Australia, Canada and the United States.

1908年，安娜•贾维斯在西弗吉尼亚州的格拉夫顿市为自己的母亲举行了一个追思会，这是人们第一次庆祝母亲节这个现代美国节日。贾维斯深爱的母亲于1905年去世，从这年开始她就积极开展活动，要让母亲节成为美国的正式节日。经过安娜•贾维斯的努力，1914年伍德罗•威尔逊总统签署公告设立母亲节，使它成为一个向母亲致敬的全国性节日。尽管贾维斯成功地创立了母亲节，但是母亲节的商业化很快就让她感到了不满。到了20世纪20年代初，很多公司开始出售母亲节贺卡，贾维斯对这种在她看来是误解和开发利用母亲节的行为感到痛心，她提出抗议甚至试图要废除母亲节。这个节日的初衷是让大家向母亲表示感谢和敬意，采取的形式应该是写亲笔信传达爱意和感激，而不是通过买礼物和贺卡这样的方式。贾维斯创立的这个节日现在已经是全球性的节日。不同的国家庆祝母亲节的日期有所不同。在很多国家，例如澳大利亚、加拿大和美国，人们庆祝母亲节的日子是五月的第二个星期天。

春节是中国最重要的传统节日。但近年来，很多人都抱怨过年的气氛越来越淡，已经很难感受到记忆中过年的那种美好感觉了。事实上，春节在过去之所以显得重要，是因为只有到了春节人们才能享美食、穿新衣。而随着中国经济的迅速发展，人们的物质生活越来越丰富，人们庆祝春节的方式也发生了一些变化。比如说，越来越多的人选择过年时外出旅游。但无论如何，对于中国人来说，春节的重要性是不可替代的。

The Spring Festival is the most important traditional holiday in China. But in recent years, many people have complained that the celebratory atmosphere of lunar New Year is not as strong as it used to be, and it is hard for them to regain that wonderful feeling in their memories. In fact, in the past, it was only during the Spring Festival that people could enjoy delicious food and wear new clothes. This explains why this holiday was so important to Chinese people. But with the rapid development of the Chinese economy and an increasingly rich material life, the ways in which Chinese people celebrate the Spring Festival have changed. For instance, more and more Chinese people choose to travel during the Spring Festival. Nonetheless, for Chinese people, the Spring Festival plays an irreplaceable role in their culture.