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‘Bank’ holidays 银行假日
Many public holidays in Britain are known as ‘bank’ holidays – so called because these are holidays on which banks are legally closed. Most fall on a Monday.
英国有很多所谓的“银行”假日—这是因为这些节日银行通常停止营业。大多数是星期一。
In England and Wales there are six bank holidays: New Year’s Day, Easter Monday, May Day (not necessarily 1 May), Spring and Late Summer Holidays at the end of May and August respectively, and Boxing Day. There are also two common law holidays on Good Friday and Christmas Eve.
英格兰和威尔士有6个银行假日：新年，复活节星期一，劳动节（不一定是5月1日），五月底的春假，八月底的夏假，圣诞节和圣诞节次日等。还有两个习惯法假日：耶稣受难节和圣诞节前夕。
In Scotland there are nine public holidays: New Year’s Day, 2 January, Good Friday, Easter Monday, May Day (not necessarily 1 May), Spring and Summer Holidays at the end of May and the beginning of August respectively, Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
苏格兰有九个公众假日：新年，2月2日，耶稣受难节，复活节后的星期一，劳动节（不一定是5月1日）、五月底的春假和八月初的夏假，圣诞节和圣诞节次日。
In Northern Ireland there are seven bank holidays: New Year’s Day, St Patrick’s Day (17 March), Easter Monday, May Day (not necessarily 1 May), Spring and Late Summer Holidays at the end of May and August respectively, and Boxing Day. There are also two common law holidays on Good Friday and Christmas Day and a public holiday on the anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne (12 July).
北爱尔兰有七个银行假日：新年，圣派趣克节（3月17日），复活节后的星期一，劳动节（不一定是5月1日），五月底的春假和八月的夏假，圣诞节次日等。还有两个习惯法假日耶稣受难节和圣诞节和一个公众假日拜恩战役纪念日（7月12日）。
There are holidays in lieu of those public holidays which fall at weekends. Shops, museums and other public attractions, such as historic houses and sports centres, may close on certain public holidays, particularly Christmas Day.
在某些地方，上述的公众假日定在周末。商店，博物馆和其它公共景点譬如历史建筑和体育中心可能会在某些公众假日特别是在圣诞节停止对外开放。
BOXING DAY圣诞节次日
Boxing Day (26 December) is so-called because it’s a time when tradespeople receive a ‘Christmas Box’ – some money in appreciation of the work they have carried out all year.
圣诞节次日之所以被称作Boxing Day（12月26日）是因为那一天从事商业活动的人会收到一个“圣诞节盒子”—里面有一些钱，用以嘉奖他们一年的工作。
Traditionally a time for visiting family and friends and indulging in more feasting. Boxing Day is a popular day for football matches and other sporting fixtures.
传统上，人们在圣诞节次日探亲访友，大吃大喝。这天还是足球比赛和其它体育比赛的理想时刻。
The day is a public holiday, so shops and banks are closed. More recently, some shops have broken with tradition and now open on Boxing Day to encourage shoppers who can’t wait to spend their Christmas money。
圣诞节次日是一个公众假期，因此商店和银行都停止营业。近年来，一些商店打破传统，在圣诞节次日也不休息来鼓励那些迫不及待要花光圣诞节钱的购物者。
NEW YEAR新年
New Year is often launched with a party –either at home with family and friends or a gathering in the local pubs and clubs. Merrymaking begins on New Year’s Eve and builds up to midnight. The stroke of midnight is the cue for much cheering, hooting, whistling, kissing and the drinking of toasts.
新年经常始于晚会—或者在家与家人或朋友一起，或者在当地酒吧和夜总会聚头。尽情欢乐在新年前夕开始，持续到午夜。午夜的报时声是欢呼、叫嚷、口哨、拥吻和干杯的前奏。
Tradition has it that the first person over the threshold on New Year’s Day will dictate the luck brought to the household in the coming year. This is known as First Footing. At midnight on 31 December, particularly in Scotland and northern England, ‘first footers’ (traditionally a tall, dark, good-looking man) step over the threshold bring the New Year’s Luck.. The first footer usually brings a piece of coal, a loaf and a bottle of whisky. On entering he must place the fuel on the fire, put the loaf on the table and pour a glass for the head of the house, all normally without speaking or being spoken to until he wishes everyone ‘A Happy New Year’. He must, of course, enter by the front door and leave by the back.
根据传统，第一个在新年跨过门槛的人决定了新的一年带进家庭的运气。这被称作“第一步”。在12月31日午夜，特别是在苏格兰和英格兰北部，“第一步者”（惯例是一个高大，皮肤黝黑，好看的男性）跨过门槛，带来新年运气。“第一步者”通常会拿着一块媒，一条面包和一瓶威士忌。进去的时候他必须把煤放进火堆，把面包放在桌面，把一杯酒倒在房顶，这期间通常他不说话，别人也不和他说话，直到他对每个人都说了一句“新年快乐”。当然，他必须得从前门进，后门出。
In Wales the back door is opened to release the Old Year at the first stroke of midnight. It is then locked up to ‘keep the luck in’ and at the last stroke the New Year is let in at the front door.
在威尔士，当午夜的钟声一响，人们就敞开后门，放走旧年。而后把它关紧，留住好运。钟声一结束，新年就从前门被迎进来。
In Scotland the New Year remains the greatest of all annual festivals. Called ‘Hogmanay’ (a word whose meaning has never been satisfactorily established), it’s marked by an evening of drinking and merrymaking, culminating at the stroke of midnight when huge gatherings of people at Edinburgh’s Tron Kirk and Glasgow’s George Square greet the New Year by linking arms and singing ‘Auld Lang Syne’.
在苏格兰，新年是所有节日中最隆重的，被称作“Hogmanay”(关于此词的意思，还没有一个令人满意的诠释)。当晚，人们喝酒，寻欢作乐，在午夜的钟声敲响时庆祝达到高潮，聚集在爱丁堡的丘克广场和格拉斯哥乔治广场的庞大人群互道新年，手臂搭在一起，唱着“友谊地久天长”。
HALLOWEEN万圣节前夕
Halloween(31 October) is also known as “All Saints’ Day”. Halloween and its associations with witches and ghosts derive from the Celtic Old Year’s Night - the night of all witches, when spirits were said to walk the earth. Witches and supernatural beings are still remembered all over Britain, when bands of children roam the streets in ghoulish costumes, carrying Halloween lanterns (named as Jack-O’-Lantern)– pumpkins hollowed out with a ghostly face cut into one side, which glows when a candle is placed inside.
Halloween(10月31日)又叫“All Saints’ Day”. 万圣节及它与女巫、鬼魂的联系来源于凯尔特的旧年夜—一个属于女巫的夜晚，期间据说所有的鬼魂都会来地面行走。女巫和超自然生物至今在整个英国也没有被遗忘，成群的小孩穿着鬼魂的服装，提着南瓜灯（杰克灯）----挖空的南瓜一面刻着一张鬼的脸，里面点上蜡烛时红彤彤的。
In recent years the custom of ‘trick or treating’ has gained in popularity. Although we commonly associate this practice with America, the custom originated in England as ‘Mischief Night’ when children declared one ‘lawless night’ of unpunished pranks (usually May Day eve or Halloween).
近年来“捣蛋还是款待”的风俗非常流行。尽管我们一般把这个风俗和美国联系起来，它在英国是作为一个“恶作剧夜”出现的，孩子们拥有一个不会因为恶作剧而受到惩罚“无律之夜”（通常是劳动节前夕或者是在万圣节）。
What is Guy Fawkes Night? 什么是盖伊·福克斯之夜？
In 1605 Guy Fawkes, a Roman Catholic, and his fellow conspirators attempted to blow up King James I and the Houses of Parliament, as they disagreed with the King’s Protestant policies. They succeeded in storing some 30 barrels of gunpowder in a cellar under the Houses of Parliament, but before Parliament opened on 5 November the ‘gunpowder plot’, as it has come to be known, was discovered. Guy Fawkes and his colleagues were executed for treason.
1605年，一位罗马天主教徒盖伊·福克斯和他的同谋反对国王詹姆士一世的新教徒政策，企图炸毁国王和议会大厦。他们成功地把30桶黑火药运进了议会大厦的地窖，但是在议会开会前的11月5日，这个后世所知的“黑火药阴谋”被发现了。盖伊·福克斯和他的同党以叛国罪被处死。
Since then, the 5th November has been celebrated in England by the burning of stuffed figures of Guy Fawkes on bonfires, usually accompanied by a firework display. These may be large organised event open to members of the public, or smaller, private gatherings of family and friends held in people’s gardens.
‘Guy Fawkes Night’ is also known as ‘Bonfire Night’ or ‘Firework Night’. In the days leading up to 5th November children traditionally take their home-made Guys out onto the streets of their town or village and ask passers-by for ‘a penny for the Guy’. This money is supposedly used as a contribution towards their fireworks.
此后，英格兰人在11月5日进行庆祝，生起篝火，焚盖伊·福克斯的人像并观看焰火表演。这些可以是对公众开放的大型活动，也可能是小型的家人朋友在花园举行的聚会。盖伊·福克斯之夜也叫“篝火夜”或者“焰火夜”。在节前，孩子们通常会把家庭制作的盖伊拿到镇上或是村庄的街道上，向行人要“给盖伊的便士”。要到的钱一般是用来买焰火。
EASTER EGGS复活节鸡蛋
Easter day is named after the Saxon goddess of spring, Eostre, whose feast took place at the spring equinox. Easter is now the spring festival of the Christian church, commemorating the resurrection of Jesus. It falls on a Sunday between 22 March and 25 April, according to the church calendar.
复活节的名字来源于撒克逊人的春之女神的名字Eostre, 人们在在春分时节为她进行庆祝。今天复活节是基督教的春天节日，纪念耶酥的复活。根据教堂历，复活节是在3月22日与4月25日之间的某个星期天。
Traditionally Easter eggs, dyed and decorated or made of chocolate, are given as presents symbolising new life and the coming of spring.
人们习惯互相赠送复活节鸡蛋。这些染色的，以巧克力装饰或者用巧克力做的鸡蛋象征着新的生命和春天的来临。
Egg rolling competitions take place in northern Britain on Easter Monday; hard-boiled eggs are rolled down a slope, with the winner being – according to local preference – the one which rolls the furthest, survives the most rolls, or is successfully aimed between two pegs! The best-publicised event takes place at Avenham Park in Preston, Lancashire.
英国北部有在复活节后的星期一滚鸡蛋比赛的习俗。人们把煮熟的鸡蛋滚下山坡，赢的人—--根据当地习惯—--是滚得最远，最后留存的鸡蛋最多，或者是瞄准最佳，成功把鸡蛋滚过两桩之间的人！最大型的滚鸡蛋比赛在兰开夏郡的普雷斯顿的阿文汉公园举行。
In some families, the breakfast eggs on Easter Sunday morning are boiled in several pans, each containing a different vegetable dye, so that when they are served the shells are no longer white or pale brown in colour, but yellow or pink, blue or green. The dyes do not penetrate the shell of course.
某些家庭在复活节早晨用不同的锅煮早餐鸡蛋，每个锅装着不同的植物染料，这样当蛋煮好时，白色的或棕色的蛋壳变成了黄色、粉红、蓝色或是绿色的了。而染料当然没有穿透蛋壳。
Easter parades are also part of the Easter tradition, with those taking part wearing Easter bonnets, traditionally decorated with spring flowers and ribbons.
复活节游行也是复活节的传统之一，游行者头戴无边帽或礼帽，帽子上照例有春花和丝带的装饰。
MERRY CHRISTMAS 圣诞快乐
In Britain, Christmas Day is normally spent at home, with the family, and it is regarded as a celebration of the family and its continuity. Preparations start well in advance, with the sending of Christmas cards and the setting up of a decorated Christmas tree in a prominent place in the home. Although it is now a firmly established tradition, the Christmas tree was first popularised by Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert, who introduced the custom from his native Germany in 1840.
英国人一般在家和家人一起过圣诞节。圣诞节被认为是一个庆祝家庭及其延续的节日。人们老早就做好准备，寄圣诞贺卡，在家里的显眼位置摆放装饰圣诞树。装饰圣诞树如今是一项深入人心的传统，此风俗是由维多利亚女王的丈夫阿尔伯特伯爵推广起来的。他在1840年从他的故乡德国引进了这个习俗。
Some houses are decorated with evergreens (plants which do not lose their leaves in winter); a wreath of holly on the front door and garlands of holly, ivy and fir indoors. Bunches of mistletoe are often hung above doorways – any couple passing underneath must exchange kisses! Traditional food is prepared: sweet mince pies, a rich Christmas cake and the Christmas pudding. Everyone has their own favourite recipe, but they’re all packed full of spices, nuts, dried fruits and brandy.
有些家庭用常青树（冬天不落叶的植物）装饰房子，前们挂上冬青树花环，室内摆上冬青树、常春藤、和枞树花环。门口挂上槲寄生树枝—每一对从下经过的爱人都要接吻！传统食物是：甜肉末馅饼、一个奶油圣诞蛋糕和圣诞布丁。每个人都有自己最钟爱的食物，但是大家都吃胡椒、坚果、干果，喝白兰地酒。
Presents are bought and wrapped, and traditionally placed under the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve. Christmas is both a secular and a religious holiday, and many families like to attend a midnight service at church on Christmas Eve, or celebrate Christmas in church on Christmas morning.
人们一般在圣诞前夕把买来包装好的礼物放在圣诞树底下。圣诞节既是一个世俗节日，又是一个宗教节日。许多家庭在圣诞前夕参加教堂的午夜活动，或者在圣诞节早晨去教堂庆祝圣诞节。
The excitement begins for children on Christmas Eve, when they hang up their stockings (an old sock, or more ambitiously, pillowcases) around the fireplace or at the foot of the bed for Father Christmas to fill with presents. The English Father Christmas or Santa Claus is first recorded in his traditional red and white outfit in a woodcut of 1653, but the story of Santa arriving in his reindeer-drawn sleight and descending down the chimney to fill children’s stockings with presents derives from the USA.
对儿童来说，欢乐始于圣诞前夕，届时他们把袜子（一只旧袜子，或者更热切的，一个枕头套）挂在壁炉周围或床脚给圣诞老人装礼物。英国的圣诞老人最早的记载是在1653年的一张木版画上，照例穿着红与白的衣服，但是关于他驾着驯鹿拉的雪橇，爬下烟囱给孩子们的袜子塞满礼物的故事则来自美国。
Practically everyone sits down to a Christmas dinner in the early afternoon of Christmas Day, traditionally roast turkey is served, but some families prefer goose or roast beef. The turkey is followed by the Christmas pudding, brought to the table flaming hot. Brandy is poured over the pudding. The day ends with everyone relaxing, watching television or playing guessing-games like charades.
事实上在圣诞节那天，大家下午很早就开始吃圣诞晚餐了。晚餐一般是烤火鸡，但有些家庭喜欢鹅或烤牛肉。吃过火鸡后就上圣诞布丁，热腾腾的端上餐桌。布丁上面倒上白兰地。最后，大家放松休息，看电视或玩看手势猜字谜之类的游戏。 |
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发表于 2006-6-3 13:34:16