A music-filled program looking at how Americans observe the most widely celebrated religious holiday in the United States.让我们在充满音乐的节目里俩看看美国人是怎样过最重要的宗教节日圣诞节的。
Millions of Americans will celebrate Christmas on December twenty-fifth. It is the most widely celebrated religious holiday in the United States. For the past few weeks, Americans have been preparing for Christmas. I'm Bob Doughty. Shirley Griffith and Ray Freeman tell us about American Christmas traditions and music on the VOA Special English program THIS IS AMERICA.数百万美国人在十二月二十五日这天会庆祝圣诞。这是美国最重要的宗教节日。过去几个星期来，美国人一直在准备节日。我是Bob Doughty。 Shirley Griffith and Ray Freeman 将在美国之音的今日美国节目里和大家说说美国圣诞的传统和音乐。
(MUSIC: "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen," the Canadian Brass)
上帝给你平安快乐，加拿大人铜管乐队
VOICE ONE:
| | 
登录/注册后可查看大图
Greg Kaland, a professional Santa Claus, with children at a Christmas toy party on Sunday in Los Angeles' Skid Row area |
| | |
People have been buying gifts to give to family members and friends. They have been filling homes and stores with evergreen trees and bright, colored lights. They have been going to parties and preparing special Christmas foods. Many people think Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. Johnny Mathis thinks so, too.人们一直为家人和朋友买礼物。他们用冬青树和彩灯装点家里和商店。他们参加聚会准备食物。许多人认为圣诞是一年最美好的日子。Johnny Mathis 也这末想。
(MUSIC: "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year")
一年最好的时刻
VOICE TWO:
Many Christians will go to church the night before the holiday or on Christmas Day. They will celebrate Christmas as the birthday of Jesus Christ. Christian ministers will speak about the need for peace and understanding in the world. This is the spiritual message of Christmas. Church services will include traditional religious songs for the holiday.许多基督教徒在节日前夜或圣诞那天去教堂。他们会去庆祝耶稣的诞生日。牧师们会宣讲和平和理解的必要性。这是圣诞的精神所在。教堂里会演奏节日的宗教音乐。
One of the most popular is this one, "Silent Night." Here it is sung by Joan Baez.
最流行的是这首，平安夜。这里是Joan Baez演唱的平安夜。
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
Many other Americans will celebrate Christmas as an important, but non-religious, holiday. To all, however, it is a special day of family, food, and exchanging gifts. 许多美国人重视圣诞，但和宗教无关。但对所有人来说，它是家庭团聚，交换礼物，和美食的特别日子。
Christmas is probably the most special day of the year for children. One thing that makes it special is the popular tradition of Santa Claus. 可能对孩子来说圣诞才是一年里最特别的日子。一个特别的原因是圣诞老人。
Young children believe that Santa Claus is a fat, kind, old man in a red suit with white fur. They believe that -- on the night before Christmas -- he travels through the air in a sleigh pulled by reindeer. He enters each house from the top by sliding down the hole in the fireplace. He leaves gifts for the children under the Christmas tree. 小孩相信圣诞老人是个善良的肥胖的穿着红衣服和白色毛皮大衣的老人。他们相信，在圣诞夜，圣诞老人驾着驯鹿拉着的雪橇从空中飞过。他从壁炉的烟囱进入每家每户。他会把给孩子的礼物留在圣诞树下。
Here, Bruce Springsteen sings about Santa Claus.
这里是Bruce Springsteen 的关于圣诞老人的歌。
(MUSIC: "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town")
圣诞老人进城喽
VOICE TWO:
Americans spend a lot of time and money buying Christmas presents.
美国人花很多钱购买礼物。
VOICE ONE:
Some people object to all this spending. They say it is not the real meaning of Christmas. So, they celebrate in other ways. For example, they make Christmas presents, instead of buying them. Or they volunteer to help serve meals to people who have no homes. Or they give money to organizations that help poor people in the United States and around the world.一些人反对这些花费。他们说这不是圣诞的宗旨。所以他们用其他方式庆祝。比如，他们自己制作礼物而不是去买。或者作志愿者，为那些无家可归的人提供食物。或者捐钱给那些对美国或世界上的穷人提供帮助的组织。
VOICE TWO:
Home and family are the center of the Christmas holiday. For many people, the most enjoyable tradition is buying a Christmas tree and decorating it with lights and beautiful objects. On Christmas Eve or Christmas morning, people gather around the tree to open their presents. 家和家人是圣诞的中心。对许多人来说，最快乐的事就是买棵圣诞树，并用彩灯和漂亮的东西装点它。在圣诞前夜或圣诞一早，人们围在圣诞树前，打开自己的礼物。
Another important Christmas tradition involves food. Families prepare many kinds of holiday foods, especially sweets. They eat these foods on the night before Christmas and on Christmas day.另一个圣诞传统是食物。每个家庭都准备很多种食物，尤其是糖果。他们在圣诞前夜或圣诞节这天吃这些食物。
For many people, Christmas means traveling long distances to be with their families. Peabo Bryson and Roberta Flack sing about this holiday tradition.对许多人来说，圣诞意味着长途旅行回家团聚。Peabo Bryson and Roberta Flack的歌就是关于这个传统的。
(MUSIC: "I'll Be Home for Christmas")
我要回家过圣诞节
VOICE ONE:
Another Christmas tradition is to go caroling. A group of people walks along the street. At each house, they stop and sing a Christmas song, called a carol. Student groups also sing carols at schools and shopping centers. Let us listen to the choir of Trinity Church in Boston sing "Carol of the Bells."另一个圣诞传统是报佳音。一群人沿着大街走。在每所房子前他们停下来唱一首叫报佳音的圣诞歌。一些学生团体也在学校里或购物中心报佳音。让我们听一下波士顿的三一教会的唱诗班演唱的铃儿欢乐颂。
(MUSIC)
VOICE TWO:
Not everyone in the United States celebrates Christmas. Members of the Jewish and Muslim religions, for example, generally do not. Jewish people celebrate the holiday of Hanukkah. And some black Americans observe another holiday, Kwanzaa. Yet many Americans do take part in some of the traditional performances of the season. 不是每个美国人都庆祝圣诞。例如犹太人和穆斯林一般不庆祝圣诞。犹太人庆祝光明节。一些美国黑人过另外的节日，宽札节。然而很多美国人确实参与一些传统演出。
One of the most popular is a story told in dance: "The Nutcracker" ballet. The music was written by Russian composer Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky in eighteen ninety-one. 最流行的一个是一出舞剧。芭蕾舞胡桃夹子。音乐由俄国作曲家Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky 在1891年创作。
VOICE ONE:
The ballet is about a young girl named Clara. Clara is celebrating Christmas with her family and friends. One of her Christmas presents is a little device to open nuts -- a nutcracker. It is shaped like a toy soldier. She dreams that the nutcracker comes to life as a good-looking prince. 这出芭蕾舞剧是关于一个叫Clara的小女孩的。Clara正在和家人和朋友一起庆祝圣诞。有一个圣诞礼物是一个打开坚果的小装置。胡桃夹子。被做成了玩具兵的形状。她梦想着那个胡桃夹子变成一个好看的王子。
Professional dance groups in many American cities perform the ballet at this time of year. They often use students from local ballet schools to dance the part of Clara and the other children in the story. This gives parents a chance to see their children perform.每年这个时候很多美国的专业舞团都会演出这出剧。他们经常让当地的芭蕾学校的学生来演出Clara和故事里的其他小孩。这给了父母们一个机会来看孩子们的表演。
VOICE TWO:
We leave you with "The Waltz of the Flowers" from "The Nutcracker." It is played by the Philadelphia Orchestra, led by Eugene Ormandy最后我们献上一首胡桃夹子中的花的华尔兹，费城管弦乐团演奏，奥曼迪指挥。
[此贴被系统于2008-12-28 7:49:51编辑过]
.jpg)
