Auld Lang Syne

2019/01/29 04:12:32 網誌分類: 生活

29 Jan

         Christmas and the New Year have come and gone. Friends sometimes ask me if I have a favorite festival because of my diverse background. The adjective "diverse" means having a lot of variety. I was born in Hong Kong, my late parents were from northwest India, and I am an American. That is a diverse background. I tell my friends I celebrate Christmas, the New Year, Spring Festival, Diwali, which is the Indian New Year, and Thanksgiving. All festivals have something in common. Western families gather for a big meal on Christmas Day. American families also gather for Thanksgiving.

        　　I look forward to Christmas the most. When I first lived in the US, I often bought a real Christmas tree. I love the scent of real Christmas trees. The word “scent” means a pleasant and natural smell. But it is a hassle to dispose of a real tree after Christmas. The word “hassle” means bothersome or difficult. The expression “dispose of” means to throw away or get rid of.

        　　I love the feel of Chinese New Year in Hong Kong. Every year I go to Victoria Park for the flower fair even though it’s chock-a-block with people, which means full of people. On New Year’s Eve I love to listen to the old Scottish song Auld Lang Syne just before midnight. Auld Lang Syne means “old long since” but in conversational English it means “long, long ago”. The song starts with sad but beautiful lyrics:

        Should old acquaintance be forgot,

        and never brought to mind?

        Should old acquaintance be forgot,

        and old lang syne?

        For auld lang syne, my dear,

        for auld lang syne,

        we'll take a cup of kindness yet,

        for auld lang syne.

        ＊＊＊＊＊

        　　聖誕與新年來了又走了。朋友們有時問我，因着我多樣的（diverse）背景，我有沒有最喜愛的節日？形容詞diverse的意思是多種多樣的。我在香港出生，先父母來自印度西北部，而我則是美國人——這就是我所說的多樣（diverse）背景。我跟我的朋友們說，我會慶祝聖誕、新年、春節、排燈節（就是印度的新年），以及感恩節。全部的節日都有一些共通點：西方家庭會在聖誕節當天相聚，共進大餐；美國家庭也會在感恩節時相聚。

        　　我自己最期待聖誕節。初住美國的時候，我總會買棵真的聖誕樹，我很喜愛真聖誕樹的香味（scent）。Scent 就是宜人的天然香味。然而，聖誕過後要丟棄（dispose of）那棵真聖誕樹，亦相當麻煩（hassle）。Hassle是指煩人的或繁複的。習語dispose of則指丟棄或處理掉。

        　　我喜愛香港農曆新年的氣氛。每一年我都會去維園逛花市，雖然那裏是chock-a-block with people，意即擠滿了人。而在大除夕，我喜愛於午夜快要來臨時聽古老的蘇格蘭民謠《Auld Lang Syne》。 Auld Lang Syne的意思是“old long since”，以日常英語會話來說就是「很久、很久以前」。這首歌以傷感但動人的歌詞開始：

         怎能忘卻故人，心中豈能不懷想？

         怎能忘卻故人，何況是昔日的美好時光？

         為昔日的美好時光，朋友，

         為昔日的美好時光，

         我們且舉杯痛飲，

         共念往昔的美好時光。

        中譯:七刻

        Michael Chugani 褚簡寧

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