两首圣诞节的英文诗歌

2024年3月31日发(作者：殷亮)

The Cultivation of Christmas Trees

There are veral attitudes towards Christmas,

Some of which we may disregard:

The social, the torpid, the patently commercial,

The rowdy (the pubs being open till midnight),

And the childish - which is not that of the child

For whom the candle is a star, and the gilded angel

Spreading its wings at the summit of the tree

Is not only a decoration, but an angel.

The child wonders at the Christmas Tree: 
Let him continue in the spirit of wonder 
At the Feast as

an event not accepted as a pretext; 
So that the glittering rapture, the amazement 
Of the

first-remembered Christmas Tree, 
So that the surpris, delight in new posssions 
(Each one

with its peculiar and exciting smell), 
The expectation of the goo or turkey 
And the expected

awe on its appearance,

So that the reverence and the gaiety 
May not be forgotten in later experience, 
In the bored

habituation, the fatigue, the tedium, 
The awareness of death, the consciousness of failure, 
Or in

the piety of the convert 
Which may be tainted with a lf-conceit 
Displeasing to God and

disrespectful to children 
(And here I remember also with gratitude 
, her carol, and her

crown of fire):

So that before the end, the eightieth Christmas 
(By "eightieth" meaning whichever is last) 
The

accumulated memories of annual emotion 
May be concentrated into a great joy 
Which shall be

also a great fear, as on the occasion 
When fear came upon every soul: 
Becau the beginning

shall remind us of the end 
And the first coming of the cond coming.

-, 1954

虽然这首诗与宗教有关，但同时也探讨圣诞对于世俗之人的意义。艾略特开篇就说，人们对待圣诞节有几种态度，有人觉得就是为了社交，有人对它不感冒，有人觉得它太商业化，也有人说它太闹，还有人说它幼稚。艾略特马上说，这种幼稚和孩童的纯真是很不同的。纯真的孩子把蜡烛看成星星，把站在圣诞树顶端伸开双翅的镀金小天使当作真正的天使，而不仅仅是装饰品。诗人自己也渴望回到童年，不是变地幼稚，而是重新获得像孩童般的好奇，为圣诞树上挂着的闪闪发光的小东西着迷，像看到记忆中的第一棵圣诞树那样欣喜若狂，闻到树上各种奇怪而又神奇的味道，期待着不知道今天的大餐是烤鹅还是烤火鸡，又为谜底揭晓感到惊奇不已。

那么为什么要记住关于第一棵圣诞树的回忆呢？艾略特难得乐观地说，当你被无聊的生活惯性左右，当你感到疲乏，厌倦，当你感受到死亡，失意时，那种童年极度欣喜的体验随着时间慢慢淡化，但也不至于在日后的老成世故中被彻底遗忘。

可是现实哪有那么简单，对于西方人来说，过圣诞节也像咱过年一样一年又一年，过来过去还是差不多的老调调。每年不一样的圣诞树，为了环保可能都不用真的松树了，用完了再栽到地里去；往年的装饰品再拿出来摆一摆；程式化的圣诞大餐；买礼品的各种焦虑，收到各

种其实并不是真心想要的礼物；去教堂作礼拜唱颂歌。在一年又一年的消磨中，童年的兴奋劲儿早都消失殆尽。

可艾略特还是很乐观地说，从第一个到你此生最后一个圣诞节的全部零碎回忆加起来，也能汇聚成一个扎实完整的雪球，就像回到诗中第一节中描绘孩子们高高兴兴的情景一样。

在结尾，已经信教的艾略特自然用了基督降临和基督重生的宗教隐喻，但更广义上也指明了俗世中生与死的联系。常青树当然不仅仅指的宗教，栽培的也不仅仅是树。

The Night Before Christmas

‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the hou

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mou;

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;

And mamma in her kerchief, and I in my cap,

Had just ttled our brains for a long winter’s nap,

When out on the lawn there aro such a clatter,

I sprang from the bed to e what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash,

Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow

Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,

But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,

I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.

More rapid than eagles his courrs they came,

And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name:

Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer! and Vixen!

On, Comet! on, Cupid! on, Donder! and Blitzen!

To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!

Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!”

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,

When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky;

So up to the hou-top the courrs they flew,

With the sleigh full of Toys, and St. Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof

The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.

As I drew in my head, and was turning around,

Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dresd all in fur, from his head to his foot,

And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;

A bundle of Toys he had flung on his back,

And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.

His eyes-how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!

His cheeks were like ros, his no like a cherry!

His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,

And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,

And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;

He had a broad face and a little round belly,

That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,

And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of mylf;

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,

Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,

And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,

And laying his finger aside of his no,

And giving a nod, up the chimney he ro;

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,

And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,

“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night.

圣诞前夜

这是圣诞的前夜，整座屋子毫无声响

没有一个人走动，连老鼠也一样

小心翼翼将长袜挂好

满怀着希望盼圣诞老人来到

小孩在被子里暖暖地睡着了

在甜美的梦中吃着糖李子

妈妈裹着围巾，我戴着帽子

我们刚刚从冬季的梦中醒来

草原远处传来了欢笑声

我跳起来想去看个究竟

我闪电般来到窗前

透过窗门向远处看去

月亮在新落下的雪花的怀里

照亮着地上的万物

眼前还有更新奇的东西呈现

一个小雪橇，八只小鹿

还有一位老爷爷，如此清晰，如此之快

我知道那一定是圣诞老人

比鹰还快

他吹着口哨，欢呼着，喊着他们的名字

勇者们，舞者们，絮絮叨叨的女人们

丘比特之剑将射向你们

到门上去，到墙上去

所有一切不幸都统统滚蛋

飓风来之前，干燥的叶子早已飞走

当遇到阻碍，他们飞向了天空

飞向房顶

当雪橇上装满了布娃娃，圣诞老人近了

就在那时，我听到了房顶上的歌唱

每个房顶上都热闹非凡

我收回思绪，向周围看了看

圣诞老人沿着烟囱下来了

他全身都穿着毛皮衣服

他那衣服早已失去了光泽，布满了飞尘和油烟

他从身后拿出一打娃娃

他像一个小贩，打开着他的包裹

他的眼睛是那么明亮，他的酒窝是那么甜美

他的脸颊像玫瑰，他的鼻子像樱桃

他那低低的嘴像在鞠躬

他的胡须像雪花一样洁白

他嘴里叼着一根烟斗

袅袅升起的烟圈给他围上了一个花环

他有一张宽宽的脸和一个圆圆的肚子

当他大笑时，犹如一碗果冻在摇晃

他体态丰满而肥胖，他是一个快乐的老精灵

当我望着他时，我哈哈大笑

他的一个眼神，他的一个摇头

让我知道，没有什么值得我去担忧

他没有说一个字，只是去做他的工作

他装满的所有的长袜，然后拉着车子走了

摸摸鼻子，点点头，爬上了烟囱

他坐着雪橇，吹着口哨

快乐地离去

但我听到了他的声音

圣诞快乐，晚安！