又中又英 | Tis the season to be jolly | 褚簡寧

　　It will soon be Christmas. That means ‘tis the season to be jolly. ‘Tis is short for it is. People in the West often say ‘tis the season to be jolly when Christmas and the New Year approach.  To be jolly means to be happy and cheerful. Christmas is the best time of year for me. I have already started my annual ritual of listening to Christmas carols. The word “ritual” used this way means doing something in the same way every time. Drinking English breakfast tea with breakfast is part of my morning ritual. An annual ritual means doing the same thing in the same way every year.

　　I loved the trappings of Christmas when I lived in the US. The word “trappings” means all the things that are part of a particular event or situation. The trappings of Christmas are all the things typical of Christmas. Decorating the Christmas tree, exchanging presents, eating turkey, listening to carols, watching the movie A Christmas Carol based on the novel by Charles Dickens, and hoping for a white Christmas are the trappings of Christmas for me. A white Christmas means snow during Christmas.

　　It is hard to be jolly this Christmas season when the tragic deaths of at least 160 people in the Wang Fuk Court fire are still fresh in the minds of Hong Kong people. As a longtime journalist, I am supposed to be dispassionate (unemotional) when writing about tragic events. But that is impossible for me as a Hong Kong-born. Journalists have feelings too. Experts say it helps to put aside the tragedy without forgetting it and be jolly during Christmas. I think that is good advice.

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　　很快就到聖誕了，意味着這是歡樂的季節（‘tis the season to be jolly）。‘Tis是it is（這是）的簡寫。當聖誕和新年臨近的時候，西方的人就常說‘tis the season to be jolly。To be jolly是指歡樂和愉快。對我來說，聖誕是一年中最美好的時候。我已經開始了我的annual ritual，聽聽聖誕頌歌。Ritual在這裏是指每次都以同樣的方式做某事。早餐時喝英式早餐茶，已是我每早的例行公事（ritual）。Annual ritual則是指每年儀式化地用相同的方式做相同的事。

　　當我住在美國的時候，我喜愛the trappings of Christmas－－trappings是指一個特定活動或處境的從屬物，the trappings of Christmas就是典型聖誕的標誌事物。對我來說，裝飾聖誕樹、交換禮物、吃火雞、聽聖誕頌歌、觀賞由查爾斯．狄更斯小說改編而成的電影《聖誕頌歌》，以及期望有個白色聖誕（white Christmas），全都是the trappings of Christmas。A white Christmas就是聖誕期間下雪。

　　然而，宏福苑大火造成至少160人悲慘離世，這在香港人腦海中記憶猶新，實在很難在這聖誕時節歡樂（jolly）。擔任新聞工作者多年，我要寫一些慘痛的事件時，理應是冷靜、不帶情感的（dispassionate），但身為在香港出生的人，這是不可能的。新聞工作者也有感覺。專家們說，可以將慘劇放在一旁而不忘懷，聖誕期間仍要愉悅（jolly）。我認為這是個好提議。

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Michael Chugani褚簡寧
中譯：七刻