又中又英｜Ups and downs - Michael Chugani 褚简宁

Festivals come once a year, such as Christmas, Easter, and Lunar New Year. People celebrate with family gatherings, special meals, and holidays. But for me festivals are also a time to reflect which, when used this way, means to think deeply about something. I think about the ups and downs of the past twelve months and what is in store for me in the next twelve months. The expression "ups and downs" means a mixture of good and bad things that happen. If something is in store for you, it means it will happen to you in the future. Even though I don't know what's in store for me I like to celebrate festivals.

Every Christmas I listen to Christmas carols, eat turkey, and watch the movie version of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. I sometimes go to church for midnight mass even though I am not religious. During Easter I don't eat meat on Good Friday because that's the day to commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus. I don't eat meat on Diwali, the Indian New Year. During Lunar New Year I like to eat a vegetarian dish made with mushrooms, tofu puffs, vegetables, and other ingredients. It is my favourite Chinese dish but I don't know how to make it! Sometimes my Hong Kong friends make it for me but I haven't eaten it for a long time.

Every Lunar New Year's Eve I go to the Victoria Park flower fair. That is impossible this year. I now live in Manhattan and there are no flower fairs anyway. Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor cancelled them because of Omicron. She has also shut down bars and gyms for several weeks and restaurants after 6pm. The Airport Authority has banned the transit of flight passengers from over 100 countries. This affects many air passengers who want to spend Lunar New Year with their families. Will the Year of the Tiger bring good luck to Hong Kong? Your guess is as good as mine, which means I don't know.
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节庆都是一年一度的，例如圣诞、复活节，以及农历新年。人们会以家庭相聚、特别大餐以及放假来庆祝。但对我来说，节庆也是一个reflect的时候——在这里的意思是去深思、认真地思考。我回想过去十二个月的起跌（ups and downs），而面前的十二个月又会发生（in store for me）甚么事情呢。习语 "ups and downs" 是指人生的浮沉兴衰，掺杂苦与乐。若某事是in store for you，意即在未来将要发生在你身上的事。即使我不知道，等待着我的是个怎样的未来（in store for me），我仍喜欢庆祝节日。

每逢圣诞，我都会听圣诞歌、吃火鸡，以及看查尔斯‧狄更斯《圣诞颂歌》的电影版。我有时也会去教堂参与子夜弥撒，即使我并不信教。在复活节期间，我也不会在耶稣受难日当天吃肉，因为那是纪念耶稣钉十架的日子。我也不会在印度新年排灯节期间吃肉。农历新年时，我也喜欢吃一碟用冬菇、豆卜及其他材料煮成的斋菜，那是我最喜欢的一道中菜，但我却不知道怎样烹制！有时我的香港朋友会为我做这道菜，但我已很久没有吃过了。

每逢年三十晚，我都会去维园花市，但今年就不可能这样做了。我现居曼哈顿，这里怎说也不会有甚么花市；特首林郑月娥亦因为Omicron病毒而取消了花市，她亦已关闭了酒吧和健身室好几个星期，晚上六时后餐厅也没有堂食。机场管理局已禁止超过一百个国家的飞机乘客在香港转机，这大大影响许多想跟家人度岁的飞机乘客。虎年可以为香港带来好运吗？ Your guess is as good as mine——我跟你一样，都不知道呢。
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中译：七刻
Michael Chugani 褚简宁