了解西方文化的时候，无论是通过网络或者书籍，我们都习惯看中文译本。其实一门语言一旦被翻译，很多意思都会产生偏差，真正想了解一个东西，最好是通过原文来理解。西方节日在中国传播发展，关于西方节日的介绍大家有没有了解呢？下面，一起来看看中英文对照版本的西方节日介绍，是不是跟你所知道的一样呢？
Easter is a time of springtime festivals. In Christian countries Easter is celebrated as the religious holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the son of God. But the celebrations of Easter have many customs and legends that are pagan in origin and have nothing to do with Christianity.
Traditions associated with the festival survive in the Easter rabbit, a symbol of fertility, and in colored Easter eggs, originally painted with bright colors to represent the sunlight of spring, and used in Easter-egg rolling contests or given as gifts.
复活节是春季的节日。在信基督教的国家里，复活节是为纪念基督耶稣的复活而举行的宗教节日。但是复活节有许多习俗和传说的由来都是非宗教的，它们与基督教没有任何关系。与节日密切联系的一些传统有象复活节的野兔，它是作为繁殖生长的象征；还有复活节的彩蛋。最先是被绘以鲜亮的颜色来代表春天的阳光。这些彩蛋还可以用来玩滚彩蛋游戏比赛，或作为小礼物送人。
2、感恩节Thanksgiving
The first American Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621, to commemorate the harvest reaped by the Plymouth Colony after a harsh winter. In that year Governor William Bradford proclaimed a day of thanksgiving. The colonists celebrated it as a traditional English harvest feast, to which they invited the local Wampanoag Indians.
Days of thanksgiving were celebrated throughout the colonies after fall harvests. All thirteen colonies did not, however, celebrate Thanksgiving at the same time until October 1777. George Washington was the first president to declare the holiday, in 1789.
第一个美国人庆贺的感恩节在1621年，为了纪念普利茅斯殖民地的人民在经过一个歉收荒芜的冬季后迎来丰收。在那一年，州长William Bradford宣布那天作为感恩节。殖民者把它当成传统的英国丰收节日来庆贺，在当天，他们还邀请当地的印地安的万泊诺亚格人。感恩的节日延续了整个秋季的收获季节，但其他的十三个殖民地没有庆贺这个节日，直到1777年10月。乔治-华盛顿在1789年宣布把它定为节日，他也是第一位宣布感恩节的总统。
The history of Valentines Day -- and its patron saint -- is shrouded in mystery. But we do know that February has long been a month of romance. St. Valentines Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition.
So, who was Saint Valentine and how did he become associated with this ancient rite? Today, the Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred. One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men -- his crop of potential soldiers. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentines actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death. Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons where they were often beaten and tortured.
According to one legend, Valentine actually sent the first valentine greeting himself. While in prison, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl -- who may have been his jailors daughter -- who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter, which he signed From your Valentine, an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories certainly emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic, and, most importantly, romantic figure. Its no surprise that by the Middle Ages, Valentine was one of the most popular saints in England and France.
情人节的历史充满了神秘，但是我们知道，很久以来，2月就是一个浪漫的月份了。情人节既留有基督教的痕迹，又有古罗马的传统。情人节又称圣瓦伦丁节。关于情人节有好多传说。其中之一是，3世纪的时候，古罗马的皇帝Claudius二世认为独身的男子比有妻子、家庭的男子更善于打仗，于是他宣布婚姻是非法的，这也断绝了士兵的来源。牧师Valentine意识到这条法令的谬误，就公开反对，并且秘密为青年人主持婚礼。Claudius二世知道后就把Valentine处死了。
In the 1900s, Fathers’ Day was created when Sonora Louise Smart Dodd wanted to express her deep appreciation to her own father, William Smart, who was widowed when his wife died at giving birth. Mr. Smart raised his six children on a rural farm in eastern Washington State. When Ms. Dodd was grown she wanted to show her appreciation to her father. So, in 1909, she proposed a day to honor her father in June (the month of her fathers birth).
The very first Fathers Day followed on June 19, 1910 in Spokane, Washington. In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge showed support of this becoming a national holiday. However, it wasnt until 1966 when President Lyndon Johnson officially proclaimed Fathers Day a national holiday to be celebrated on the 3rd Sunday of June.
二十世纪初，苏娜·路易丝·史墨·多德想要向他的父亲威廉·史墨表达敬意，于是产生了父亲节。她父亲在他妻子难产而死以后，就一直鳏居。史墨先生在东华盛顿州的农庄中独力抚养大六个孩子。当多德女士长大成人后，她觉得要向父亲致敬。于是，在1909年她提议在六月里一天向父亲表达敬意。（她父亲在六月生日）。第一个父亲节在1910年6月19日在华盛顿，史布肯庆祝了。1924年，卡文·柯立芝总统表示支持，并将此确立为国家的节日。然而，直到1966年，林顿·约翰逊总统才正式宣布六月的第三个星期天为父亲节，在全国正式地庆祝。
5、母亲节Mothers’ Day
The earliest Mother’s Day celebrations can be traced back to the spring celebrations of ancient Greece in honor of Rhea, the Mother of the Gods. During the 1600s, England celebrated a day called Mothering Sunday. Celebrated on the 4th Sunday of Lent. In the United States Mother’s Day was first suggested in 1872 by Julia Ward Howe as a day dedicated to peace. By 1911 Mothers Day was celebrated in almost every state.
While many countries of the world celebrate their own Mother’s Day at different times throughout the year, there are some countries such as Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia, and Belgium which also celebrate Mother’s Day on the second Sunday of May.
最早的母亲节庆祝可以追溯到古希腊的春天庆典，纪念众神之母尤希。在17世纪，英国在四旬斋的第四个星期天庆祝一个称为“母亲周日”的节日。在美国，母亲节最早在1872年，由朱丽娅·沃得·郝提出，作为一个关注和平的节日。到1911年，几乎所有的州都庆祝母亲节。虽然世界各国的母亲节在不同的时间，很多国家，如丹麦，芬兰，意大利，土耳其，澳大利亚和比利时都在五月的第二个星期天庆祝母亲节。
小结：英文版的介绍比译文更精准，但是前提要英文很熟练，不然也是云里雾里。最好的办法就是中文英文对应着来看，在学习西方节日知识的同时还能再学习一点英语。
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