美国国家公共电台 NPR--Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas this weekend

Orthodox Christians² celebrate Christmas this weekend

Transcript³

Friday is Christmas Eve for Orthodox Christians around the world. A member of the Orthodox faith in British Columbia, Canada, talks about her community's holiday traditions.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Today is Christmas Eve, according to the Julian calendar, the one established by Julius Caesar, the Roman leader, before the Gregorian calendar became the standard we know today. A small but significant portion of the world's Christians still follow that calendar, so they will celebrate Christmas tomorrow in countries like Ethiopia and Egypt and Moldova and Russia.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

You might be familiar with what's sometimes called Christmas creep, when - you know, when you hear Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You" the day after Halloween.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU")

MARIAH CAREY: (Singing) I don't want a lot for Christmas. There is just one thing I need.

MART?NEZ: All right, Mimi, we get it. But Barbara Bruce likes that her Christmas season is so drawn⁴ out.

BARBARA BRUCE: You don't get the post-holiday blues⁵ because you're just starting to celebrate it.

INSKEEP: Bruce attends an Orthodox Christian¹ church in British Columbia and runs a blog about her Orthodox Christian faith.

BRUCE: The time before isn't, you know, rushing round, partying, things like that. It's a beautiful time, spiritually, because it actually makes you stand back and - like, where am I going with my life? What am I doing?

MART?NEZ: She says Orthodox Christians typically do a vegan fast for 40 days before starting 12 days of Christmas celebrations on January 7.

BRUCE: We greet each other for 12 days. We say, Christ is born. And the response is, glorify⁶ him.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED CHOIR⁷: (Singing) ...And grant us from him tender compassion⁸.

INSKEEP: Many Orthodox Christians do not give gifts at Christmas. Bruce does, which means, at least in theory, that she can take advantage of post-Christmas sales.

BRUCE: We get asked that quite a bit. But on the bad side of that, everything's always sold out. There's a lot more homemade things that're made. Maybe you're talented making, like, art or baking or something like that.

MART?NEZ: They don't eat their first meal until after the stars come out.

BRUCE: There's a white tablecloth⁹ representing the swaddling clothes of Christ. There's a white pillar candle signifying, of course, Christ being the light of the world. If you have straw available, there's straw put on the tablecloth, and you hope that your young children don't start playing with the fire and the straw.

MART?NEZ: Now, another tradition among Orthodox Christians is that they make sure all the pets in the house have been fed before they eat.

BRUCE: In remembrance of the animals that were at the manger with Christ.

INSKEEP: And what's on the table?

BRUCE: There's usually about 12 Lenten dishes, like going from bitter to sweet, reminding us of where we are in our life and then coming to the sweetness of Christ's birth.

INSKEEP: So when people have eaten, they don't do the dishes right away, instead leaving for church.

BRUCE: There was the flight into Egypt after Christ was an infant and the King Herod was coming to kill the children 2 years and under. So right after we have this quiet meal, we depart to church for the service.

MART?NEZ: That was Barbara Bruce, who is preparing to celebrate Orthodox Christmas tomorrow.

1 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

2 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

3 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

4 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

5 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

6 glorify   

vt.颂扬，赞美，使增光，美化

参考例句：

• Politicians have complained that the media glorify drugs.政治家们抱怨媒体美化毒品。
• We are all committed to serving the Lord and glorifying His name in the best way we know.我们全心全意敬奉上帝，竭尽所能颂扬他的美名。

7 choir   

n.唱诗班，唱诗班的席位，合唱团，舞蹈团；v.合唱

参考例句：

• The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
• The church choir is singing tonight.今晚教堂歌唱队要唱诗。

8 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。

9 tablecloth   

n.桌布，台布

参考例句：

• He sat there ruminating and picking at the tablecloth.他坐在那儿沉思，轻轻地抚弄着桌布。
• She smoothed down a wrinkled tablecloth.她把起皱的桌布熨平了。