中西節日大碰撞
The smiling face of Santa Claus is omnipresent all across China. Local governments are decorating trees and lamp posts with lights and ornaments. At first glance visitors would think they were in Europe.
聖誕老人的笑臉在全國各地隨處可見。各地政府部門也紛紛用彩燈和各種裝飾裝扮着樹木和燈柱。乍一看上去，遊客們大概會有身在歐洲的錯覺。
Despite the fact that most Chinese are not Christians, Christmas season has become increasingly popular.
儘管事實上，大多數中國人都不是基督教徒，但聖誕節已經越發受到人們的歡迎了。
"If you walked around major Chinese cities 15 years ago, you wouldn`t have seen many signs of Christmas. However, if you were to visit those same Chinese cities again today, you`d be surprised to see signs of Christmas almost everywhere," says Cai Jiming, a professor with Tsinghua University, who has served as an expert in developing China`s holiday schedule.
清華大學教授，國家假日製度改革專家蔡繼明說：“15年前，當你走在中國大城市的街道上，你不會看到什麼聖誕的跡象。但如果你現在再去造訪同樣的城市，你會驚訝地發現遍地都是聖誕的跡象。”
Although Christmas is not a public holiday, many Chinese cities are still getting into the Christmas spirit.
雖然聖誕節並不是公共假期，但中國許多城市都不亦樂乎地慶祝聖誕。
Cai says his e-mail inbox and cell phone have been flooded with messages wishing him a merry Christmas. The greetings have been coming in since the end of November.
蔡教授說聖誕的祝福信息已經塞滿了他的郵箱和手機。自11月末起，就已經開始有人發送聖誕祝福了。
In his view, Christmas seems like a "warm-up" for the truly important month-long Spring Festival, which begins on Feb 3 next year.
在他看來，聖誕節就像是在爲即將於明年2月3號到來的春節做熱身。春節纔是重頭戲，那時的熱鬧會持續一個月。
However, despite the prevalence of Christmas celebrations, for most Chinese, it neither means a religious celebration nor an occasion for family reunions. Instead, it is a time for relaxing with friends, a time to shop, a time to have a party and it is especially a time for romance.
然而，儘管普天同慶聖誕佳節，但對於大多數中國人來說，它既非宗教慶典也不是和家人團聚之日。相反，卻是一個能和朋友一起放鬆、購物、開派對的日子，尤其還有是一個能和戀人共同度過的浪漫節日。
"I expect my boyfriend to take me out on Christmas Eve and I expect a romantic night," says Christine Zhou, 28, a hotel manager in Beijing.
北京某酒店經理，28歲的克里斯汀•周說：“我希望男友能在聖誕夜約我共度一個浪漫之夜。”
"It seems to me that everything associated with Christmas time is romantic."
“對我來說，好像所有跟聖誕節相關的事物都是浪漫的。”
On the streets, rose and chocolate peddlers are vying for their business.
在大街上，小販們爭相叫賣玫瑰和巧克力。Christmas has become another Valentine`s Day, and at the same time, more people feel it is a time to reward themselves with good food and a good time.
聖誕節儼然變成了又一個情人節，同時，更多的人認爲該是犒勞自己的時候了，應當盡情享用美食，歡度美好時光。
However, as more Chinese join in the Christmas celebrations each year, some feel the Western-based festival is harming time-honored traditions.
但隨着每年有越來越多的中國人加入歡慶聖誕的行列，一些人認爲這個西方舶來的節日正在破壞我們歷史悠久的傳統。
They fear that passion toward traditional Chinese holidays, particularly among young people, will slowly fade out.
他們擔心人們，尤其是年輕人，對於中國傳統節日的熱情會逐漸降溫。
But Cai considers it is unnecessary to boycott a Western cultural festival.
不過，蔡教授覺得沒有必要去抵制西方節日。
"All important festivals in different cultures have now developed into universal holidays," he says.
蔡教授稱：“來自不同國家，擁有不同文化背景的重大節日如今已演變成爲全球性的節日。”
"Just like some Europeans celebrate Spring Festival nowadays, it`s no wonder that Chinese celebrate Christmas.”
“就像現在一些歐洲人慶祝春節一樣，中國人慶祝聖誕節也不足爲奇。”
"As a matter of fact, Chinese culture has developed a lot while embracing cultures from others."
“實際上，中國文化在吸收國外舶來文化的過程中，自身也與時俱進。”
