圣帕特里克节

字幕原文

On March 17th, it can seem the whole world turns Irish. 3月17日，整个世界似乎都变成了爱尔兰人。

"Everyone is Irish on Saint Patrick's Day!" “在圣帕特里克节，每个人都是爱尔兰人！”

Americans like to say. 美国人爱说。

It is a day to wear green, join a parade, and celebrate Irish culture. 这是一个穿绿色衣服、参加游行、庆祝爱尔兰文化的节日。

Green is everywhere — 绿色随处可见——

green is the color of Ireland, a land of green hills 绿色是爱尔兰的颜色，那是一个绿山遍野的国度

and shamrocks, 和三叶草，

the little three-leaf plants you see all over the holiday. 这种小小的三叶植物在整个节日期间随处可见。

People wear green hats, 人们戴着绿帽子，

eat green treats, 吃着绿色的点心，

and in Chicago, they even dye the whole river green. 在芝加哥，他们甚至把整条河都染成了绿色。

The day honors Saint Patrick, who lived long ago. 这一天是为了纪念很久以前的圣帕特里克。

His story is dramatic: 他的故事充满传奇色彩：

as a teenager, 在他十几岁的时候，

he was kidnapped by pirates 他被海盗绑架，

and sold into slavery in Ireland. 并在爱尔兰被卖为奴隶。

Years later, 多年以后，

he returned by choice — 他选择主动返回——

to teach, 为了传教，

and to start schools and churches across the land. 并在那片土地上建立学校和教堂。

Today, few of the green-hatted crowds are thinking about pirates or saints. 今天，戴着绿帽子的人群中，很少有人会去思考海盗或圣人的故事。

But that is how holidays work: 但节日就是如此：

a serious old story, 一个严肃的古老故事，

handed down for centuries, 传承了几个世纪，

slowly turns into a day of music, color, 慢慢地变成了一个充满音乐、色彩的节日，

and joy. 和欢乐的日子。