英國的“四”朵國花及來歷
大家知道英國的國花是什麼嗎?英格蘭、蘇格蘭、威爾士、北愛爾蘭都分別有不同的“國花”，本文就帶大家瞭解一下這四朵花及背後的故事。
Each country in Britain has its own floral emblem.
英國的每個地區都有其代表性的花。
England - Rose
英格蘭—玫瑰
The national flower of England is the rose. The flower has been adopted as England's emblem since the time of the wars of the Roses - civil wars (1455-1485) between the royal house of Lancaster (whose emblem was a red rose) and the royal house of York (whose emblem was a white rose).
英格蘭之花爲玫瑰。自紅白玫瑰之戰(1455-1485)即蘭開斯特王朝(其家徽爲紅玫瑰)和約克王朝(其家徽爲白玫瑰)兩個家族之間的內戰起，玫瑰就成爲了英格蘭代表性的花。
Wales –daffodil
威爾士-黃水仙
The national flower of Wales is the daffodil, which is traditionally worn on St. David's Day(聖大衛日). The vegetable called leek(n. 韭蔥)is also considered to be a traditional emblem of Wales.
威爾士之花爲黃水仙。根據威爾士傳統，人們會在聖大衛日這一天穿戴上黃水仙。此外，韭蔥同樣也被視爲威爾士之花。
There are many explanations of how the leek came to be adopted as the national emblem of Wales. One is that St David advised the Welsh, on the eve of battle with the Saxons, to wearleeks in their caps to distinguish friend from foe. As Shakespeare records in Henry V, the Welsh archers wore leeks at the battle of Agincourt in 1415.
對於韭蔥成爲威爾士之花的說法有很多種。其中之一的說法就是，在與撒克遜人交戰前夕，聖大衛建議威爾士士兵在軍帽處別上韭蔥以此區分敵友。根據莎士比亞在《亨利五世》寫道，1415年的阿金庫爾戰役中威爾士士兵穿戴了黃水仙。
Scotland - thistle
蘇格蘭-奶薊草
The national flower of Scotland is the thistle, a prickly-leaved(adj. 葉子多刺的)purple flower which was first used in the 15th century as a symbol of defence. The Scottish Bluebell is also seen as the flower of Scotland.
蘇格蘭之花爲奶薊草，其葉多刺，花瓣爲紫。15世紀時初視爲防禦的象徵。此外，藍鈴花也同樣被視爲蘇格蘭之花。
Northern Ireland –shamrock
北愛爾蘭-苜蓿
The national flower of Northern Ireland is the shamrock, a three-leaved plant similar to clover. An Irish tale tells of how Patrick used the three-leafed shamrock to explain the Trinity(n. 三位一體). He used it in his sermons to represent how the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit could all exist as separate elements of the same entity. His followers adopted the custom of wearing a shamrock on his feast day.
北愛爾蘭之花爲苜蓿，葉爲三瓣，與三葉草似。愛爾蘭一民間傳說講述了帕特里克是如何運用苜蓿來解釋三位一體的。帕特里克在其佈道中借用了苜蓿來講述聖父、聖子與聖靈如何共存於一體。他的信徒因此在聖帕特里克日這一天穿戴苜蓿，形成了傳統。
