中國的聖誕節流行送蘋果

Anyone bemoaning the loss of the True Meaning of Christmas probably shouldn’t celebrate in China. Here, it’s mostly business as usual on the 25th. Vacation time won’t come until weeks later for China’s own winter holiday: Chinese New Year in mid-February.
當聖誕節成爲購物季，總有人惋惜聖誕節失去了真正的意義。12月25日是聖誕節，是購物季，但是在中國，明年2月中旬的農曆新年纔是中國人自己的節假日。

Santa exists primarily in malls, plus the occasional grocery store or cafe. Some members of the younger generation have started playing Secret Santa, while others have bought artificial trees for their homes and offices.
在中國，聖誕節主要體現在購物中心、偶爾也能在超市和咖啡館體會到聖誕節的氣氛。中國一些年輕人已經開始玩起“祕密聖誕老人”的遊戲，另一些人買來人造聖誕樹，給家裏和辦公室增添一些聖誕氛圍。

There is, however, one Christmas tradition that’s distinctly Chinese: Apples.
然而中國聖誕節竟有一項特別的“傳統”--買蘋果。

The Chinese word for apple, pingguo, sounds a lot like the Chinese word for Christmas Eve, ping’an ye, and, as such, a tradition has formed. While Americans shell out wads of US dollars for high-tech presents like iPhones and Xboxes, Chinese friends simply exchange apples.
漢語的蘋果音同平安夜的平，就因爲發音相同，傳統就這麼形成了。美國人在聖誕節這天要花大筆錢購置iPhone和Xbox等作爲禮物，而中國人只需要互贈蘋果就行了。

I’m in an over-lit fruit market in Hangzhou. Christmas music—albeit in Mandarin—is playing over the store loudspeakers. Staffers are wearing green aprons and red Santa caps. This is the most Christmas spirit I’ve seen outside Starbucks.
我現在在杭州一家燈火輝煌的水果市場，商店的喇叭裏放着普通話唱的聖誕歌曲，員工們身着綠衣頭戴紅帽，這是我在星巴克之外，見到的對聖誕精神堅持地最好的地方了。

It’s an odd time to grocery shop—Saturday night, just before closing—but the store is full. Santa-capped employees hand bags of fruit to a stream of customers.
其實在週六晚上、商店即將關門的時候來逛商店還真是挺奇怪的，不過裏面的人還是滿滿的。戴着聖誕老人帽子的工作人員向如織的顧客遞上一袋袋的水果。

I walk past stacks of tiny, apple-sized boxes. Some boxes are clear, save for the outlines of cute cartoon bears with tiny plastic ears popping up on top. Some boxes proclaim “Merry Christmas!” and “Happy New Year!” in English on their sides. Some apples aren’t in boxes at all, but are rather all tied up in festive pink and purple cellophane.
我走過成堆的蘋果大小的小盒子，有的盒子上面什麼都沒有，是個可愛小熊的樣子。有些盒子側面用英文寫着“聖誕快樂”和“新年快樂”。有些蘋果乾脆沒有盒子，只是用粉色和紫色的玻璃紙包起來。

I opt for a more traditional Western package of red and green cardboard and I call over an employee for help. He’s dressed in head-to-toe Santa Claus garb, complete with black boots and a fake beard.
我選了一個更有西方傳統味道的紅綠硬板紙包裝蘋果，叫來全身穿戴聖誕老人服裝腳踏黑靴子戴着假鬍子的工作人員幫我處理。

“Merry Christmas!” I say, momentarily forgetting that this particular Kris Kringle might not understand me.
我對他說：“Merry Christmas!”，說這話的時候我忘了這在中國，對方雖然穿成這樣，但有可能聽不懂我在說什麼。

When a friend once told me to bring apples to my first-ever Chinese dinner party, it seemed like a cheap offering until I saw the price: Nearly 70 RMB (over $10) for just a few of them. That’s not unbearably expensive, but the cost is comparable to produce we’d consider exotic in the US.
曾有個朋友告訴我，如果第一次去中國人家裏做客，最好帶點蘋果，嗯，聽上去好像很便宜，然而看了價錢才發現，幾個蘋果竟然要70元。雖然說貴得也還能接受，但是幾乎趕上在美國買進口水果的價錢了。

Meanwhile, in the fruit market in my neighborhood, a woman in a Santa cap is ringing me up at the cashier.
在收銀臺，一位頭戴聖誕老人帽子的女士爲我結賬。

“Merry Christmas,” I say, once again forgetting about the language barrier. Then I realize I don’t even know how to say Christmas in Mandarin. Instead, I fall back on my old faithful phrase, one which I hope will evoke what I mean: A big smile and “Xiexie, zaijian.”
我又說了一次“Merry Christmas”，又把語言隔閡這茬給忘了。這時我纔想起，我連“Christmas”的漢語都不會說。所以我只好用老一套但是很管用的表達--笑容滿面地說聲：“謝謝，再見。”