On Wednesday, girls across Sweden took part in an age-old celebration of light. They donned(1) white robes tied with red sashes(2), settled crowns of candles on their heads, and served their families coffee.

　　周三，瑞典女孩子们都要参加古老的"光"仪式。她们身穿白色长袍、腰系红腰带、头顶蜡烛花冠、为家人泡咖啡。

　　Meanwhile, at a white-walled, white-floored cafe in a trendy Stockholm neighborhood, two dozen white-clad Swedes started the day with a more 21st century method of banishing the winter dark ? basking(3) in scientifically simulated daylight.

　　同时，在时尚中心斯德哥尔摩附近的一家白墙白地的咖啡馆中，二十几个身穿白衣的瑞典人正享受二十一世纪科技带来的人造日光浴，用以驱逐冬日的黑暗。

　　Light is a preoccupation(4) in this Nordic nation, and in the rest of Scandinavia(5); and for good reason.

　　在这个北欧国家和其他斯堪的纳维亚地区，光是首要之务。

　　In the north, polar night(6) reigns for much of December. And even in Sweden's south, with up to seven official hours of daylight on the shortest day of the year, the sun is often masked by low clouds and never pushes far past the horizon.

　　十二月份的大多数日子，北部地区都处于极夜。瑞典南部白昼最短的一天日照本应达到七个小时，但由于低云层的缘故，日光几乎不能越过地平线。

　　Swedes equip themselves for the dark. Dog leashes(7), baby carriages and horse blankets glow with reflectors(8) or florescent(9) tape and fabric. Restaurants burn small fires outside.

　　瑞典人为抵抗黑暗作了充分的准备。狗链、婴儿车、马毯不是被贴上反光胶带就是采用花色材料。饭馆前也燃烧起火焰方便路人寻找。

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　　The Lucia Day light festival once appropriately took place on the year's darkest day. According to Folklore(10) expert Bengt af Klintberg, its date is a vestige(11) of the discarded Julian calendar, which set the Winter Solstice(12) on December 13. When Sweden moved to the Gregorian calendar, December 13 stuck.

　　露西娅曾经在一年中最黑暗的日子举行。民俗专家Bengt af Klintberg说，12月13日是废弃的儒略历中的冬至。虽然瑞典人开始采用公历，但是12月13日却被保留了下来。

　　During the celebration, each Swedish town and school chooses a long-haired girl to wear the candlelit crown of Santa Lucia, patron(13) saint of the blind. Lucia is from the Italian for light.

　　在仪式中，每个瑞典小镇和学校选出一名长发女孩，戴上圣露西娅的蜡烛花冠。圣露西娅是抵御黑暗之神，Lucia一词来源于意大利语"光"。

　　Klintberg said the tradition began in the west in the 18th century and spread throughout Sweden.

　　Klintberg说这个传统起源于十八世纪的瑞典西部，后传播到整个国家。

　　"Swedes are very fond of lighting candles in the winter ... because it creates such a fine atmosphere. When you have darkness outside and lights burning on the table, it makes winter cozier(14) than it would be otherwise," he said.

　　他说："瑞典人喜欢在冬天燃蜡烛，因为它能产生美好的氛围。当窗外一片漆黑，屋内桌子上亮着蜡烛，冬天就温暖了很多。"

　　Klintberg said that while the onset(15) of electricity allowed easy illumination(16) in the dark months, electric light did not offer the comfort of candles, or what he called "living light."

　　Klintberg说随着电时代的来临，人们很轻易地在暗月中得到光明，但是电灯并不能产生蜡烛或者我们称之为"活光"带来的舒适感。

　　"Around the mid-20th century, there was an explosion of traditions that have to do with old-time light," he said.

　　他说："二十世纪中期产生了大量与旧时代光相关的传统。"

（CRI ENGLISH）

　　1. don：穿上

　　2. sash：腰带

　　3. bask：晒太阳

　　4. preoccupation：当务之急

　　5. scandinavia：斯堪的纳维亚，北欧一地区，包括挪威、瑞典和丹麦，通常芬兰、冰岛和法罗群岛也包括在这一地区内

　　6. polar night：极夜

　　7. leash：拴狗颈的皮带

　　8. reflector：反射体

　　9. florescent：开花的

　　10. folklore：民俗学、民间传说

　　11. vestige：遗迹

　　12. winter solstice：冬至

　　13. patron：守护神、资助人

　　14. cozy：舒适的、惬意的

　　15. onset：开始、进攻

　　16. illumination：照明

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