中文雜誌館的部落格

ALL+互動英語(互動光碟版) 2月號/2013 第99期網路熱賣

博客來語言學習-英文分類網友最愛書籍

Partying in Chinatown
中國城 普天同慶迎新年
─Sean Russell
2/6
The Chinese New Year is just around the corner. In Chinese communities around the world, families and businesses are getting ready to welcome in the Year of the Snake. In cities with large Chinatowns like San Francisco, Vancouver, and New York, Chinese New Year parades and festivities are among the biggest and best outside of Asia.
Home to one of the largest Chinatowns in the world, San Francisco also has an exciting and elaborate Chinese New Year parade. The event originated in the 1800s during the area’s famous Gold Rush and is now the largest and oldest of its kind.
The San Francisco parade combines elements of the Chinese Lantern Festival with a typical American parade. The parade is famous for its decorative floats and colorful costumes, and its most stunning spectacle is the 200-foot Golden Dragon, manned by a group of 100 puppeteers.
Other highlights include an appearance by Miss Chinatown USA, demonstrations by martial arts groups, and even a Chinese New Year Run, which is a charity event that benefits the local YMCA. Like celebrations all around the world, the climax features hundreds of thousands of exploding firecrackers. Rain or shine, more than a million people show up to participate in the excitement of the parade each year.

農曆新年即將到來。在世界各地的華人社區，家家戶戶及所有商家都在準備迎接蛇年。在舊金山、溫哥華及紐約這些有大型中國城的城市，春節遊行和慶祝活動可說是亞洲之外最盛大且最精采的。
全世界最大的中國城之一就在舊金山，那裡的春節遊行甚為熱鬧華麗。這項活動發源於十九世紀當地著名的淘金熱時期，如今它已成為同類型活動中規模最大、歷史最悠久的遊行。
舊金山的春節遊行結合了元宵節及典型美國遊行的元素。遊行以其裝飾華麗的花車和繽紛多彩的服裝而出名，其中最令人拍案叫絕的場面是一條由一百名舞龍者操縱的兩百英尺長的金龍。
其他精采的部分還包括美國的中國城小姐亮相、武術團表演，以及為贊助當地基督教青年會所舉辦的慈善活動「春節路跑活動」。就像世界各地的慶典一樣，活動的高潮便是燃放數十萬發爆竹。無論天氣好壞，每年都有逾百萬人在這場熱鬧的遊行中共襄盛舉。