2015-12-27

【Aiden in English】

        The holiday season is not over yet. The Washington DC Temple we visited yesterday was hosting a unique performance at 7 o’clock in the evening and it was famous in the area. Accompanied by dazzlingly decorative lights, it’s called the Festival of Lights and a nice way to end out our Christmas celebrations.

        I fell asleep on my way in. So when it was time to get out of the car, I was stunned. It wasn’t every day that you were way up in a light show. The temple seemed untouched except for some lights shining up at the walls, but the main focus was the part we drove in from and the visitor center. Nearly all the trees that were on the road had colorful lights hung on them, and hundreds of people arrived. The holiday performance started hanging out tickets at six, and everyone was rushing for one. We came early and had my mom’s friend wait in line as we took pictures outside. You may know Mr. Jack Yoask’s house of Christmas lights I wrote about in Ambler of PA last year. Well, this might just have it beat. Multi-colored lights decorated the trees towards the front, and the closer it got to the temple, the more golden lights appeared. It seemed as if the temple was somehow purifying the lights like it would for people. While my mom was searching for the perfect scene that included the temple, I looked around for … anything, really. There were just so many lights, trees, Christmas decors, and people. Finally, mom found a spot for the picture, but it was right behind a passageway to the visitor center. And so, with mom’s stubbornness, we stood there for up to ten minutes. Let me tell you if you’re waiting for a horde of people on Christmas to walk past or notice that you’re taking a photo, it doesn’t work. No one even turned their heads in our direction. A couple even took a picture right in front of us, facing another direction. In conclusion, we went inside with a very unsatisfied mom and a tired me.

        The holiday show started with a video of the importance of the birth of Jesus Christ, and how it became a bridge between us and God. Then, with that said and done, came out a family of musicians. The youngest maybe even ranging to three or four, and they played for us some traditional songs like Joy to the World. The idea was to “touch our hearts” using music, as some things cannot be described with words. The performers invited us to sing through the second repeat, which the audience joined in quite enthusiastically. I just hymned the tune, considering I wasn’t the best with the lyrics. But I must say, there were some extremely talented singers in the crowd.

        Whether you’re celebrating under the Christmas tree, in bed, at a party, or in Maryland, it is a time to be happy, and Christmas, if I know one thing, makes people happy.

【紅霞譯文】

        聖誕新年假期尚未結束，昨天我們專程前來參觀建築外景的華盛頓特區摩門教聖殿定於今晚7:00舉行一場別開生面的文藝表演，此項傳統活動早已在當地廣為人知。夜幕下的摩門教堂華彩齊放，一年一度的聖誕慶典也將在燈節中落下帷幕。

        來的路上我昏昏欲睡，因此當邁出汽車時，一下子被眼前氣勢壯觀的場景所驚醒，這可不是你每天想看就能看到的東西，除了燈光投影在牆壁之外，教堂本身依舊保持原貌。最引人注目的地方當屬介於遊客中心與教堂之間的地段，馬路兩旁幾乎所有樹木全部披上節日盛裝，數以百計的民眾紛紛向內進發。下午6:00即開演前一個鐘頭教堂免費發放當晚演出票，因此人人都趕在同一時間抵達這裡。我們來得早，由媽媽的朋友力兒叔叔負責排隊領票，其他的幾位趁早四處轉悠去欣賞外面的夜景。你也許仍然記得去年我曾寫過一篇有關賓州安伯勒小鎮傑克•尤斯克先生家張燈結彩的紀實報道，與教堂相比，那可真是小巫見大巫。華盛頓特區摩門教聖殿周圍一道道彩燈從大樹正面扶搖直上，越靠近教堂，越覺得金光閃亮，突出表現神靈的聖潔以及信徒的虔誠。媽媽仔細尋找風水寶地，試圖把教堂與夜景一併收入她的攝影鏡頭，而我則漫無目標，有什麼看什麼。眼前千燈萬盞高樹林立，鋪天蓋地的聖誕裝飾與川流不息的人群交織成歡樂的海洋，媽媽好不容易鎖定取景角度，可偏巧處在進出遊客中心的交通要道背後，她固執己見，愣要尋機拍照，害得我們陪着罰站苦苦等候達十分鐘之久。要我說，聖誕節期間像這樣繁忙的地段欲求空無一人，哪怕僅有按快門那麼短暫的瞬間，都是白日做夢，過往行人非但顧不得瞧你一眼，而且有對夫婦竟無所顧忌地地背對我們站在鏡頭前面。沒轍兒媽媽泱泱離去，我也拖着疲憊的腳步走進大廳。

        節日慶典開始先播放視頻，重溫耶穌基督誕生的重要性以及祂如何成為我們與上帝之間的橋梁。之後由家庭藝人登台獻藝，其中最年輕的演員可能僅有三、四歲，他們為我們表演的都是一些像“普世歡騰救主下降”之類的傳統曲目，通過音樂旋律來抒發難以用語言表達的情感，藉之打動“觀眾的心田”。末了，演員們還邀請大家一起高歌第二段重唱部分，觀眾個個情緒高昂。我不太熟悉歌詞，只能跟着輕哼小調，但不得不承認，觀眾席上確有相當數量的人極富歌唱天賦。

        無論你在聖誕樹下、床鋪上、聚會中還是馬里蘭州歡度節日，一定少不了幸福滿滿，對之我向來堅信不疑，聖誕節是一個普天同樂的大喜日子。