2016-02-13
【Aiden in English】
Chinese Spring Festival has come. It is one best time of the year, arguably better than Christmas. It’s sad that the time has passed now.
Wait a minute, hold your horses! Why is there still a party at China Grace Christian Church of PA? Apparently, because Chinese Lunar New Year was on a Monday, the festivities were pushed back a week. So that means more food, fun, and performances. A church party is an annual event that my family participates in, and it is a wide variety of shows from skits to comedies. This year, even before the performance, I knew it would be better, especially since I wasn’t actually a performer. Well, although it bolds well for me, my friends are pretty salty. I would be too because the kid’s performing has a great time every year. The night began with a legendary dinner, with some of the greatest Chinese food I’ve had in a while. Heaps of fried rice were served in huge trays, and they were followed by assorted meats and vegetables. The final table held cookies, cakes, and Chinese deserts. Loading my plate, I had my fill, as I knew the performance would require a lot of energy to clap.
One thing that I did not enjoy with the auditorium was the temperature this time. I know the highest temperature of the day was 17 degrees in Fahrenheit, but the warmth of the room was too cozy. It was easy to dose off in amateur performances, and it usually led to missing a nicer show. At least there weren’t many performances that got me bored. The age variety kept the audience on their feet, with experienced, aging singers and tiny, sweet voices ringing sound around the vast church. My personal favorite was then my friends went up to perform because it was terrible. Not that it was a bad performance, but that they were my friends and everything they did was bad. That really was the highlight of the night, as my friends and I left for the rest of the show to jeer at their bad singing skills.
Chinese New Year is our Christmas, although instead of presents, we get money which is even better. We go to the church, have delicious food, and most of all, be thankful and have a great time together. Oh, and also jeer at your friends.
【紅霞譯文】
春節好不容易來了，這是一年當中最美好的時光，可以說要比聖誕節過得痛快，如今又眼睜睜地望着它拂袖離去，心裡真不是滋味。
且慢，先別早下結論！為什麼賓州神州基督教會還要舉行春晚聯歡呢？原來中國農曆新年正值周一，因此與之相關的大型慶典活動只好順延至本周末舉行，屆時少不了吃喝玩樂各式音樂會，教堂也將推出一年一度的迎春盛會，從小品到喜劇表演，整套節目豐富多彩，一向備受我家老少追捧。今年本人由於沒有登台任務，所以在開場之前情緒舒緩。是啊，我無事一身輕，而其他朋友卻沒法釋然，對之我深有同感，因為每年肩負演出的同伴必須保持“最佳”狀態。晚會先以極富傳奇色彩的盛宴拉開序幕，我已經很久沒有嘗到諸多珍饈美饌，大盤大盤的炒米飯堆積如山，葷食素菜更是應有盡有，最後一台桌面擺滿桃酥蛋糕中式點心。我選好滿滿一碟子小吃，“身體是革命本錢”，先把肚皮撐飽再說，這樣才能積蓄力氣為後面的演出鼓掌加油。
這回唯有禮堂的溫度讓我難以消受，要知道今天戶外最高氣溫不過17oF／-8oC，而室內卻相當暖和。於是，每逢業餘演員獻藝，我難免昏昏欲睡，弄不好就會錯過精彩節目。好在這種場景不多，觀眾得以鑑賞不同年齡所表現出來的藝術風采，長輩獨具磁性的歌喉與孩童別有甜美的聲音久久迴響在教堂大廳之中。我打心底喜歡哥們上台露怯，並不是說他們表演功底有啥問題，而是我巴不得他們當眾出醜，既然彼此互為朋友，惡作劇堪稱最開心的事情，只要他們唱歌跑調，我肯定抓住小辮子不放，冷嘲熱諷挖苦打擊，無所不用其極，接下來準保叫他們沒好日子過。
其實中國新年就是我們炎黃子孫的聖誕節，雖然沒有禮物相贈，卻有壓歲錢可討，反倒更加實惠。我們來到教堂大塊朵頤，最重要的是大家心存感激共同度過這樣美好的夜晚，哦對了，還包括狠勁拿朋友開涮。
