十大奇怪的美國文化傳統(下)

k-or-Treating

5.不給糖就搗亂

Many cultures have strong historic traditions relating to dressing up around the time of Halloween and exchanging various forms of food, but few of these traditions involve children going door-to-door asking for candy with the words: "Trick or treat!" That strange practice is believed to be American in origin, but funny enough, perhaps the people who find this the practice most baffling are the pintsized rookies being paraded around the neighborhood. While at any other time of year their parents forbid them from talking to strangers, begging for candy and roaming the streets at night, all of a sudden they change their tune and support such shenanigans on one magical evening each fall.

很多文化中都有在萬聖節前夕穿盛裝和交換各種食物的歷史傳統，但是很少有習俗會讓孩子們挨家挨戶地要糖，還要不停地說“不給糖就搗亂”。人們普遍認爲這個奇怪的習俗起源於美國本土，但有趣的是，也許對這個習俗感到最爲困惑的恰恰是那些正在鄰居門前遊行的小孩子。父母一年到頭都不許他們和陌生人說話、討要糖果，更別說深更半夜還在街上晃盪，然而卻在每年秋天這個神奇的夜晚突然來個一百八十度大轉彎，轉而鼓勵起這種鬼把戲。

But here's the catch: They only receive these precious goodies by parroting out the magic words "Trick or treat." And heaven forbid the giver of candy requests a "Trick" of these poor confused newbies. But after a few years, they catch on, and trick-or-treating becomes a tradition they couldn't imagine October without.

然而這個惡作劇的關鍵在於，他們只有鸚鵡學舌般不斷重複“不給糖就搗亂”這一咒語，才能獲得這些寶貴的美食。但願不會有大人拒絕給糖，卻要求這些困惑的新手“搗亂”。但是過幾年，他們就會明白了，而“不給糖就搗亂”也成了他們在十月不可或缺的傳統。

idential Turkey Pardons

4.總統赦免火雞

Thanksgiving in general seems to mystify those not steeped in American traditions, but perhaps no part of that quirky turkey fest seems more bizarre than the annual ceremony during which modern presidents grant an official pardon to a live turkey presented to them by the National Turkey Federation (NTF). Interestingly, there's also been a great deal of confusion among Americans concerning the actual origins of this strange tradition. Although the NTF has been gifting presidents with turkeys annually since 1947, the whole idea of "pardoning" them by sparing them from the stove didn't occur until years later, and even then, when it did occasionally happen, it certainly wasn't with anything as grandiose as a declaration of an official presidential pardon. The first bird to receive a formal stay of execution in the mode of an expressly stated "presidential pardon" wasn't delivered to the Rose Garden until 1989, when then-President George H. W. Bush started this act of official benevolence that's now become an annual American tradition.

對那些不熱衷於美國傳統節日的人來說，感恩節似乎會讓他們感到困惑。但在這場奇怪的火雞盛會中，最令人費解的莫過於每年總統都會赦免一隻由國家火雞聯盟贈送的火雞。有趣的是，美國人自己也搞不懂這個奇怪的傳統到底從何而來。自1947年起，國家火雞聯盟每年向總統贈送感恩節火雞，但多年後，肯尼迪總統才首次赦免火雞，讓它們免遭爐竈之火。不過此次赦免事出偶然，遠非美國官方的“總統特赦”。直到1989年，總統喬治·布什纔在玫瑰園正式舉辦了首次“赦免火雞儀式”，之後“總統赦免火雞”便成了美國的一個傳統。

k Friday Shopping Sprees

3.黑色星期五購物狂潮

Just hours after millions of unpardoned turkeys are devoured in the United States on Thanksgiving each year, armies of shoppers head out to get a start on their annual Christmas gift list. Black Friday sales traditionally launch this national weekend shopping bonanza, which wraps up on Cyber Monday, a more recently minted tradition that's grown in popularity with the rise of online shopping.

每年感恩節當天，都會有數百萬未遇大赦的火雞成爲美國人的盤中餐，而幾小時後，購物大軍就會着手採購聖誕禮物。週末購物狂潮從黑色星期五開始，到網絡星期一結束。（網絡星期一是因網購而新興不久的網絡購物節）

In 2010, the National Retail Federation conducted a survey, and estimated that more than 200 million shoppers went online and to stores around the nation during the weekend after Thanksgiving, with 106 million Americans planning to make purchases online come the following Monday. Most of those shopping on Black Friday arrive at a civilized time, but many diehards take the tradition a step further and start the day at a gruelingly early hour. In rare cases, riots or deadly stampedes have even broken out among shoppers slavering to get a certain deal or a particular product.

2010年，美國零售聯合會的一項調查顯示，在感恩節後，全美大約有超過2億顧客網購或到實體店購物，其中有1.06億美國人打算在感恩節後第一個星期一網購。黑色星期五的購物時間迎合了大部分國民的需求，但也有些頑固分子早早地就衝到商場排隊，讓人筋疲力盡。其中不乏想要購買大量或特定商品的瘋狂購物者，偶爾甚至會發生暴亂或嚴重的踩踏事件。

ndhog Day Prognosticating

2.土撥鼠日之時令預測

Leave it to Americans to make their warm weather travel plans based on the machinations of a reticent rodent. Each year, groundhogs around the country -- but most notably Punxsutawney Phil of Punxsutawney, Penn. -- are paraded out to predict how many more weeks will transpire before spring is on the way.

你可能不會相信，美國人竟會根據一隻土撥鼠的“小把戲”來制定春遊計劃。每年土撥鼠日這一天，美國的土撥鼠都會從洞穴裏出來，“預測”春天還有多久到來，其中最著名的是來自賓夕法尼亞州旁蘇託尼小鎮的土撥鼠費爾。

It's either six more weeks of winter, or an early spring, depending upon whether the little critter in question sees his shadow or not. This tradition has been going on since the 1800s, despite (ahem) modest advances in weather prediction since that time. And speaking of measuring stuff by strange means, we've got one last weird American tradition for you on the last page.

春天會提早到來，或是冬天仍要持續六個星期，這得看小傢伙能不能看到它的影子。雖說幾百年來人類預測天氣的技術穩步發展，但土撥鼠預報時令的傳統從19世紀一直沿襲至今。

es, Teaspoons and a Ton of Bricks

1.英寸、茶勺和一噸磚頭

It's perfectly acceptable to use the metric system in the United States -- Congress originally authorized it in 1866 and has repeated those sentiments in the years since -- but tradition tells a whole other tale. Although the government now requires metric use in some public sectors and strongly encourages it in many private industries, the American public never really took to the system and largely dismissed it, making the United States the only industrialized nation where that's the case.

公制度量單位完全可以在美國通行——1866年美國國會首次批准使用公制單位，之後也多次推行公制——但我們所知的美國傳統並非如此。儘管當今政府要求一些公共部門使用公制，也一直鼓勵私營企業採用公制單位，但大部分民衆並沒有把公制系統當回事，相反地總是忽略它的存在。在這方面，美國確實是工業國家的一個特例。

In an effort to move the matter along, Congress even passed a Metric Conversion Act of 1975 and set up a U.S. Metric Board to take care of all the planning for the desired transition, but they apparently didn't empower the board with enough authority, and the American people essentially said, "meh" to adopting metric and continued on with their miles, pounds, ounces and all the rest. Similarly lackluster efforts since then have done little to get Americans to change their ways.

1975年，爲了推行公制度量單位，美國國會通過了《公制轉換法案》，併成立了美國公制委員會，專門負責公制單位轉換。但顯然，這個委員會還不夠權威，公衆打心底裏對公制單位嗤之以鼻，依舊若無其事地使用英里、磅、盎司等傳統單位。雖然政府一直努力推行公制單位，但收效甚微。

審校：瑤瑤Yvonne 來源：前十網