Anyone bemoaning the loss of the True Meaning of Christmas probably shouldn’t celebrate in China. Here, it’s mostly business as usual on the 25th. Vacation time won’t come until weeks later for China’s own winter holiday: Chinese New Year in mid-February.
當(dāng)圣誕節(jié)成為購(gòu)物季，總有人惋惜圣誕節(jié)失去了真正的意義。12月25日是圣誕節(jié)，是購(gòu)物季，但是在中國(guó)，明年2月中旬的農(nóng)歷新年才是中國(guó)人自己的節(jié)假日。

Santa exists primarily in malls, plus the occasional grocery store or cafe. Some members of the younger generation have started playing Secret Santa, while others have bought artificial trees for their homes and offices.
在中國(guó)，圣誕節(jié)主要體現(xiàn)在購(gòu)物中心、偶爾也能在超市和咖啡館體會(huì)到圣誕節(jié)的氣氛。中國(guó)一些年輕人已經(jīng)開(kāi)始玩起“秘密圣誕老人”的游戲，另一些人買(mǎi)來(lái)人造圣誕樹(shù)，給家里和辦公室增添一些圣誕氛圍。

There is, however, one Christmas tradition that’s distinctly Chinese: Apples.
然而中國(guó)圣誕節(jié)竟有一項(xiàng)特別的“傳統(tǒng)”--買(mǎi)蘋(píng)果。

The Chinese word for apple, pingguo, sounds a lot like the Chinese word for Christmas Eve, ping’an ye, and, as such, a tradition has formed. While Americans shell out wads of US dollars for high-tech presents like iPhones and Xboxes, Chinese friends simply exchange apples.
漢語(yǔ)的蘋(píng)果音同平安夜的平，就因?yàn)榘l(fā)音相同，傳統(tǒng)就這么形成了。美國(guó)人在圣誕節(jié)這天要花大筆錢(qián)購(gòu)置iPhone和Xbox等作為禮物，而中國(guó)人只需要互贈(zèng)蘋(píng)果就行了。

I’m in an over-lit fruit market in Hangzhou. Christmas music—albeit in Mandarin—is playing over the store loudspeakers. Staffers are wearing green aprons and red Santa caps. This is the most Christmas spirit I’ve seen outside Starbucks.
我現(xiàn)在在杭州一家燈火輝煌的水果市場(chǎng)，商店的喇叭里放著普通話(huà)唱的圣誕歌曲，員工們身著綠衣頭戴紅帽，這是我在星巴克之外，見(jiàn)到的對(duì)圣誕精神堅(jiān)持地最好的地方了。

It’s an odd time to grocery shop—Saturday night, just before closing—but the store is full. Santa-capped employees hand bags of fruit to a stream of customers.
其實(shí)在周六晚上、商店即將關(guān)門(mén)的時(shí)候來(lái)逛商店還真是挺奇怪的，不過(guò)里面的人還是滿(mǎn)滿(mǎn)的。戴著圣誕老人帽子的工作人員向如織的顧客遞上一袋袋的水果。

I walk past stacks of tiny, apple-sized boxes. Some boxes are clear, save for the outlines of cute cartoon bears with tiny plastic ears popping up on top. Some boxes proclaim “Merry Christmas!” and “Happy New Year!” in English on their sides. Some apples aren’t in boxes at all, but are rather all tied up in festive pink and purple cellophane.
我走過(guò)成堆的蘋(píng)果大小的小盒子，有的盒子上面什么都沒(méi)有，是個(gè)可愛(ài)小熊的樣子。有些盒子側(cè)面用英文寫(xiě)著“圣誕快樂(lè)”和“新年快樂(lè)”。有些蘋(píng)果干脆沒(méi)有盒子，只是用粉色和紫色的玻璃紙包起來(lái)。

I opt for a more traditional Western package of red and green cardboard and I call over an employee for help. He’s dressed in head-to-toe Santa Claus garb, complete with black boots and a fake beard.
我選了一個(gè)更有西方傳統(tǒng)味道的紅綠硬板紙包裝蘋(píng)果，叫來(lái)全身穿戴圣誕老人服裝腳踏黑靴子戴著假胡子的工作人員幫我處理。

“Merry Christmas!” I say, momentarily forgetting that this particular Kris Kringle might not understand me.
我對(duì)他說(shuō)：“Merry Christmas!”，說(shuō)這話(huà)的時(shí)候我忘了這在中國(guó)，對(duì)方雖然穿成這樣，但有可能聽(tīng)不懂我在說(shuō)什么。

When a friend once told me to bring apples to my first-ever Chinese dinner party, it seemed like a cheap offering until I saw the price: Nearly 70 RMB (over $10) for just a few of them. That’s not unbearably expensive, but the cost is comparable to produce we’d consider exotic in the US.
曾有個(gè)朋友告訴我，如果第一次去中國(guó)人家里做客，最好帶點(diǎn)蘋(píng)果，嗯，聽(tīng)上去好像很便宜，然而看了價(jià)錢(qián)才發(fā)現(xiàn)，幾個(gè)蘋(píng)果竟然要70元。雖然說(shuō)貴得也還能接受，但是幾乎趕上在美國(guó)買(mǎi)進(jìn)口水果的價(jià)錢(qián)了。

Meanwhile, in the fruit market in my neighborhood, a woman in a Santa cap is ringing me up at the cashier.
在收銀臺(tái)，一位頭戴圣誕老人帽子的女士為我結(jié)賬。

“Merry Christmas,” I say, once again forgetting about the language barrier. Then I realize I don’t even know how to say Christmas in Mandarin. Instead, I fall back on my old faithful phrase, one which I hope will evoke what I mean: A big smile and “Xiexie, zaijian.”
我又說(shuō)了一次“Merry Christmas”，又把語(yǔ)言隔閡這茬給忘了。這時(shí)我才想起，我連“Christmas”的漢語(yǔ)都不會(huì)說(shuō)。所以我只好用老一套但是很管用的表達(dá)--笑容滿(mǎn)面地說(shuō)聲：“謝謝，再見(jiàn)?！?/div>