何处节日无灯明？Where are there holidays without bright lights?
上个月我曾发博文《愿那灯火的盛宴重新点燃》（https://blog.wenxuecity.com/myblog/80301/202311/22959.html），说的是纽约Bronx区有一户特别的人家，是远近闻名的Christmas Family，从1973年开始，他们的圣诞灯饰和人物模型极为绚丽壮观。然而，由于主人遭遇车祸，灯火于2019年熄灭了，一直没有亮起来。今年年初，主人在告诉媒体，他们打算在今年给人们一个惊喜。
Last month, I wrote a blog post titled "May the Feast of Lights Reignite" (https://blog.wenxuecity.com/myblog/80301/202311/22959.html), talking about a special family in the Bronx, New York, known as the Christmas Family. Since 1973, their Christmas lights and character models have been extremely splendid. However, due to an accident involving the owner, the lights went out in 2019 and have not been lit since. Earlier this year, the owner told the media that they planned to give people a big surprise this year.
几天前的一个晚上，我驱车去了那里。但很遗憾灯没有亮起来。外面只有一些装饰的遗迹。二层的模型也全都不在了。前院围栏里面，像是一个没有完工的工程，凸凹不平。离圣诞只有一周了，这个时候灯应该已经点亮。现在这样的状态，圣诞节前几乎不可能了，虽然我心中还是盼望奇迹的发生。
A few days ago, I drove there in the evening. Unfortunately, the lights were not on. There were only remnants of decorations outside. The second-floor models were all gone. Inside the front yard fence, it looked like an unfinished project, uneven and bumpy. With only a week left until Christmas, the lights should have been on by now. In this state, it's almost impossible before Christmas, although I still hope for a miracle.
当然，观赏纽约节日灯火和圣诞树，还有其他好去处。这其中，与观赏市容、街景融为一体的，首推位于曼哈顿中心地带的洛克菲勒中心（Rockefeller Center）。洛克菲勒中心每年都装饰一棵巨型圣诞树。此前物色圣诞树也是一个有趣的过程。今年这棵树是产于上州Vestal，这是一棵80年树龄的云杉。它于11月9日上午被砍伐，两天后运到200英里以南的目的地。这棵漂亮的圣诞树重12吨，80尺高的，展开后宽43英尺。
Of course, there are other great places to enjoy holiday lights and Christmas trees in New York. Among them, the Rockefeller Center in the heart of Manhattan stands out. Every year, Rockefeller Center decorates a giant Christmas tree. Finding the Christmas tree is an interesting process. This year's tree is from Vestal, upstate New York, an 80-year-old spruce. It was cut down on the morning of November 9th and transported to its destination 200 miles south two days later. This beautiful Christmas tree weighs 12 tons, is 80 feet tall, and has a width of 43 feet when unfolded.
每年，洛克菲勒中心的圣诞树点灯仪式是纽约的一个盛大的活动（今年是在11月29号举行）。典礼时分，这里热闹非凡，有电视直播，数百万人观看仪式和现场的演出。今年的圣诞树上的装饰有5万多个LED灯，电线共有8千米长。此外树顶上还有一颗几百磅重的星星。圣诞树下的溜冰场，也是纽约的冬季一景。此外，洛克菲勒中心附近的街道，也都是一派节日的气氛。
Every year, the lighting ceremony of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is a grand event in New York (this year held on November 29th). During the ceremony, it is lively, with live TV broadcasts and millions of people watching the event and live performances. The decorations on this year's Christmas tree include over 50,000 LED lights, and the wires are 8 kilometers long. In addition, there is a star on top of the tree that weighs several hundred pounds. The ice-skating rink under the Christmas tree is also a winter scene in New York City. Moreover, the streets near Rockefeller Center are filled with a festive atmosphere.
洛克菲勒中心位于于纽约市曼哈顿区第五大道（Fifth Avenue）西侧，是一个由数个摩天大楼组成的集合体，由洛克菲勒家族在1939年独资修建完工。（曼哈顿的街道的称呼习惯 — 南北走向的称为“大道”（avenue），东西走向的称为“街”（street））。第五大道是曼哈顿一条重要的南北向的干道，位于曼哈顿岛的中心地带。第五大道上景点众多，比如由南至北有帝国大厦、洛克菲勒中心、St. Patrick大教堂、特朗普大厦、大都会艺术博物馆等等。洛克菲勒中心在49街的位置。从此处往北去，在第五大道几百米的范围内，聚集了许多著名的品牌商店，是高档购物区。此外还有一些高档酒店。这些建筑本身就比较有艺术特色，加上节日的灯光，值得一看：
Rockefeller Center is located on the west side of Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, New York City, and is a complex of several skyscrapers built with sole funding from the Rockefeller family in 1939. The naming convention for Manhattan's streets is that north-south streets are called "avenues," and east-west streets are called "streets." Fifth Avenue is an important north-south thoroughfare in the center of Manhattan Island. There are many attractions on Fifth Avenue, including the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Trump Tower, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and more as you go from south to north. Rockefeller Center is located at 49th Street. Going north from here, within a few hundred meters on Fifth Avenue, there are many famous brand stores, making it a high-end shopping area. In addition, there are some upscale hotels. The decoration of these stores is exquisite, and the buildings themselves have artistic characteristics, especially with the festive lighting, making them worth seeing:
第五大道是一条繁忙的街道，有一年我选了一个寒冷的日子，晚上九、十点才到，这时候商店打烊了，路上人也稀少，这时候是拍摄橱窗的好时候。
Fifth Avenue is a busy street. One year, I chose a cold day and arrived around 9 or 10 in the evening when the stores were closed, and there were few people on the street. It was a good time to photograph the shop windows.
第五大道上的有些商家的某些窗并不透入室内，而是纯粹的橱窗，内部的装饰和造型很有味道，有些显然有我不知道的背景和内涵。下面是几个例子：
Some windows of certain businesses on Fifth Avenue do not allow views into the interior but are purely display windows. The interior decorations and designs are tasteful, some obviously having background and meaning unknown to me. Here are a few examples:
上面这些，算是节日里“官方”的城市之光。至于“民间”的，还有其他佳处，以后另行介绍。纽约这座城市很难简单几句话说清楚。生活一段时间后，据说大多数人开始喜欢（我不是城里人）。如果只是短暂的几撇，我觉得远景比近景美，夜间比白天漂亮。下面这幅，应该是两者两者都占上了 —
The above can be considered the "official" city lights during the holidays. As for the "folk" aspects, there are other great places, which will be introduced separately later. It's hard to sum up New York City in a few simple sentences. After living here for a while, it is said that most people begin to like it (I don’t live in the city). If only for a short visit, I think the distant view is more beautiful than the close-up, and the night is more beautiful than the day. The following picture should capture both aspects—
【注：除第一张照片外，其他照片均是在过去年份拍摄。】
(Edited from ChatGPT translation. All photos were taken in earlier years except the first one.)
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