Saint Patrick's Day
圣帕特里克节

By Dave Collett
戴夫.克里特著

St. Patrick is the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland. He was born in the fourth century and is famous for bringing Christianity into Ireland. St. Patrick’s Day is a very well known Irish national holiday, which is celebrated not only in Ireland but all around the world. It falls on the 17th of March.
圣帕特里克是爱尔兰的守护神，也是国家的早期基督教传教士。他出生于四世纪，因把基督教带入爱尔兰而闻名。圣帕特里克节是一个很知名的爱尔兰国家假日，不仅爱尔兰，全球各地都会庆祝这个节日。三月十七日即是圣帕特里克节。

History of St. Patrick
圣帕特里克的历史

St. Patrick was born to wealthy parents in the late fourth century. Until the age of 16, he thought of himself as a pagan. He was kidnapped and sold as a slave at this age by Irish marauders. It was during this capture that he turned to God.He managed to escape after being a slave for six years and then studied in a monastery in Gaul for 12 years. This was when he knew that his ‘calling’ was to try and convert all the pagans in Ireland to Christianity.
圣帕特里克出生在四世纪末的一个富有的家庭。在16岁之前，他一直认为自己是异教徒。就在16岁那年，他被爱尔兰的掠夺者拐骗去做奴隶了。就在被拐期间，他开始相信上帝了。做了6年的奴隶之后，他成功逃了出来，并在高卢的修道院里学习了12年。就是在那时候，他知道他的“职业”就是把奴隶所有爱尔兰的异教徒转皈依到基督教。

St. Patrick went around Ireland founding monasteries and successfully converting people to Christianity. The Celtic Druids were very unhappy with him and tried to arrest him several times but he always managed to escape. After 30 years of being a missionary in Ireland, he finally settled down in a place called County Down. He died on the 17th of March, AD 461.
在爱尔兰，圣帕特里克到处寻找修道院，并成功地使得一些人皈依基督教。凯尔特的德鲁伊教员对他很不满，并好几次试图逮捕他，但他总能设法逃脱出来。在爱尔兰做了30年的传教士之后，他最后在一个叫道尔郡的地方定居下来。他死于公元461年的三月十七日。

Legend and Folklore
传奇与民间传说

Shamrocks, leprechauns and the blarney stone are associated with St. Patrick’s Day. Shamrocks are three-leaved clovers found growing in patches on grass. You are thought to be lucky if you find a four-leaved clover, so do keep it if you ever come across one!
三叶草，绿衣老矮人，还有巧言石，这三样东西是和圣帕特里克节联系在一起的。三叶草是长在草坪小块土地上的三个叶片的草。如果你能找到一片四叶草，你将会是很幸运的。所以，如果你偶尔发现了一片四叶草，请一定要保存好。

Leprechauns are little Irish fairies, and they are thought to work as shoe-makers for other fairies. The Irish say that if a leprechaun is caught by a human, he will reveal where he hides his pot of gold. On this day, pictures of shamrocks and leprechauns are hung everywhere. Some people even dress up as leprechauns complete with their big green hats!
绿衣老矮人是爱尔兰的小仙女，而她们是给其他仙女的造鞋匠。爱尔兰人说，如果绿意老矮人被人们抓到了，他就会告知他藏金的地方。在圣帕特里克节这一天，到处都悬挂着三叶草和绿衣老矮人。一些人甚至戴上大大的绿帽子，穿的跟绿衣老矮人一模一样。

The village of Blarney is situated northwest of the Irish city of Cork. Blarney comes from the Irish word ‘An blarna’, meaning the plain. Blarney Castle is a very famous castle in this village and is 90 feet tall. The world famous Blarney Stone is on the top story. It is said that if one kisses this stone, one will be given the gift of eloquence, meaning to have beautiful speaking abilities. Nowadays, the word blarney means the ability to influence and coax with fair words and soft speech without offending.
巧言石的村庄位于爱尔兰西北部的一座叫库克的城市。巧言石来自于爱尔兰语单词“一个布拉玛”，意思是平原。巧言石城堡有80英尺高，是这个村庄的一个著名的城堡。全球闻名的巧言石在巧言石城堡的最顶层。据说，如果一个人能亲吻到这块石头，这个人就会被赋予辩才，也就是说拥有了漂亮的口语能力。现在，巧言石这个词以为只影响他人的能力，哄骗人的甜言蜜语，以及不带冒犯的轻松演讲。

Legend also says that St. Patrick could raise people from the dead. He is well-known for driving the snakes out of Ireland, although many people dispute how true this is! Another great story was how he used the shamrock, with its three leaves, to explain the Holy Trinity (the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost) to his followers.
传说，圣帕特里克能让人起死回生。他以驾驭蛇走出爱尔兰而闻名，虽然很多人都在争论这种传说的真实性。另一个故事是关于圣帕特里克如何用带有三片叶子的三叶草来向他的信徒解释基督教的三圣（圣父，圣子，圣灵）

What Do People Do on St. Patrick’s Day?
人们在圣帕特里克节上会做什么？

St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated world-wide with people dancing and singing in Irish pubs, watching the St. Patrick’s Day parade, drinking ‘green’ beer, wearing green clothes and just generally having a good time. Children in Ireland have a tradition of pinching their friends who don’t wear green on this day!
圣帕特里克节普天同庆，人们在爱尔兰的酒吧里载歌载舞，看着圣帕特里克节的游行，喝着“绿”啤酒，穿着绿衣服，大家都享受着这个节日。爱尔兰的孩子们有一个传统，那就是挖苦那些在圣帕特里克节上不穿绿衣服的朋友们。

Traditional Food and Drink on St. Patrick’s Day
圣帕特里克节上的传统饮食

Bacon and cabbage is what most people have on this day. Another popular dish is Irish soda bread and potato pancakes. Irish pub owners go crazy on this day, putting green food colouring into their beers and traditional Irish Guinness Stout is a sell out in all Irish pubs! People also drink lots of Irish coffee, which is made with warm whiskey, sugar, coffee and topped off with cream. Sounds delicious? It is!
在圣帕特里克节上，大多数人都吃培根和卷心菜。另一道有名的菜就是爱尔兰苏打面包和土豆煎饼。爱尔兰的酒吧老板在这一天会很疯狂，把绿色食物着色剂放入啤酒中，在爱尔兰的所有酒吧里，传统的爱尔兰吉尼斯黑啤酒脱销。人们也会喝很多爱尔兰咖啡，这些咖啡是用温威士忌酒，糖，咖啡和用以封顶的奶沫做成的。听起来似乎很美味哦？确实很美味。

Irish Proverbs
爱尔兰谚语

The Irish have many proverbs but here are some favourites.
爱尔兰人有许多谚语，这几个是他们最喜欢的谚语。

Better the coldness of a friend than the sweetness of an enemy.
朋友的冷漠总好过敌人甜蜜。

Be nice to them on the way up. You might meet them all on the way down.
向上爬时，对遇到的人好点，因为掉下来，你还会遇到他们。

Let your anger set with the sun and not rise again with it.
让你的愤怒随夕阳西下，不再升起来。

Irish Humour
爱尔兰人的幽默

The Irish are famous for their jokes and good nature. Here’s an example:
爱尔兰人以他们笑话和好脾气而闻名。这里有一个例子：

Definition of an Irish husband:
一个爱尔兰丈夫的定义:

He hasn’t kissed his wife in 20 years but he will kill any man who does!
他已经有20年没有亲吻过他老婆了，但谁亲了他老婆，他就会除掉他。

Now that you know almost everything about St. Patrick’s Day, go out on March the 17th and enjoy yourselves! Why not try and spot a leprechaun or two to find your pot of gold…?
既然你了解了几乎所有关于圣帕特里克节的事情，那3月17日就出去好好享受一下这个节日吧。为啥不试着找一两个绿衣老矮人去寻找那金罐呢？

Whatever it may be, don’t forget to wear green on this special day!
无论如何，在这特殊的节日里，可别忘了穿绿衣服哦。