A Letter to Mum and Her Mince Pies

胡杨

When I was a little girl， you and I loved decorating2 the living room and tree. We loved Christmas. After decorating， we would bake cakes. “Make enough mince pies， because Santa likes them，” you would tell me， so we would always make more.

当我还是个小女孩的时候，你和我喜欢装饰客厅和圣诞树。我们喜欢圣诞节。装饰好后，我们会烘焙蛋糕。你会告诉我：“我们要做足够多的百果馅饼，因为圣诞老人喜欢”，所以我们总是会做更多百果馅饼。

After all the baking was finished， wed sit and enjoy the celebrations around us until my bedtime.

在所有的烘焙工作完成后，我们会坐下来一起享受周围的庆祝活动，直到我该睡觉了。

Christmas Eve came and you would take me up to bed and tuck3 me in. I was totally excited at the thought of Santa coming. Id get into my neatly made bed and fall asleep until Christmas morning.

圣诞前夜到了，你会带我上床睡觉，帮我盖好被子。一想到圣诞老人要来，我就兴奋不已。我会躺在整洁的床上，一直睡到圣诞节早上。

I feel so surprised when I wake up. At the bottom of my bed would be loads of presents that Santa had brought during the night. I am so delighted to open the presents. Running downstairs， I would discover that Santa hadnt just stopped in the bedroom： There were also lots of presents around the Christmas tree.

當我醒来时，我感到很惊讶。在我的床底会放满圣诞老人晚上送来的礼物，我很高兴地拆开这些礼物。下楼时，我发现圣诞老人不仅在卧室里送了礼物，圣诞树周围还有很多礼物。

Many years later， the tradition continued and wed bake the mince pies and cakes. The only thing that stopped was the presents at the end of the bed—I grew out of them.

许多年后，这个传统延续了下来，我们会烘焙百果馅饼和蛋糕。唯一停下来的是床尾的礼物——我已经长大了。

One afternoon while baking， we were making extra mince pies as usual when I casually4 said that you really loved them. Then it suddenly hit me that the extra wasnt for Santa. I said， “Those extra mince pies were never for Santa， were they？ They were for you！” You never said a word—a cheeky5 smirk6 was your only reply.

一天下午，我们像往常一样烘焙着百果馅饼，我漫不经心地说你真的很喜欢百果馅饼。然后我突然意识到，额外的百果馅饼不是给圣诞老人的。我说：“那些多的百果馅饼从来就不是给圣诞老人吃的，是吗？是为你准备的！”你一句话也没说——唯一的回答就是厚着脸皮傻笑。

Christmas changed in 1986， when you suffered a serious brain haemorrhage7. It didnt take you straight away. After collapsing on 22 December and suffering8 throughout Christmas， you passed away on the 29 December—and it never seemed the same again.

1986年的圣诞节发生了变化，你得了严重的脑溢血，它并没有马上把你带走。在经历了12月22日的崩溃和整个圣诞节的痛苦之后，你在12月29日去世了——一切似乎再也不一样了。

I start to enjoy Christmas again， and while I dont do the baking any more， I do have mince pies in the house. I leave one out just for you， as if you were still a part of my Christmas. And I make sure I put up the trimmings9 in memory of you， and us.

我又开始享受圣诞节了，虽然不再烘焙蛋糕了，但我家里有百果馅饼。我只留下一个给你，仿佛你仍然是我圣诞节的一部分。我一定要把这些装饰品挂起来，以纪念你和我们。

As Christmas draws closer once again， the decorations are up， and the angel—who Ive named after you—sits in pride of10 place at the top of the tree， and I reflect once more on the past. Then I think： Thanks for the wonderful memories of Christmas， Mum.

随着圣诞节的再次临近，装饰品都挂起来了，我以你的名字命名的天使坐在树顶最显眼的位置上。我再次回想起过去，然后想着：妈妈，谢谢你给我的圣诞节美好回忆。

Notes

1. mince pie（尤指英国传统上于圣诞节食用的）百果馅饼

2. decorate [      ] v. 装饰

3. tuck [      ] vt. 卷起;挤进;用某物舒适地裹住;收拢

4. casually [      ] adv. 漫不经心地

5. cheeky [      ] adj. 无耻的;厚脸皮的

6. smirk [      ] v. 得意地笑，幸灾乐祸地笑，傻笑

7. haemorrhage [      ] n. （大）出血

8. suffer [      ] vt. 遭受;忍受;经历;vi. 遭受，忍受;受痛苦

9. trimming [      ] n. 整理;装饰品

10. in pride of在……最显眼的位置;处于……的顶峰