疫情期間在家過節
For the first time ever, our family in Beijing made “Mrs Claus’” potato dumplings this Christmas.
今年圣誕節，我和我的家人在北京第一次做了“圣誕奶奶”版土豆丸子。
That’s not only because it was a childhood favorite of mine but also to commemorate my grandmother, whom we often likened to Kris Kringle’s wife because of her appearance and jolly character.
不僅僅因為這種食物是我童年的最愛，也是為了紀念我的奶奶，因為她的長相和有趣的性格，我們經常把她比作圣誕老爺爺的妻子。
Santa may not be real. But his wife was my grandma. Really.
圣誕老人可能不是真的。但他的妻子是我的奶奶，這可是真的。
Grandma passed away last year, having lived cheerfully until age 91.
奶奶去年去世了，享年91歲。
Our only regret is that we couldn’t make our annual visit to see her in the United States this summer because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
我們唯一的遺憾是，因為疫情我們沒能在今年夏天按時去美國看望她。
And even if we’d made it to the country, visitors have for some time been forbidden from the nursing home where she lived with Grandpa.
即使我們回到美國，探望者也會在一段時間內被禁止進入她和爺爺住的養老院。
Indeed, COVID changed — if not transformed — the way many of us around the world have celebrated the holidays since its onset. Many people in Beijing, for instance, are opting against traveling outside the municipality during the upcoming Spring Festival holiday, including our family.
事實上，新冠疫情改變了（即使不是徹底顛覆）全世界人們慶祝節日的方式。比如，在即將到來的春節假期，北京的許多人都選擇不去外地旅游，我們一家也是如此。
Many people in my home country and much of the world spent holidays apart from relatives or, at worst, alone, like Grandpa.
在我的祖國以及世界上很多地方，許多人都是在沒有親人陪伴的情況下度過假期，或者，最糟糕的情況是像爺爺一樣獨自度過假期。
I called him on Dec 25 and told him: “Hey Gramps! Just wanted to tell you …” And the whole family burst into song, crooning the seminal carol: “We wish you a merry Christmas! ...”
12月25日，我打電話給他說:“嘿，爺爺!我們想要跟你說……”于是全家人突然唱起那首最經典的圣誕頌歌：“我們祝您圣誕快樂！”
He’d forgotten it was Christmas.
他忘記了那是圣誕節。
While little trick-or-treating took place in the US last Halloween, the international travel restrictions stranded many of the mostly foreign parents who lived in our building and distributed candy to kids in costumes who knocked on their doors.
去年萬圣節，美國幾乎沒有進行任何“不給糖就搗蛋”的活動，但國際旅行的限令讓住在我們這幢樓里的大多數外國父母陷入了困境，他們只能給那些穿著萬圣節服裝來敲門的孩子們分發糖果。
So, we staged a “hide-and-treat” session, in which we stashed sweets in every corner of our home for the kids to find.
所以，我們安排了一個“尋找糖果”的環節，我們把糖果藏在家里的每個角落，讓孩子們去尋找。
We’ve rarely celebrated Thanksgiving as a family since coming to Beijing, aside from attending potlucks organized by friends.
來北京之后，除了朋友組織的聚餐，我們很少一家人一起過感恩節。
In 2020, we felt more grateful than ever and ordered a full traditional feast with such festival foods as turkey, pumpkin pie and cranberry sauce. We usually wouldn’t splurge on such a pricey meal but decided to this year, and invited over a dozen friends to our home to celebrate.
到了2020年，我們滿懷感激之情，點了一頓傳統大餐，有火雞、南瓜派和蔓越莓醬。我們以往不會選擇這么貴的大餐，但今年我們決定這么做，并邀請了十幾位朋友到我們家慶祝。
Gratitude is one of the best lessons from tough times.
感恩是在艱難歲月中學到的最好的一課。
That is, whether they hit you full force personally, as has happened to many people I know back home, or whether you’re largely spared as tragedy rages around you, as we were since China essentially brought the epidemic under control.
也就是說，不管是這些艱難歲月直接帶給你厄運，就像我在家鄉所認識的那些人一樣，還是悲劇在你身邊發生，而你幸免于難，就像我們在中國經歷的一樣，因為中國已經基本控制住了這次疫情。
The hardest part for us since the lockdowns ended has been that we haven’t been able to visit family in the States. We’ve decided to celebrate Christmas during the first summer we can go back.
封鎖結束后，對我們來說最困難的是不能去美國看望我們的家人。我們決定在可以回去的第一個夏天慶祝圣誕節。
Our Christmas in Beijing, however, was the most magical I’ve had since childhood.
然而，我們在北京度過的圣誕節是我童年以來最神奇的一次。
We did the standard stuff. We decorated the tree, left a note with milk and cookies for Santa, cut out paper snowflakes and watched traditional holiday movies.
我們做了是標準的圣誕節該做的事情。我們裝飾圣誕樹，給圣誕老人留下紙條、牛奶和餅干，制作雪花剪紙，還看了傳統的節日電影。
And we bakedpepparkakor spice cookies andkroppkakor pork-stuffed potato-dough dumplings, recipes my Swedish great-grandmother brought to the US, meaning they’ve spanned three continents in roughly as many generations. We don’t know how long they go back in our family.
我們做了姜餅和豬肉土豆丸子，這些食譜是我瑞典的曾祖母帶到美國的，這意味著它們在大約幾代人的時間里跨越了三個大洲。我們都不知道這些習慣在我們家族里存在了多久。
We’ve always made the cookies since coming to China but added thekroppkakorthis year in memory of Grandma, of Mrs Claus — of home.
自來到中國以來，我們經常做餅干，但今年增加了土豆豬肉丸，這是為了紀念我的奶奶，圣誕老奶奶，也是為了紀念我的家鄉。
And Dec 31 marked the first year in many years we’ve celebrated. I typically give New Year’s Eve a miss, since my experiences have mostly been hangovers and unfulfilled resolutions.
12月31日是我們多年來慶祝新年的日子。我總是錯過新年前夜，因為從我的經歷來看，這一天我總是在宿醉的狀態下度過，或者是有一些未完成的新年計劃。
But this year, we spent the night recalling 2020 and expressing hopes for the new year with a bottle of sparkling wine.
但今年，我們在這一晚回憶了2020年，用一瓶起泡酒表達了對新年的希望。
Indeed, 2021 will bring new holidays.
2021會有新的假期。
How we’ll spend them remains to be seen. I hope it’s a year of overdue reunions.
我們將如何度過這些假期還不得而知。但我希望這一年我們將迎來姍姍來遲的團聚。
