英国女王伊丽莎白二世圣诞致辞：耶稣基督的诞生标志着一个全新的开始

伦敦当地时间12月25日圣诞节下午3点，英国女王伊丽莎白二世按照惯例通过电视直播发表圣诞祝福，这已经是女王第69次的圣诞致辞。今年的圣诞致辞，女王首先致敬了已逝去的丈夫菲利普亲王，并称圣诞故事是主耶稣生命的起点，也标志着一个全新的开始。“祂的教导代代相传，也是我信仰的基石。”

致辞时，女王仍旧戴着她在1947年和菲利普亲王度蜜月时戴过的蓝宝石胸针，据说宝石的颜色象征着爱、纯洁和智慧——与他们女儿眼睛的颜色相似。桌上摆着和菲利普亲王的合照，那是2007年钻石婚纪念日所拍摄的照片。

每年的圣诞致辞女王都是强调家庭的重要性。这次也不例外，女王首先缅怀了丈夫菲利普亲王，并鼓励在疫情中的人们享受圣诞节的传统。家庭中代代相传的重大角色、传统和价值观，这令女王感到幸福和自豪。虽然今年的圣诞节少了一个熟悉的笑声，但是女王仍从孩子们的笑声中回忆并感受节日的美好。

女王称今年迎来的四位家族新成员让大家感悟道“一个孩子降生是一道潜力无限的曙光”，正如基督的降生虽“简单”却“深入人心”。女王说：“圣诞是耶稣生命的起点，他的教导代代相传，也是我信仰的基石。他的出生标志着一个全新的开始。”

女王2021圣诞致辞中英全文：

Although it’s a time of great happiness and good cheer for many, Christmas can be hard for those who have lost loved ones.
This year, especially, I understand why.尽管对许多人来说这是一个非常幸福和欢乐的时刻，但对于那些失去亲人的人来说，圣诞节可能会很艰难。
尤其是今年，我对此深有体会。

But for me, in the months since the death of my beloved Philip, I have drawn great comfort from the warmth and affection of the many tributes to his life and work - from around the country, the Commonwealth and the world.
但对我来说，在我心爱的菲利普去世后的几个月里，我从全国、英联邦和世界各地对他的生活和工作的诸多致敬中得到了极大的安慰。

His sense of service, intellectual curiosity and capacity to squeeze fun out of any situation were all irrepressible.
That mischievous, enquiring twinkle was as bright at the end as when I first set eyes on him.
他的服务意识，求知欲以及在任何情况下汲取快乐的能力永无止尽。他那忽闪忽闪、淘气、好奇的眼神，一如我们初见时那样明亮。

But life, of course, consists of final partings as well as first meetings - and as much as I and my family miss him, I know he would want us to enjoy Christmas.
诚然，生命本来就包含了相遇和离别，我和家人们无比思念着他，我知道他一定希望我们能享受圣诞。

We felt his presence as we, like millions around the world, readied ourselves for Christmas.
当我们像世界各地的数百万人一样，为圣诞节做准备时，我们感受到了他的存在。

While Covid again means we can’t celebrate quite as we may have wished, we can still enjoy the many happy traditions.
虽然新冠疫情让我们不能像我们所期待的那样庆祝，但我们仍然可以享受许多快乐的传统。

Be it the singing of carols - as long as the tune is well known - decorating the tree, giving and receiving presents, or watching a favourite film where we already know the ending, it’s no surprise that families so often treasure their Christmas routines.
唱一曲人尽皆知的圣诞颂歌，装饰着圣诞树，互送礼物，看一部大家早已知道结局的老电影……千家万户都会如此珍惜这些圣诞时光并不足为奇。

We see our own children and their families embrace the roles, traditions and values that mean so much to us, as these are passed from one generation to the next, sometimes being updated for changing times.
I see it in my own family and it is a source of great happiness.
我们看到我们自己的孩子和他们的家人接受着对我们来说意义重大的角色、传统和价值观，因为这些会代代相传，有时会随着时代的变化而更新。
我在自己的家庭中见证着这一点，它是一个巨大幸福的源泉。

Prince Philip was always mindful of this sense of passing the baton.
That’s why he created The Duke of Edinburgh's Award, which offers young people throughout the Commonwealth and beyond the chance of exploration and adventure.
It remains an astonishing success, grounded in his faith in the future.
菲利普亲王一直都很重视这种“接力棒的传递”，这也是他创立爱丁堡公爵奖的初衷，为英联邦各地的年轻人提供探索和冒险的机会。基于他对未来的信心，这个项目取得了巨大的发展和成功。

He was also an early champion of taking seriously our stewardship of the environment, and I am proud beyond words that his pioneering work has been taken on and magnified by our eldest son Charles and his eldest son William -admirably supported by Camilla and Catherine - most recently at the COP climate change summit in Glasgow.
他同时也是最早一批支持环保并身体力行的人。如今，他的工作已经顺利交接到了我们的长子查尔斯和他的长子威廉那里，并在卡米拉和凯特的支持下努力下发扬光大；对此，我感到无比自豪。

Next summer, we look forward to the Commonwealth Games.
The baton is currently travelling the length and breadth of the Commonwealth, heading towards Birmingham, a beacon of hope on its journey.
It will be a chance to celebrate the achievements of athletes and the coming-together of like-minded nations.
明年夏天，我们将迎来英联邦运动会。
火炬正在穿越英联邦国家的各个角落，即将聚首伯明翰。这不仅是庆祝运动员成就的盛会，也是志同道合的国家联合的契机。

And February, just six weeks from now, will see the start of my Platinum Jubilee year, which I hope will be an opportunity for people everywhere to enjoy a sense of togetherness, a chance to give thanks for the enormous changes of the last 70 years - social, scientific and cultural - and also to look ahead with confidence.
还有六周就到明年二月，我的白金禧年就到了。我希望这将是一个让世界各地的人们享受团结感的机会；我也希望借此机会，对这70年来科教文卫方面的变化表示感谢，并充满信心地展望未来。

I am sure someone somewhere today will remark that Christmas is a time for children. It’s an engaging truth, but only half the story.
Perhaps it’s truer to say that Christmas can speak to the child within us all.
Adults, when weighed down with worries, sometimes fail to see the joy in simple things, where children do not.
时至今日，我相信有些人依旧认为圣诞节是小孩子的节日。此话不假，却只说对了一半。
也许，正是圣诞节唤醒了我们心中的那个小孩。背负着各种担忧的成年人，有时候无法向孩子那样，从简单的事情中汲取快乐。
成年人在忧虑重重时，有时看不到简单事物中的快乐，而孩子们则不会如此。

And for me and my family, even with one familiar laugh missing this year, there will be joy in Christmas, as we have the chance to reminisce, and see anew the wonder of the festive season through the eyes of our young children, of whom we were delighted to welcome four more this year.
They teach us all a lesson - just as the Christmas story does - that in the birth of a child, there is a new dawn with endless potential.
对我和我的家人来说，虽然今年的圣诞，少了一个熟悉的笑声，但是我们依旧能从孩子们的眼中回忆并重新感受节日的美好。今年，我们又迎来了四位新成员。
这些孩子们与圣诞故事一样，给我们上了生动的一课：一个孩子降生是一道潜力无限的曙光。

It is this simplicity of the Christmas story that makes it so universally appealing, simple happenings that formed the starting point of the life of Jesus - a man whose teachings have been handed down from generation to generation, and have been the bedrock of my faith.
His birth marked a new beginning.
As the carol says: ‘The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.’
正是圣诞故事的浅显易懂，才让它能够如此深入人心。圣诞是耶稣生命的起点，祂留下的教导代代相传，也是我信仰的基石。
他的出生标志着一个全新的开始。
正如圣诞颂歌唱的那样，“万世所求，万人所望，今宵集中于你。”

I wish you all a very happy Christmas.
我衷心地祝福大家圣诞快乐！