世界节假日博览 第94期:母亲节

Mother's Day is an important day all around the world, even though it started in North America and Europe. Not all countries celebrate it on the same day, but the most popular day is the second Sunday in May. It is, of course, a day to honour our mothers and make them feel extra special. A punctuation point about the day is that most countries choose the singular possessive “Mother’s Day”, with the apostrophe before the 's’ to show that each family honours their mother, rather than all of the world’s mothers. Young children get especially excited about Mother’s Day and put a lot of effort into making cards and presents for their Mums, or Moms in America. For mothers, it is like having a second birthday.
尽管它起源北美和欧洲，但母亲节在全球享有重要地位。庆祝时间各国并不统一，但多数会在5月的第二个周日庆祝。我们会在这天感恩母亲，让她们感受到特殊对待。关于母亲节的英文符号，多数国家采用单数名词“Mother's Day”，“s”前的单引号想要表达的是，每个家庭感恩自己的母亲，而非全天下的母亲。儿童对母亲节尤为兴奋，在准备礼物和贺卡上煞费苦心。对于母亲来说，母亲节就像是她们的第二个生日。


Mother's Day in the USA, the UK, Canada, Australia, etc. means mothers usually get the day off from housework. It is common for children to cook for their mother so she can have breakfast in bed. She also receives presents, flowers and cards. In America, Mother's Day is the busiest day of the year for restaurants, as children take their Mums to lunch and/or dinner. Americans spend a lot on this day over $2.5 billion on flowers and $70 million on Mother’s Day cards. In Sweden, people buy small plastic flowers and the money raised goes to help needy mothers and their children. Many people are against the idea of Mother’s Day as it is upsetting for children (and adults) who have lost their mother. Spare a thought for them this Mother's Day.
在美国、加拿大、英国以及澳大利亚等国家，母亲通常会在这天摆脱家务烦恼。孩子们通常会给母亲做饭，母亲可以在床上享用早餐。还会收到礼物、鲜花以及贺卡。在母亲节那天，美国餐厅将迎来全年最忙碌日，孩子们会带母亲去餐厅吃午餐或晚餐。这天的消费也很大，鲜花收赢25亿美元，贺卡收赢7000万美元。在瑞典，人们购买小型塑料花，所得收入将捐给需要帮助的母亲和儿童。因该节日会让那些失去母亲的儿童（或成人）不安，许多人抵制母亲节。我们这次也要为他们想想。