圣誕精神大展示

By Kirstie Allsopp

Reporter： Its less than three weeks until the big day， but dont worry， Ive got it sorted. Ill be going on a fairy tale trip across the big pond from North Devon to New York.

The Americans rock the holiday season like no other. U.S. giant Coca Cola made famous the iconic image of a fat man in a red and white suit， and New York is the birthplace of the electric fairy light.

In America， they take the holiday season very seriously， and competition is fierce for the best displays. Its not just Manhattan thats lit up like a Christmas tree. New York suburbs are notorious for going crazy for Christmas. So， where better to get inspiration for decoration？ Across the water， on 1）Staten Island， theres one home that outshines them all.

And it is quite extraordinary！ It is…its just…Im just looking around me， and Ive never seen anything like it.

And its the work of just one man. Steve Pancicnis passion for Christmas started in his teens， and hes been collecting both new and vintage animations ever since.

Theres so much to see. How long does it take you to set this all up？

Steve： It took 21 days.

Reporter： Theres a very antique feel to what you do here.

Its not just about the lights…

Steve： Thats correct.

Reporter： …but some of the figures stand out more than others. How much does it cost you？

Steve： Each year is anywhere between…between $10，000 and $15，000.

Reporter： Ten and fifteen thousand dollars！ Wow！

Steves a Christmas icon， with folk coming from far and wide and donating money， which he gives to charity. What does your wife say about all of this？

Steve： Shes OK with it. She doesnt complain about it. You know， weve had our differences， but it works out OK.

Reporter： She must be more understanding than Id be. It costs over two grand just to power the 50，000 lights.

What is it about Christmas that makes you put so much energy and time and money into this？

Steve： I love the look on peoples faces.

Reporter： When they see it.

Steve： Yes. Started out with little two footers， and now， as you can see， the bigger， the better.

Reporter： Are there any neighbours that are anti-the whole thing？

Steve： Absolutely not.

Reporter： None.

Steve： None.

Reporter： Cause it must cause traffic， so…

Steve： It…it causes traffic， but theyre OK with it.

Matter of fact， they help me.

Reporter： Steves collected around 400 animations over 23 years， and he has his favorites.

Steve： I would say， would be the talking 2）reindeer and the talking snowman.

Reporter： That snowman talks to that reindeer？

Steve： That is correct.

Reporter： So where do you get it all？

Steve： Oh， a lot on 3）auction websites.

Reporter： Im truly inspired by the care and attention Steve gives to each of his characters， which he brings out year after year. Hes a real proponent of a genuine Christmas spirit.

記者：離那個(gè)重要的日子只剩下不到三個(gè)星期了，不過(guò)別擔(dān)心，我已把一切安排好了。我會(huì)跨過(guò)大西洋，從英國(guó)的北德文到美國(guó)紐約，進(jìn)行一次童話般的旅行。

美國(guó)人對(duì)圣誕節(jié)狂歡的熱情無(wú)人可比。那個(gè)身穿紅白衣的胖胖圣誕老人是圣誕節(jié)的標(biāo)志性形象，使之廣為人知的正是美國(guó)大公司可口可樂(lè)，而紐約市則是圣誕電光展示的起源地。

在美國(guó)，人們對(duì)圣誕節(jié)這個(gè)節(jié)日可是非常認(rèn)真對(duì)待的，在節(jié)日展示方面的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)異常激烈。在這里，不僅僅是曼哈頓看起來(lái)像一棵點(diǎn)亮的圣誕樹(shù)，紐約郊區(qū)對(duì)圣誕節(jié)展示的瘋狂程度也是出了名的。那么，哪里才是尋找圣誕裝飾靈感的好去處呢？到對(duì)岸的斯塔騰島吧，島上有一個(gè)家庭的圣誕展示足以讓所有人的展示失色。

這一切太不同尋常了。這……這真是……我正在看我周圍的景象，我從來(lái)沒(méi)有見(jiàn)過(guò)能與之相比的東西。

而這一切都是一個(gè)人的杰作。史蒂夫·潘辛尼對(duì)圣誕節(jié)的滿腔激情始于他的少年時(shí)代，從那個(gè)時(shí)候起，他一直都在收集新潮的和懷舊的圣誕飾品。

這里可看的東西太多了，你花了多長(zhǎng)時(shí)間把這個(gè)弄起來(lái)？史蒂夫：21天。

記者：你在這里搞的展示給人一種古色古香的感覺(jué)，它不僅僅是燈光……史蒂夫：對(duì)。

記者：……不過(guò)有些形象比其他一些更為突出。這個(gè)展示花了你多少錢？史蒂夫：每年的花費(fèi)在一萬(wàn)到一萬(wàn)五千美元之間。

記者：一萬(wàn)到一萬(wàn)五千美元！天啊！

史蒂夫已經(jīng)成為圣誕節(jié)的一個(gè)偶像，各地的人們都來(lái)此參觀展示，向他捐款，他則會(huì)把款項(xiàng)捐給慈善機(jī)構(gòu)。你妻子對(duì)這一切有什么看法？

史蒂夫：她對(duì)此沒(méi)有意見(jiàn)，也不會(huì)抱怨。你知道，我們之間有不同的意見(jiàn)，但問(wèn)題都得到了解決。

記者：她肯定比我更通情達(dá)理，因?yàn)楣馐俏迦f(wàn)盞燈的電費(fèi)就超過(guò)兩千美元。

文化交流站

Coca Cola and Santa Claus可口可樂(lè)與圣誕老人

19世紀(jì)初，圣誕老人保留著濃郁的歐洲風(fēng)味——個(gè)子高矮不一，身材有胖有瘦，衣服有紅有黃有藍(lán)，臉上時(shí)常會(huì)掛著悲天憫人的微笑，偶爾也會(huì)帶上知識(shí)分子式的沉思。從上世紀(jì)30年代初開(kāi)始，可口可樂(lè)公司推出了一系列身穿大紅袍、蓄了大白胡子的慈祥老人樂(lè)呵呵地暢飲可口可樂(lè)的廣告。自此，穿著可口可樂(lè)招牌的紅白兩色、挺著發(fā)胖的肚子、白胡子白頭發(fā)的老祖父模樣的老人，就成了今日世人心目中的圣誕老人。