The Ugly Christmas Sweater 圣誕丑毛衣

肖雅琪選譯

All of these activities such as spending good time with family and drinking apple wine by the fire encourage getting into the festive holiday mood. So does taking out your ugly Christmas sweaters. You might be really lucky. You might get to show off your tackiest1 side at an Ugly Christmas Sweater Party.

所有諸如與家人共度美好時光，在火爐邊喝蘋果酒的活動都鼓動著人們進入節日氣氛。拿出你的圣誕丑毛衣也是一樣。你可能會有幸在一個圣誕丑毛衣派對上炫耀你最俗氣的一面。

Ugly Christmas sweaters have appeared with new public acceptance. Theyre no longer creations made by grandmas. They arent items that family members can only get from a thrift store2. They have become a cultural idea. Even celebrities3 are in on the action. The market wants to make money from this cultural idea， especially during the winter time. There are ugly sweater books. There is a race and rewards. All of these celebrate the Santa face showed on the sweater.

圣誕丑毛衣已被大眾所接受。它們不再是祖母的作品了，也不再是家庭成員只能從舊貨商店買到的東西。它們已經成為一種文化觀念，就連名人也參與進來。市場希望從這種文化觀念中賺到錢，尤其是在冬天的時候。有關于丑毛衣的書籍，也有賽跑和獎勵。所有這些都是為了贊美毛衣上圣誕老人的臉。

The colorful sweaters are harder to get because it becomes more and more popular. This is especially true in thrift stores. It was once very easy to buy the best （I mean， worst） one at thrift stores. And who really wants to buy a full-priced snowman sweater that will be worn only once a year？

這種花里胡哨的毛衣因為越來越受歡迎而越來越難買到，尤其是在舊貨店。在舊貨店買到最好的（我的意思是，最丑的）一件曾經是很容易的事。還有誰真的想買一件原價的一年只穿一次的雪人毛衣呢？

One option is to shop ugly Christmas sweaters on eBay. You may find yourself bidding4 on a secondhand colorful sweater. Another option is to make a sweater by yourself. This DIY style is a work of love. But it requires lots of time.

購買圣誕丑毛衣的一種選擇是在易趣上挑選。你可以競拍一件二手的花里胡哨的毛衣。另一種選擇是自己織一件。這種DIY的方式包含著愛，但很花時間。

Men， women and children have been connecting with the holiday spirit through sweaters for many years. They are decorated5 with snowflakes6. They feature reindeer and Christmas trees. The trend reached new heights in the 1980s and 1990s.

許多年來，男人、女人和孩子們一直通過毛衣與節日氣氛聯系在一起。毛衣上裝飾有雪花，以馴鹿和圣誕樹為主題，這一潮流在上世紀80年代和90年代達到了新的高峰。

Search your favourite old style sweater-knitting patterns from eBay， and put Ugly Christmas Sweater Party invitation on your refrigerator. Now is just the right time to pull out your knitting needles and make something wonderfully ugly.

在易趣上找出你最喜歡的舊款毛衣編織圖案，并將圣誕丑毛衣派對的請柬貼在冰箱上吧。現在正是拿出你的編織針，織一件丑毛衣的時候了。

Any ugly Christmas sweaters catch your eye this time？

這次有沒有圣誕丑毛衣吸引住你的眼球呢？

（英語原文選自：tweentribune.com）