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Part 2 On Wedding Day 西方婚禮的傳統(tǒng)和習(xí)俗
Dialogue Script 對話原文
Julia: I would prefer a sincere affair of a few people. Here you really felt that it was a meaningful thi
ng, and not just a showy prestigious affair for...for parents to show off what they can provide for their daughters or son.
Ray: But that's an important thing for the parents to do, isn't it? I mean, parents at that...it ought to be ...parents ought to be allowed to do this.
Julia: But one is getting married, not one's parents.
Ray: Yes, but it's the parents who are paying for it. And it's the parents who've, if you like,...brought up this young girl or man to...
Julia: Surely the money that is spent...I'd prefer to see the money spent on something more worthwhile.
Ray: Yes, but it's not...it may not be your money as such. And I think if the parents are paying for it, then they should have a great deal to say about it. If they prefer a large wedding and they prefer to...to invite Aunty Fole, Uncle Bill who you haven't seen since you were two years old, well, I think that's their prerogative.
Julia: So it really boils down to what they prefer rather than what...the son or daughter prefers...
Ray: Well, not entirely. But nevertheless I think it is important that they should...that they be consulted.
講解：
1. Modern wedding customs and traditions have their origins in the past, many coming from the Middle Ages. In ancient Rome, the bride wore a girdle fastened with many tiny knots. The groom had the pleasure of untying all those knots before he could bed his new wife.
Up until the 1400's, the bride usually wore her best dress regardless of the color. It was Queen Victoria (1840) who began the present day fashion of wearing white as the wedding dress. It is also considered unlucky for the bride to make her own wedding dress. 
The idea of having bridesmaids, pages, a best man and ushers originated with the belief that evil spirits, envious of the couple's happiness, would be out to harm them, but would be confused by so many similarly dressed people.
The custom of the best man probably goes back to the days when the groom took a friend with him when he went to kidnap the bride from her home. Bells were originally rung at weddings to frighten away the evil spirits, and noisy celebrations were held beforehand to try and drive them from the community. These were the ancestors of our stag and hen parties.
東方人自古以來，喜歡用濃重的顏色表示自己的快樂與喜慶；西方人，特別是虔誠的耶穌的信徒們，更是從宗教信義上出發(fā)，認為男女的結(jié)合是圣潔的，代表著神圣的生兒育女生活的開始，所以必須用圣潔的白色來妝點它，這才是最完美的。因此，西方人的婚禮多用白色來布置，從古老的教堂婚禮到現(xiàn)代的前衛(wèi)婚禮，無不見新娘們穿著雪白的婚紗，挽著閃著珠光的白色小拎包，潔白的紗手套上捧著的是一大捧粉白的百合。這樣的習(xí)俗延續(xù)了幾百年，至今未變。
婚禮中配伴娘、男童、男儐相和迎賓員的觀念源于這樣一種信仰，即嫉妒新人幸福的邪惡幽靈會冒出來傷害他們，但如果婚禮上有許分著裝類似的人，就能迷惑幽靈。配男儐相的習(xí)俗大概要追溯到那種年代，那時新郎往往要用上一個朋友去新娘家把她綁架出來。鈴在婚禮上叮當(dāng)作響原是為了嚇走邪惡幽靈，而在婚禮之前舉辦熱鬧的慶祝會也是為了把那些邪惡幽靈從新人和他們的親朋好友中趕走。這就是"雄鷹會"和"母雞會"的由來。
西方人婚禮上隨處可見花，從教堂到酒店，小到教堂中的每一把椅子，無處不有花的存在。他們喜愛使用粉色系的花，粉白，粉蘭，粉紅，粉綠，粉紫，粉黃...而且他們喜歡使用新鮮的花朵，絕不會采用假花。一般每對新人結(jié)婚，鮮花的使用量是相當(dāng)大的。隨處可見的就是花，因為每一位盛裝出席的女士，不論其年齡，都會在發(fā)髻處戴上一小束花以示對新人們的尊重。
在西方國家，通常婚禮的活動就是拋花球的游戲，其他小游戲很少。在步出教堂后，新娘要背轉(zhuǎn)身將手中的花球向后拋去，最后被哪個女賓接到，她就是下一個幸福的新娘。所以在這個時候，所有未婚的女賓都會主動站到前一排來，做好搶花球的準(zhǔn)備，為的是沾沾新娘的喜氣。 
2. 在這段對話中，Julia和Ray在討論父母在子女結(jié)婚時所扮演的角色。Julia認為婚禮是子女們自己的事兒，不必興師動眾，大操大辦。父母親不應(yīng)將其視為向別人炫耀的平臺。Ray 則認為，由于婚禮的費用主要來自父母，因此他們應(yīng)該有一定的發(fā)言權(quán)，況且，從尊重長輩的角度出發(fā)，無論如何，在終身大事的問題上與父母商量也是很重要的。
3. showy, 浮華的，（過分）艷麗的；show off是“向人炫耀，賣弄”的意思。
4. provide常常有兩種用法，一種是provide sb with sth，另一種是provide sth for sb，表達的意思差不多；另一個是bring up，意思是“教育，培養(yǎng)，撫養(yǎng)成人”。
5. Aunty Fole和Uncle Bill，指很久沒見面的阿姨或叔叔，不特指哪一個阿姨或叔父，也許很多人。
