一個叫Lucy的孩子問媽媽：“你是聖誕老人嗎？”，於是有了這封媽媽的回信，它用愛、希望、喜悅和奇蹟傳達給孩子真相。

2016年聖誕節快到了，把這封媽媽給孩子的回信中英文版本分享給大家，祝大家聖誕快樂！

Dear Lucy，親愛的露西：

Thank you for your letter. Youasked a very good question: “Are you Santa?”

謝謝你的信. 你問了一個非常好的問題:"聖誕老人是你嗎?"

I know you’ve wanted the answer to this question for a longtime, and I’ve had to give it careful thought to know just what to say.

我知道你想問這個問題已經很長時間了, 而我也一直在認真地考慮如何回答你.

The answer is no. I am not Santa. There is no one Santa.

答案是"不". 我不是聖誕老人. 聖誕老人不是一個人.

I am the person who fills your stockings with presents, though.I also choose and wrap the presents under the tree, the same way my mom did forme, and the same way her mom did for her. (And yes, Daddy helps, too.)

我卻是那個將禮物裝入你的聖誕襪中的人. 我也是選擇幷包好禮物, 並將它放在聖誕樹下的人, 就如同我的媽媽爲我一樣, 就如同她的媽媽爲她一樣. (是的, 爸爸也有幫忙。)

I imagine you will someday do this for your children, and I knowyou will love seeing them run down the stairs on Christmas morning. You willlove seeing them sit under the tree, their small faces lit with Christmaslights.

我可以想像有一天你也會同樣地爲你的孩子這樣做. 並且我知道你一定會很喜歡看到他們在聖誕節清晨跑下樓梯看到禮物的那一刻. 你也一定會喜歡他們坐在聖誕樹下, 看着他們被聖誕燈照亮的小臉.

This won’t make you Santa,though.Santa is bigger than any person, and his work has gone on longer thanany of us have lived. What he does is simple, but it is powerful. He teacheschildren how to have belief in something they can’t see or touch.

然而, 這卻不能讓你成爲聖誕老人. 聖誕老人比任何一個人都偉大, 而他所做的工作也比我們任何活着的人都長久. 他所做的事其實簡單, 但是卻很強大. 他教會孩子們如何對自己看不到或摸不着的東西擁有信仰.

It’s a big job, and it’s an important one. Throughout your life,you will need this capacity to believe: in yourself, in your friends, in yourtalents and in your family. You’ll also need to believe in things you can’tmeasure or even hold in your hand. Here, I am talking about love, that greatpower that will light your life from the inside out, even during its darkest,coldest moments.

這是一件偉大和重要的工作. 在你的生命中, 你將需要這樣的能力去相信:你自己, 你的朋友們, 你的才能和你的家庭. 你還需要相信那些你無法計量或着甚至握在手中的東西. 在這裏我所說的是愛, 這個偉大的能量能使你的生命從裏到外發光, 即使在最黑暗的時候, 即使在最寒冷的時刻.

Santa is a teacher, and I have beenhis student, and now you know the secret of how he gets down all those chimneyson Christmas Eve: he has help from all the people whose hearts he’s filled withjoy.

聖誕老人是一位老師, 我一直是他的學生. 現在你知道了他是如何在聖誕夜裏從每一家的煙囪裏下來的祕密了: 他得到了所有被他心中裝滿喜悅的人的幫助.

With full hearts, people like Daddy and me take our turnshelping Santa do a job that would otherwise be impossible.

帶着如此的心, 像爸爸和我這樣的人輪流幫助着聖誕老人完成那些否則無法完成的工作.

So, no. I am not Santa. Santa is love and magic and hope andhappiness. I’m on his team, and now you are, too.

因此, 不. 我不是聖誕老人. 聖誕老人是愛,奇蹟,希望和喜悅. 我是他的團隊裏的一員, 現在, 你也是了.

I love you and I always will.

我愛你並會一直愛着你,

Mama

媽媽

延伸閱讀：

聖誕節英語祝福語