佳節善翁 / Charity on Festivals

佳節善翁  金雨田	Charity on Festivals By Jin Yu Tian
人們總喜歡在佳節時分，做做善事，啡友不以為然：“行善嘛！不必等禮拜天。”	PEOPLE are more likely to practise charity in festive seasons, but a coffee-buddy of mine doesn’t like that way.  “Good deeds don’t have to wait till Sunday,” he would say.
所謂日行一善--日行一善，固是善舉，畢竟屬於個人修為日積一德的自我期許。忙盲忙盲，芸芸眾生，多少人能在一天的奮戰後，低頭冥思一番呢？	Certainly he has a point:  “A good deed a day” has become a popular motto.  Yet, nice as it sounds, I find that exhortation more suitable for one’s own moral perfection than for everybody’s practice.  How many among the broad masses can afford the leisure of reflecting upon themselves after a dizzy-busy day’s struggle for livelihood?
人類創造佳節，因為人類具有親情人倫，有親情人倫之心，人就會思及周圍的人群，就會起了惻隱之心。人類創造佳節，是要人類有個喘息的機會：“生活尚好”之餘，起了分享之心。	Festivals are created by mankind.  Human beings naturally care for their families and relatives and then, by extension, their neighbours and others around; hence compassion and charity.  Festivals are created to grant people a breathing spell, during which they can share if they fare well enough.
熱鬧的如籲捐禮物、分發紅包，悄悄的如把一份禮物包好投進大箱，或貼枚小郵票寄出一份心意。	Some share on a grand scale, calling for donations from the public or handing out money in red packets to the needy.  Others prefer to do it quietly, slipping a wrapped gift into the collection box or mailing out a token of their kindness with a small stamp on it.
世上最早的一張聖誕卡，出自英國畫家霍斯萊之手，畫的中央為一家人團圓聚餐，舉杯互祝，兩旁則是畫著濟貧救苦之圖，喻意明顯不過。	The world’s earliest Christmas card, designed by English artist J. C. Horsley, depicts a family dinner party with people toasting one another, flanked by pictures of the poor and the ill being helped.  The message couldn’t be clearer.
朋友群中，就有這類佳節善翁，每逢佳節，靜一靜，該簽的簽，該寄的寄，不作聲，不張揚。明天太陽東升，又投身滾滾紅塵人流中，佳節再來。	Among my friends are those who practise charity on festivals.  Amid the celebrations, they would find a quiet moment to sign some cheques or post out some mail, without fuss or fanfare.  When the sun rises the next morning, they would plunge back into the hustle and bustle of their worldly pursuits –– until the festival returns. (Tr. by Allen Zhuang)
原載新加坡《聯合早報》(2000)；收入《不著地族/A Lift-Off People》（潘正鐳著，Allen Zhuang 英譯；Singapore: All Publishing House, 2002）；2008年1月1日譯者初貼於原先的 坡港英華/SingaKong Chinese & English 網頁，今重貼於此。
看這裡：世上最早的一張聖誕卡，1843年出自英國畫家霍斯萊之手 Look here: The world's first Christmas card, designed by John Callcott Horsley in 1843

【允許轉貼；請注明取自本網頁，並保留源文作者及譯者姓名。】