2021年12月

跨年夜的篝火晚会，冰岛雷克雅未克 Bonfire to celebrate New Year's Eve in 2014 in Reykjavik, Iceland (© Ragnar Th Sigurdsson/Alamy)

New Year's Eve

The 'land of fire and ice' earns its nickname from the unique landscape of volcanoes and glaciers here, but Iceland's white-hot celebrations in the dead of the Nordic midwinter also evoke the phrase. The tradition of New Year's Eve bonfires in Iceland is said to date from the 18th century, when a group of schoolboys heralded the new year by scrounging up and torching a huge pile of wood scraps. The unruly teenagers' celebration sparked the general public's interest, and annual fires—like this one in Reykjavik—became an internationally noted tradition for Icelanders. Huddle up to the fire and raise a toasty-warm toast to the new year!

除夕夜

“火与冰之地”得名于这里独特的火山和冰川景观，但冰岛在北欧仲冬之夜举行的白热化庆祝活动也唤起了这句话。据说，冰岛的除夕篝火传统可以追溯到18世纪，当时一群小学生捡起并焚烧一大堆木屑来庆祝新年。不守规矩的青少年庆祝活动激发了公众的兴趣，每年雷克雅未克这样的火灾成为冰岛人的国际著名传统。蜷缩在炉火旁，为新年干杯！

星空下的灯塔，德国Westerhever镇 Westerheversand Lighthouse in Westerhever, Germany (© Sandra Bartocha/Minden Pictures)

Westerheversand Lighthouse

Even in the places most altered by humans, nature seems to slip through, like the Milky Way shown here peeking between light beams from Germany's Westerheversand Lighthouse. This beacon lies along the Wadden Sea, which forms the world's largest tidal flat along the Dutch, German, and Danish coasts.

This soggy low country was once prone to deadly flooding, but over time, locals have moved earth and sea to reinvent the coastline with dikes, causeways, and artificial islands. You may not guess it by the thousands of species of seabirds, shellfish, and other lifeforms that thrive here, but this UNESCO-recognized biosphere is one of the most engineered locales on Earth.

韦斯特海尔桑灯塔

即使在那些被人类改变最多的地方，自然似乎也在悄悄溜走，就像图中所示的银河系在德国西部凡尔赛灯塔的光束之间窥视。这座灯塔位于瓦登海沿岸，瓦登海在荷兰、德国和丹麦海岸形成了世界上最大的潮坪。

这个潮湿低洼的国家曾经容易发生致命的洪水，但随着时间的推移，当地人已经移动了土地和海洋，用堤坝、堤道和人工岛屿重建了海岸线。你可能无法从这里繁衍生息的数千种海鸟、贝类和其他生命形式中猜到，但这个联合国教科文组织认可的生物圈是地球上最精心设计的地方之一。

半球形的谢尔亨里克森天文台，挪威斯瓦尔巴群岛 Kjell Henriksen Observatory in Svalbard, Norway (© Vincent Fournier/Gallery Stock)

Kjell Henriksen Observatory

While these domes look like they should be in a movie set depicting a galaxy far, far away, they're actually part of a scientific research station here on planet Earth. Kjell Henriksen Observatory is named for a Norwegian scientist whose research focused on polar lights. The aurora borealis is frequently seen here, deep within the Arctic Circle on Norway's remote Svalbard territory. And the observatory is specially designed to observe the aurora. Since it opened in 2008, the observatory has become a destination for atmospheric scientists, who can rent one of these thirty glass-topped rooms built to house high-end optical instruments.

基尔·亨利克森天文台

虽然这些圆顶看起来像是在电影场景中描绘了一个遥远的星系，但它们实际上是地球上一个科学研究站的一部分。基尔·亨利克森天文台是以一位挪威科学家的名字命名的，他的研究集中在极光上。在挪威偏远的斯瓦尔巴特地区的北极圈深处，经常可以看到北极光。天文台是专门为观测极光而设计的。自2008年开放以来，天文台已成为大气科学家的目的地，他们可以租用这30间玻璃顶房间中的一间，这些房间是为安装高端光学仪器而建造的。

宛如圣诞精灵的树干，乌克兰喀尔巴阡山脉 Trees on the northern slope of Mount Khomyak in the Carpathian Mountains, Ukraine (© panaramka/Getty Images)

Merry Christmas

For Christmas Day, we're taking in the winter views on Mount Khomyak in Ukraine's Carpathian Mountains. The bright green moss and the red of the fallen leaves pop against the snowy white, as though the forest were transforming into a magical band of Christmas elves. While much of the Christian world celebrates Christmas on December 25, for those who follow Eastern Orthodox Christian traditions—including many Ukrainians—Christmas is still a couple weeks away. Eastern Orthodox Christmas celebrations are tied to the Julian calendar, which is 13 days behind the more universal Gregorian calendar, so Christmas Day in Ukraine will be celebrated on January 7.

In many Eastern European cultures, a traditional Christmas Eve dinner consists of 12 meat-free courses meant to symbolize the 12 disciples of Christ. For the Ukrainian feast, kutia, a sweet wheat grain pudding, is a star of the meal—other dishes may include braided bread, fish, and soup. The meal begins when children spot the first star that appears in the night sky. Christmas Day is typically spent in church services and with family.

If you're celebrating Christmas—either today or in 13 days—we wish you a merry one.

圣诞快乐

圣诞节，我们将在乌克兰喀尔巴阡山脉的霍米亚克山上欣赏冬季美景。明亮的绿色苔藓和红色的落叶映衬着雪白的天空，仿佛森林正在变成一队神奇的圣诞精灵。虽然大部分基督教世界在12月25日庆祝圣诞节，但对于那些遵循东正教基督教传统的人，包括许多乌克兰人来说，圣诞节还有几个星期。东正教的圣诞节庆祝活动与儒略历（Julian calendar）有关，儒略历比更普遍的公历晚13天，因此乌克兰的圣诞节将在1月7日庆祝。

在许多东欧文化中，传统的平安夜晚餐包括12道无肉菜，象征着基督的12个门徒。在乌克兰的宴会上，一种甜的小麦布丁kutia是这顿饭的明星。其他菜肴可能包括编织面包、鱼和汤。当孩子们看到夜空中出现的第一颗星星时，这顿饭就开始了。圣诞节通常是在教堂里和家人一起度过的。

如果你今天或13天后要庆祝圣诞节，我们祝你圣诞快乐。

湖畔的一棵小圣诞树，奥地利魏森湖 Holiday tree at Weissensee, a small lake near Ehrwald in Tyrol, Austria (© nagelestock/Alamy)

'Smoking nights' in Austria

Behold the lovely Tannenbaum ('fir tree' for you non-German speakers). Here in Tyrol, Austria, Christmas Eve marks the first of three Rauchnächte, or 'smoking nights.' A long-standing Tyrolean tradition, people in this Alpine region burn frankincense and herbs in homes, barns, and stables to avert bad fortune. The custom is then repeated on the other two 'smoking nights,' New Year's Eve and the night before Epiphany.

It's said that everything that happens on these nights is of great significance, including one's dreams. Whatever you dream on smoking nights is thought to be a message from above foretelling what the next year may bring. Pardon us while we drift off to the holiday carol 'O Tannenbaum,' currently playing in our heads. Sweet dreams!

奥地利的“吸烟之夜”

看看可爱的坦嫩鲍姆（“冷杉树”适合非德语人士）。在奥地利的蒂罗尔，平安夜是三个“吸烟之夜”中的第一个这个阿尔卑斯地区的人们在家里、谷仓和马厩里燃烧乳香和草药以避免厄运，这是一个由来已久的蒂罗尔传统。这一习俗随后在另外两个“吸烟之夜”——除夕夜和主显节前一晚重复。

据说，在这些夜晚发生的一切都具有重大意义，包括一个人的梦想。无论你在吸烟之夜做什么梦，都被认为是来自上面的信息，预示着明年会发生什么。请原谅，当我们去度假的时候，卡罗尔·奥·塔南鲍姆正在我们的脑海中演奏。甜美的梦！

投射在安纳西中皇岛墙上的雪景影像，法国上萨瓦省 Winter scene illuminated on the Palais de l'Isle in Annecy, Haute Savoie, France (© blickwinkel/Alamy)

Illuminating Annecy

Who knew that an 800-year-old structure could look so festive? The pretty holiday illumination you see is adorning the side of the Palais de l'Ile, a distinctive historic building in the town of Annecy, France, high in the French Alps. Designated a historic monument in 1900, the medieval structure is perched on a small islet in the Canal du Thiou.

Over the years, this house 'in the shape of a ship' has served as a palace for local nobility, a prison, a courthouse, an administrative building for the regional government, and today is a museum of local history. The town of Annecy itself, dubbed 'the pearl of the French Alps,' was annexed during the French Revolution. Today it's the largest city in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. Near the border with Switzerland, the area is also home to Lake Annecy, the third-largest lake in France. It's a popular tourist draw for skiers in winter, and hikers and cyclists in summer.

发光退火

谁知道一座有800年历史的建筑会如此喜庆？你所看到的美丽的假日照明装饰着Palais de l'Ile的侧面，这是法国阿尔卑斯山高处的安纳西镇上一座独特的历史建筑。这座中世纪建筑于1900年被指定为历史遗迹，坐落在杜丘运河的一个小岛上。

多年来，这座“船形”的房子一直是当地贵族的宫殿、监狱、法院、地方政府的行政大楼，今天是当地历史博物馆。被称为“法国阿尔卑斯山明珠”的安纳西镇本身在法国大革命期间被吞并。今天，它是法国东南部奥弗涅-罗恩阿尔卑斯地区最大的城市。靠近瑞士边境，该地区也是法国第三大湖泊安纳西湖的所在地。它是冬季滑雪者、夏季徒步旅行者和骑自行车者的热门旅游景点。

西西伯利亚森林中的阳光，俄罗斯拉杜日内市附近 Sunlight in the forest of Western Siberia, near the city of Raduzhny, Russia (© Leonid Ikan/Shutterstock)

Winter solstice

The whole Northern Hemisphere will experience the winter solstice today, but the farther north you get, the more obvious it'll be. In high-latitude areas like here in Siberia, the sun's arc cuts especially low across the sky as winter sets in. Today, this spot near the city of Raduzhny will barely get 5 hours' daylight.

Of course, even in the hotter climes of Earth's northern half, today is the shortest day of the year. So, while you wait for the long night to set in, make those daylight hours count!

冬至

今天整个北半球都将经历冬至，但你越往北走，冬至就越明显。在西伯利亚这样的高纬度地区，冬天来临时，太阳的弧线划破天空的距离特别低。今天，拉杜兹尼市附近的这一地区几乎没有5小时的日照。

当然，即使在地球北半球的炎热气候中，今天也是一年中最短的一天。所以，当你等待漫漫长夜来临的时候，让那些白天变得有意义！

Aurora borealis

You don't have to go all the way to Alaska to see the northern lights (they've been spotted as far south as Hawaii). But based on this stunner of a photo, we recommend it. And the farther north the better: auroras are more frequent and intense the closer you are to the North Pole.

This intense aurora borealis was captured over the Brooks Range, the stretch of mountains that forms the North Slope of Alaska. Journey hundreds of lonely miles northward via the Dalton Highway and you'll descend into a vast coastal plain before finally reaching the Beaufort Sea coast, where nothing but icy water lies between you and the North Pole.

北极光

你不必一路跑到阿拉斯加去看北极光（北极光在南至夏威夷都被发现）。但是基于这张照片的惊人之处，我们推荐它。越北越好：极光越频繁，强度越大，离北极越近。

这种强烈的北极光是在布鲁克斯山脉（Brooks Range）上空拍摄的，布鲁克斯山脉是形成阿拉斯加北坡的山脉。沿着道尔顿公路向北行驶数百英里，你将进入一片广阔的海岸平原，最后到达波弗特海岸，在那里你和北极之间只有冰冷的海水。

Full moon

Each month of the year has at least one full moon, and the occasion of that full moon often has nicknames related to the season. In the Northern Hemisphere, December is usually considered the start of winter, so that first full moon gets the chilly nickname 'Cold moon.' It's sometimes called the 'Long Night moon,' since the winter solstice is just around the corner.

If the sky where you are is clear enough to see tonight's full moon, you have our permission to gaze up at it knowingly and then inform your companions that December's full moon is known as the 'Cold moon.' And then tell them you learned that on Bing.

满月

一年中的每个月至少有一个满月，而满月的时候通常有与季节相关的昵称。在北半球，12月通常被认为是冬季的开始，因此第一轮满月被称为“冷月”它有时被称为“长夜月亮”，因为冬至即将来临。

如果你所在的天空足够晴朗，可以看到今晚的满月，我们允许你在知情的情况下抬头凝视，然后告诉你的同伴，12月的满月被称为“冷月”然后告诉他们你在Bing上学到的。

星空迷