2021年12月 - 星空迷

夜幕下的萨尔察赫河，奥地利萨尔茨堡 Salzburg with Salzach river, Austria (© MacEaton/Alamy)

Salzburg, Austria

If you know of Salzburg, Austria, it's probably because of Mozart and not monsters. But if your holiday wish is to be chased by an unseemly seasonal demon, the narrow, medieval streets of this city are the place to be tonight.

The furry, devil-horned figure of Krampus is a sidekick to Santa Claus in Alpine folklore. This mean and mischievous bogeyman travels with Saint Nick, whipping naughty kids with sticks while Santa showers the good ones with toys. Too cheery for you? In other versions of the legend, Krampus eats the little misbehavers up or drags them to hell. And you thought a lump of coal was harsh.

Though the roots of Krampus festivities stretch back to ancient times, Austrian officials tried to stamp out the yuletide demon in the mid-20th century. But like an undead fiend, Krampus has resurged in popularity in the last decade or so, his legend spreading around the world. He's been the subject of several (mostly low-budget) horror movies in the US alone, and central Europe has seen revived Krampus-themed festivities like Salzburg's 'Krampus run.' Typically held December 5, this raucous event sees costumed Krampuses and other grotesque ghouls chase revelers through the old city.

奥地利萨尔茨堡

如果你知道奥地利萨尔茨堡，那可能是因为莫扎特而不是怪物。但是，如果你的假日愿望是被一个不体面的季节性恶魔追逐，那么这个城市狭窄的中世纪街道就是今晚的理想之地。

在阿尔卑斯山的民间传说中，长着毛茸茸的魔鬼角的克兰普斯是圣诞老人的伙伴。这个卑鄙淘气的妖怪和圣尼克一起旅行，用棍子鞭打顽皮的孩子，而圣诞老人则用玩具给好孩子洗澡。你太高兴了？在传说的其他版本中，克兰普斯吃掉了这些小捣蛋鬼，或者把他们拖进地狱。你觉得一块煤块很粗糙。

尽管克兰普斯节的起源可以追溯到远古时代，但奥地利官员在20世纪中叶试图消灭圣诞节恶魔。但是，像一个不死恶魔一样，克兰普斯在过去十年左右的时间里重新流行起来，他的传奇传遍了全世界。仅在美国，他就成了几部（大部分是低成本的）恐怖电影的主角，中欧地区也出现了类似萨尔茨堡的“克拉姆普斯奔跑”这样的以克拉姆普斯为主题的庆祝活动。通常在12月5日举行的这场喧闹的活动中，身着盛装的克拉姆普斯和其他怪诞的食尸鬼在老城追逐狂欢者。

披着一层霜花的秋叶 Autumn leaves coated with frost (© sagarmanis/Getty Images)

Frost on autumn leaves

You can almost hear the sound of autumn leaves coated in frost as they crunch under your shoes on a walk through the woods. Though the calendar says it's still autumn, scenes like this highlight the colder temperatures as winter arrives in the Northern Hemisphere.

Radiation frost—the type seen in this lovely photo—is a quick transformation of water vapor to ice. When water vapor in the air comes into contact with surfaces that are at or below the freezing point, the vapor quickly crystalizes into frost. It can make for charming scenery, or a reminder that you should have worn a heavier jacket.

秋叶霜

在树林里散步时，你几乎可以听到被霜冻覆盖的秋叶在你的鞋下嘎吱作响的声音。虽然日历上说现在仍然是秋天，但像这样的场景突出了北半球冬天来临时的寒冷温度。

在这张可爱的照片中看到的辐射霜类型是水蒸气迅速转变为冰。当空气中的水蒸气与冰点或冰点以下的表面接触时，水蒸气迅速结晶成霜。它可以创造迷人的风景，或者提醒你应该穿一件更厚的夹克。

迪纳利国家公园里的白大角羊，阿拉斯加 Dall sheep rams at Polychrome Pass, Denali National Park, Alaska (© Patrick J. Endres/Getty Images)

Denali National Park

Someone ought to tell these Dall sheep they don't blend in here at Polychrome Pass. Their white coats may be great camouflage against the Alaskan snows, but the warm tones of this tundra make them stick out a bit. And they aren't the only thing sticking out in this national park: It's home to the tallest mountain in North America.

Denali National Park and Preserve encompasses not only its namesake peak but more than 6 million acres of parkland like Polychrome Pass. And even this massive park is part of something bigger: The federal Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, established on December 2, 1980, protected almost a quarter-million square miles of wilderness all over Alaska. As of today, 65% of the state consists of public lands.

德纳利国家公园

应该有人告诉这些达尔羊，他们不在多色山口混在这里。他们的白色外套可能是抵御阿拉斯加大雪的绝佳伪装，但这片冻土带温暖的色调让他们显得有些突出。它们不是这个国家公园里唯一突出的东西：它是北美最高山峰的所在地。

德纳利国家公园和保护区不仅包括其同名的山峰，还包括超过600万英亩的公园，如多色山口。甚至这个巨大的公园也是更大的东西的一部分：1980年12月2日制定的《联邦阿拉斯加国家利益土地保护法》保护了阿拉斯加全境近25万平方英里的荒野。截至今天，该州65%的土地为公共土地。

Antarctica Day

At just over 600 miles from the tip of South America, Cuverville Island is closer to civilization than most of Antarctica. As such, this small isle off the northward-jutting Antarctic Peninsula is a hotspot for tourists to catch some cool scenery (while freezing their butts off, of course). Visitors can also chill on the rocky beach with the locals: a glut of gentoo penguins whose rookery here is the largest along the peninsula.

Today we're observing Antarctica Day, which commemorates the signing of the Antarctic Treaty on December 1, 1959. In the treaty, 12 of the world's most powerful nations agreed to dedicate Earth's southernmost continent to science—any military activity there was banned. It was the first arms control agreement established during the Cold War. It still stands 62 years later as an important landmark in global relations and has expanded to include 54 countries.

南极日

库弗维尔岛距离南美洲尖端仅600多英里，比南极洲大部分地区更接近文明。因此，这座位于南极半岛北部的小岛是游客们欣赏凉爽风景的热点（当然，他们的屁股也会被冻掉）。游客还可以和当地人一起在岩石海滩上乘凉：这里有大量的gentoo企鹅，它们的鸟巢是半岛上最大的。

今天我们庆祝南极日，纪念1959年12月1日南极条约的签署。在该条约中，世界上12个最强大的国家同意将地球最南端的大陆用于科学研究，禁止任何军事活动。这是冷战期间达成的第一项军备控制协议。62年后，它仍然是全球关系中的一个重要里程碑，并已扩大到包括54个国家。