英國女王聖誕致辭全文

the queen’s christmas speech XX

in this past year my family and i have been inspired by the courage and hope we have seen in so many ways in britain, in the commonwealth and around the world. we‟ve seen that it‟s in hardship that we often find strength from our families; it‟s in adversity that new friendships are sometimes formed; and it‟s in a crisis that communities break down barriers and bind together to help one another.

families, friends and communities often find a source of courage rising up from within. indeed, sadly, it seems that it is tragedy that often draws out the most and the best from the human spirit.

when prince philip and i visited australia this year we saw for ourselves the effects of natural disaster in some of the areas devastated by floods, where in january so many people lost their lives and their livelihoods. we were moved by the way families and local communities held together to support each other.

prince william travelled to new zealand and australia in the aftermath of earthquakes, cyclones and floods and saw how communities rose up to rescue the injured, comfort the bereaved and rebuild the cities and towns devastated by nature.

the prince of wales also saw first hand the remarkable resilience of the human spirit after tragedy struck in a welsh mining community, and how communities can work together to support their neighbors.

this past year has also seen some memorable and historic visits – to ireland and from america.

the spirit of friendship so evident in both these nations can fill us all with hope. relationships that years ago were once so strained have through sorrow and forgiveness blossomed into long term friendship. it is through this lens of history that we should view the conflicts of today, and so give us hope for tomorrow.

of course, family does not necessarily mean blood relatives but often a description of a community, organization or nation. the commonwealth is a family of 53 nations, all with a common bond, shared beliefs, mutual values and goals.

it is this which makes the commonwealth a family of people in the truest sense, at ease with each other, enjoying its shared history and ready and willing to support its members in the direst of circumstances. they have always looked to the future, with a sense of camaraderie, warmth and mutual respect while still maintaining their individualism.

the importance of family has, of course, come home to prince philip and me personally this year with the marriages of two of our grandchildren, each in their own way a celebration of the god-given love that binds a family together.

for many this christmas will not be easy. with our armed forces deployed around the world, thousands of service families face christmas without their loved ones at home. the bereaved and the lonely will find it especially hard. and, as we all know, the world is going through difficult times. all this will affect our celebration of this great christian festival.

finding hope in adversity is one of the themes of christmas. jesus was born into a world full of fear. the angels came to frightened shepherds with hope in their voices: „fear not‟, they urged, „we bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. for unto you is born this day in the city of david a saviour who is christ the lord.‟

although we are capable of great acts of kindness, history teaches us that we sometimes need saving from ourselves – from our recklessness or our greed. god sent into the world a unique person – neither a philosopher nor a general (important though they are) – but a saviour, with the power to forgive.

forgiveness lies at the heart of the christian faith. it can heal broken families, it can restore friendships and it can reconcile divided communities. it is in forgiveness that we feel the power of god‟s love.

in the last verse of this beautiful carol, o little town of bethlehem, there‟s a prayer:

o holy child of bethlehem

descend to us we pray

cast out our sin

and enter in

be born in us today

it is my prayer that on this christmas day we might all find room in our lives for the message of the angels and for the love of god through christ our lord.

i wish you all a very happy christmas.

英聯邦女王伊麗莎白二世的XX年聖誕致辭

過去的一年裏，我和我的家人在英國、諸英聯邦成員國以及世界各地看到了人們以不同形式所表現來的勇氣與盼望，我們為此深受鼓舞。我們看到：正是在生活困苦時，家庭給予了我們力量;正是在逆境裏，新的友誼就此誕生;正是在危機中，社會大眾打破隔閡，團結互助。

家庭、朋友和社會大眾常常會找到一股萌生於內部的勇氣之源。讓人遺憾的是，確實往往是“不幸”促使這份人文精神煥發出最耀眼的光芒。

今年在菲利普親王和我訪問澳大利亞的時候，我們親眼目睹到自然災害對當地所造成的影響。一月份時，一些地區被洪水淹沒和摧毀，許多人因此失去了他們的性命和生計。然而，當地的受災家庭和受災民眾仍團結在一起，相互扶持。我們被他們的行為所感動。

新西蘭和澳大利亞遭受地震、颶風和洪水的侵襲後，威廉王子抵達受災地區慰問受災民眾。他看見了當地的羣眾自發地組織傷員的營救，安撫痛失至親的同伴以及重建被大自然摧毀的城鎮。

威爾士親王(查爾斯王儲)也親自見證了在威爾士礦難發生後人文精神的強大復甦力以及礦工團體是如何團結一致去支援他們的同伴的。

過去的一年我們也見證了一些充滿紀念意義的歷史性訪問——諸如對愛爾蘭的訪問以及來自美國的訪問。

與諸國友好邦交的明朗面貌讓我們彼此間都充滿希望。數年前一度緊張的兩國關係已經因憂患和寬恕轉化成長期的友好關係。我們應該通過歷史的鏡頭去看待今日的紛爭，這樣才能收穫明日的希望。

誠然，“家庭”不是一定只代表血緣親屬之間的關係，它往往是對一個團體、一個組織甚至一個國家的一個描述。英聯邦是一個擁有53個成員國的大家庭。我們擁有共同的聯繫，共同的信仰，共同的價值觀和目標。

這些共同之處讓英聯邦成為最真切意義上的一家人，彼此和諧共處，共享同樣的歷史，隨時準備和願意去支持處於艱難困境的聯邦友國。他們團結友愛，互敬互重，而又不失獨立的個性，共同展望同一個未來。

對於菲利浦親王和我個人來説，今年我們的孫輩的兩樁婚事也把家庭的重要性帶回到了家中。他們各自舉行了婚禮來慶祝這兩段讓家庭更和睦親密的天賜良緣。

對許多人來説，這個聖誕節過得並不容易。由於我們的武裝部隊部署在世界各地，數千個服役軍人的家庭都無法和他們至愛的家人共度這個聖誕。對於痛失至親者和孤獨無依者來説，在這個時候會更覺艱難。同時，正如我們所知道的那樣，這個世界正處於一個困難的時代，我們無法無視這些不幸而安心地慶祝聖誕佳節。

在逆境中尋找希望是聖誕節的主題之一。耶穌降生到一個充滿了恐懼的世界。天使們來到驚恐的牧羊人面前，用充滿希望的聲音對他們説“不要懼怕”，天使安撫道。“我們給你們帶來大喜的訊息，是關乎萬民的。因為今日在大衞城裏，一位救世主為你們而誕生，那就是主基督。”

儘管我們能盡己所能去行善，但是歷史告訴我們，有的時候我們還是需要自我救贖——將自己從魯莽或貪婪中救贖出來。上帝派遣了一個珍貴的人來到這個世界，他不是一個哲學家，也不是一個將軍(儘管前兩者非常重要)，他是一位救世主，擁有寬恕的力量。

寬恕屬於基督教信仰中的核心。它能使破碎的家庭重圓，它能讓朋友間言歸於好，它能讓分裂的團體再度團結。正是寬恕讓我們感受到了上帝的仁愛。

在《小城伯利恆》這首美麗的聖誕讚歌的最後一節中，有着這樣一段禱告：

“哦，貝利恆的聖嬰啊

我們祈禱你降臨到我們身邊

驅免我們的罪

然後進入我心

今日就在此誕生吧”

我祈禱我們所有人都能在生命中悦納來自天使的訊息和上帝通過主基督施予的仁愛。