還記得《BJ單身日記》中穿著圣誕丑毛衣的馬克·達(dá)西嗎？這種讓BJ受不了的丑毛衣，如今已經(jīng)成為西方人過圣誕不可缺少的必備單品了。從眾人厭棄到人見人愛，圣誕丑毛衣是如何實(shí)現(xiàn)華麗逆襲的呢？

Move over twinkling fir trees and wreaths, eggnog, stockings and the office secret Santa -- there's a new kid in town. Over the last decade the ugly Christmas sweater has firmly embedded itself in yuletide culture.

閃閃發(fā)光的圣誕樹、圣誕花環(huán)、蛋酒、長襪和辦公室里的秘密圣誕老人——如今又多了個(gè)新成員。過去十年來，圣誕丑毛衣已經(jīng)深深根植于圣誕文化當(dāng)中。

yuletide[?ju?lta?d]: adj. 圣誕節(jié)期的

You know the one. It's a wooly pullover, usually in different shades of red, white and green, and with at least one Christmas-inspired motif on it -- a snowman, tinsel, a reindeer or candy canes. Extra points if it features 3D pom-pom or jingle bells.

你知道的，圣誕毛衣就是那種紅白綠的毛絨絨的套頭衫，毛衣上至少包含一種圣誕主題裝飾圖案：雪人、金屬亮片、馴鹿或拐杖糖。如果毛衣上有立體絨球或鈴鐺還能加分。

The garment has quickly become an essential part of the holidays, ubiquitous as Christmas lights and wrapping paper. It's obnoxious and tacky, but also fuzzy and kind of wholesome.

這種毛衣很快就成為圣誕節(jié)的重要組成部分，和圣誕彩燈、包裝紙一樣無處不在。丑毛衣看起來討厭又俗氣，但是軟絨絨的有益身心。

It took some time for the UCS to find its place in the pantheon of Christmas fundamentals, however.

不過圣誕丑毛衣是花了好些年才在圣誕節(jié)立住腳跟的。

pantheon[?p?nθiɑ?n]: n. 萬神殿；名流群

Christmas-themed pullovers started making an appearance in the 1950s, a nod perhaps to the holiday's growing commercialization. Initially referred to as "Jingle Bell Sweaters," they weren't as garish as today's iterations, and found little popularity in the market.

圣誕主題套頭毛衣是在20世紀(jì)50年代開始出現(xiàn)的，也許是圣誕節(jié)商業(yè)化日益濃重的產(chǎn)物。最初被叫作“鈴鐺毛衣”，花色沒有現(xiàn)在的圣誕丑毛衣這般艷麗，在市場上也不受歡迎。

It wasn't until the 1980s that the item hit the mainstream. The shift came thanks to pop culture and comedies, with goofball dad characters like Chevy Chase's Clark Griswold in "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" turning the holiday sweater into an uncomely but endearing expression of cheer. Snowflake-emblazoned sweaters weren't considered cool, but they radiated yule, and were sported at office parties and on Christmas Day.

直到20世紀(jì)80年代，圣誕丑毛衣才成為市場主流。這要感謝流行文化和喜劇，《瘋狂圣誕假期》中切維·切斯飾演的克拉克·格里斯沃爾德這樣的傻瓜老爹角色將圣誕丑毛衣轉(zhuǎn)變成了丑萌的歡樂源泉。用雪花裝飾的毛衣雖然不酷，但是充滿圣誕氣氛，辦公室派對(duì)和圣誕節(jié)都有人穿。

The resurgence didn't last long. In the 1990s the Christmas sweater faded in popularity; it was something only your unfashionable older relatives would ever think of wearing or gifting. By the turn of the new millennium, the item was widely considered an eyebrow-raising sartorial mishap.

這一復(fù)興潮流沒持續(xù)多久。20世紀(jì)90年代圣誕毛衣熱度退去，只有落伍的老年親戚才會(huì)想穿這種毛衣或當(dāng)禮物送人。到2000年左右，圣誕丑毛衣被普遍視為一種令人側(cè)目的沒品衣著。

Think of 2001's "Bridget Jones's Diary," in which Colin Firth's Mark Darcy turns to greet Bridget (Renée Zellweger) at a family party wearing an unattractive knitted garment featuring a giant red-nosed reindeer. Bridget is horrified. So were you, probably, if you watched it in the cinema. But you probably also smiled. Such is the heartwarming power of the UCS.

想想2001年的《BJ單身日記》，影片中科林·費(fèi)爾斯飾演的馬克·達(dá)西在家庭聚會(huì)中穿著一件繡著紅鼻子大馴鹿的丑毛衣和布麗吉特（蕾妮·齊薇格飾演）打招呼。布麗吉特大為驚駭。你很可能也是這個(gè)反應(yīng)，如果你在電影院看這部電影的話。不過你可能還笑了。這就是圣誕丑毛衣的暖心魅力。

The early 2000s also saw new life breathed into this now holiday staple. According to the "Ugly Christmas Sweater Party Book: The Definitive Guide to Getting Your Ugly On," Christmas sweater parties started kicking off just around the time Bridget was recoiling at Darcy's outfit.

本世紀(jì)初，圣誕丑毛衣又煥發(fā)了新生。根據(jù)《圣誕丑毛衣派對(duì)手冊：穿上丑衣服的權(quán)威指南》，圣誕毛衣派對(duì)大約就是在布麗吉特因?yàn)檫_(dá)西的毛衣而退避三舍時(shí)開始流行起來的。

The first so themed get-together took place in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 2002, said Brian Miller, one of the book's authors and founder of online shop UglyChristmasSweaterParty.com, in a phone interview. "It's hard to say what triggered the change in perspective, but I think that the moment someone wore the garment in a humorous way, people started seeing the comic side of it, and thinking 'this thing at the back of the closet could be fun, instead of something awful that nobody wants'," he said.

該書的作者之一、網(wǎng)店“圣誕丑毛衣派對(duì)”創(chuàng)始人布萊恩·米勒在一次電話訪談中稱，第一個(gè)圣誕毛衣派對(duì)于2002年在加拿大不列顛哥倫比亞省的溫哥華舉行?！昂茈y說是什么引發(fā)了人們對(duì)丑毛衣看法的改變，但我認(rèn)為在有人為了幽默而穿上圣誕丑毛衣的那一刻起，人們開始看到這種毛衣喜感的一面，并認(rèn)為在衣柜深處放一件丑毛衣會(huì)是挺好玩的一件事，而不再把丑毛衣看成沒人要的糟糕東西?！?/p>

The popularity of the ugly sweater snowballed from there.

從此以后，圣誕丑毛衣越來越流行。

Over the following decade, the festive knit evolved into "a new holiday tradition," as Miller described it. "It became our generation's mistletoe," he added. "Which is pretty remarkable, when you think about it."

根據(jù)米勒的描述，在接下來的十年內(nèi)，圣誕丑毛衣演變成了“一種新的節(jié)日傳統(tǒng)”。他補(bǔ)充道：“它成了我們這一代人的槲寄生，想到這里還是挺令人驚嘆的?！?/p>

Fast-fashion giants like Topshop and high-end retailers like Nordstrom began filling their shelves and sites with gaudy designs each holiday season. Vintage stores and the Salvation Army capitalized on the trend by upping their stocks of fuzzy snowmen and dancing Santa pullovers. Even the fashion pack came around. In 2007, Stella McCartney released a polar bear-themed sweater. Givenchy followed in 2010.

Topshop等快時(shí)尚巨頭和諾德斯特龍百貨等高端零售商開始在每個(gè)圣誕季推出艷麗的設(shè)計(jì)。古董店和救世軍利用這股潮流增加了毛絨雪人和跳舞圣誕老人的套頭毛衣庫存。就連主流時(shí)尚品牌也開始吹復(fù)古風(fēng)。2007年，斯特拉·麥卡特尼發(fā)布了一款北極熊主題的毛衣。紀(jì)梵希也在2010年推出圣誕丑毛衣。

2012 was a turning point for the ugly sweater craze. UK charity Save the Children launched Christmas Jumper Day, a fundraising event encouraging people to don their most cringeworthy sweaters. British newspaper The Telegraph described the item as "this season's must-have," while the New York Times reported on ugly Christmas sweater-themed runs, pub crawls and specialized e-tailers booming across the States. Concurrently, the knits began showing more tinsel, bells and wacky details, reaching peak kitsch.

2012年是這股丑毛衣熱潮的轉(zhuǎn)折點(diǎn)。英國慈善機(jī)構(gòu)“救救孩子”發(fā)起了“圣誕毛衣日”，這項(xiàng)籌款活動(dòng)鼓勵(lì)人們捐出自己最尷尬的毛衣。英國《每日電訊報(bào)》將圣誕丑毛衣描述為“本季必備”，《紐約時(shí)報(bào)》則對(duì)圣誕丑毛衣主題的跑步、串酒吧和美國遍地開花的定制電商進(jìn)行了報(bào)道。與此同時(shí)，毛衣上的金屬亮片、鈴鐺和古怪細(xì)節(jié)越來越多，達(dá)到了俗氣的巔峰。

kitsch[k?t?]: n. 低俗藝術(shù)作品；廉價(jià)粗俗的東西

Celebrities, from Taylor Swift to Kanye West embraced the trend, too. Late night talk show host Jimmy Fallon even started running a regular segment called "12 Days of Christmas Sweaters," which still airs today.

從泰勒·斯威夫特到坎耶·維斯特等多位名人也投身這一潮流。深夜脫口秀主持人吉米·法倫甚至為節(jié)目增加了一個(gè)名為“圣誕毛衣12天”的固定環(huán)節(jié)，到今天還在播出。

If anything, the rise of social media has only heightened the 'It' status of the ugly sweater. Today, we compete to show off our Christmas-sweater love on Instagram, while anyone from mass retailer Target to fast food chain Red Lobster (whose UCS features a pocket to keep food warm), and more fashion houses offer their own versions of the garment.

在社交媒體的推波助瀾下，丑毛衣進(jìn)一步坐穩(wěn)了圣誕時(shí)尚單品的位子。如今我們爭相在Ins上秀出我們對(duì)圣誕毛衣的熱愛，從零售業(yè)龍頭Target到快餐零售商紅龍蝦（他們家的圣誕丑毛衣有一個(gè)能給食品保溫的口袋），還有更多時(shí)尚品牌都推出了自己的丑毛衣。

"When I attended my first Ugly Sweater Party in the early 2000s, I would have never anticipated the garment would take off like this," Miller said. "Although it's easy to see why: ugly knits can be worn by anyone -- from my daughter at her school's ugly sweater contest to office workers at their end of year party. They're democratic. And they're a lot of fun. Christmas can be quite stressful -- wearing something ridiculous can help take the pressure off."

米勒說：“我在2000年初期參加第一個(gè)丑毛衣派對(duì)時(shí)，我怎么也想不到這種毛衣會(huì)火成這樣。不過原因也是顯而易見的：丑毛衣任何人都能穿——從穿著它參加學(xué)校丑毛衣比賽的我女兒，到參加年會(huì)的上班族。丑毛衣很大眾。丑毛衣也很有趣。在倍感壓力的圣誕季，穿可笑的衣服有助于減輕壓力?！?/p>

democratic[?dem??kr?t?k]: adj. 民主的；民主政治的；大眾的

英文來源：CNN

翻譯&編輯：丹妮