晉旭生

Canals by candlelight， Amsterdam

On recent winter trips to Amsterdam， the sight of thousands of shimmering candle flames lighting up the citys waterways has been really uplifting. When we were there， the brilliant luminosity of the city centre came to life under bright moons or night skies. The Dutch tradition of showing paintings by masters of art old and new was also a feature， as famous and local artists had displays of their work out in the open.

See Naples light up

The September luminary festival of Piedigrotta was held in a much-reduced form this year， but normally celebrations of the miraculous vision of Mary1 at the seafront church climax with fantastic fireworks over the Bay of Naples. To see the lights of houses twinkling on the hills while taking part in an illuminated procession next to the lapping waves， the magnificent， menacing Vesuvius in the background—or simply promenading2， gelato3 in hand， behind candle-carrying strollers—is an operatic experience worth a lifes travel memories.

Northern lights， Durham

Lumiere in Durham is held every two years in November and the majority of it is free. The famous city landmarks such as the castle and cathedral are lit with lasers. Each event is different but highlights in previous years have been a giant snow globe in the city centre and a whale emerging from the River Wear.

Light and luck， Thailand

In November 2018 I was in Thailand and celebrated Loy Krathong in Bangtao， Phuket. Loy Krathong celebrates light and offerings are made to bring good luck. We bought our krathongs （decorated offerings made of leaves， flowers and a candle） from the village shop for 50 baht （just over ?1） and floated them out across the lagoon. They had local community performances， food stalls， and fun games organised by local hotels with prizes. I would recommend celebrating locally rather than at a hotel purely for the community spirit.

Magic water， Peru

For just four soles （85p） you get access to 13 illuminated fountains at Limas Circuito Mágico del Agua or Magic Water Circuit4. We paid an additional two soles for a “tractor train” to help us orientate before setting off on foot around the 19-acre Parque de la Reseva5. The fountains are choreographed6 to colourful lights and music， with a spectacular laser show. Some are interactive with surprises—of the wet variety.

White Christmas with clowns， Toronto

Canadians handle cold， long winters by throwing themselves headlong into them. It may be -15℃ but ice skating， torchlit snowshoeing or a bonfire will help keep the spirits up and the darkness away. Along with most of Ontarios many light festivals the Winter Solstice， held in Torontos Kensington Market， is cancelled for this year， but it was our most memor-able experience. This is an artsy， bohemian neighbourhood on a regular day but the lantern parade takes things up a notch7. We watched snowflakes tumble from the sky as clowns played White Christmas on kazoos， and marvelled as towering bonfires were lit by giant fire-breathing puppet dancers.

Community lanterns， Lake District

Ulverston， a few miles from the Lake Districts southern edge， is known as a festival town. The lantern festival in mid-September is usually a spectacular community event that brings out the whole town. Four streams of homemade lanterns （fashioned8 from willow， paper and candles， and with a different theme each year） thread their way through the cobbled streets before uniting and continuing to a park for the finale9—a mystifying extravaganza of music， dancing and fireworks. The procession had to be cancelled this year， though people still made lanterns at home and sent in photos and videos. The inclusiveness and community feel are what make an already fantastic event truly effervescent.

Gaze at the gazebo， Estonia

The Wandering Lights annual festival of light in Estonias capital was cancelled this year， but it is stunning. It takes place over three evenings in late September in Kadriorg Park and everything is free. It includes everything from candles lining pathways among the trees to hi-tech laser lights and fireworks. The most beautiful aspect of the festival is the gazebo in the centre of the lake.

Light on the water， Japan

Although we were there for the rugby in 2019， the autumn Mizuakari Festival in Kumamoto was an example of what can be found when clumsily wandering around a new country. The huge old castle， partially destroyed by earthquake is adorned with 60，000 lights， and thousands of internally lit bamboo poles studded with intricate patterns fringe miles of paths. The river which threads through the town is stencilled10 with thousands of partially submerged lanterns and—as this is Japan—the polite and hushed reverential11 crowds magnify the amber atmosphere. All of this is aided by hordes of yakitori12 sellers offering stick-based sustenance.

Chinese New Year in New Zealand

Who knows when New Zealands thrills will be accessible to UK visitors again， but whenever that is， my top tip is Aucklands free lantern festival. This atmospheric event celebrates Chinese New Year with hundreds of illuminated， colourful lanterns across the parkland of Auckland Domain. Animals， giant fantasy creatures， elaborate scenes of traditional Chinese life are all depicted. Auckland Domain lies atop one of the citys 50 volcanoes and feels quite wild. Along with food and music， the event provides a distinctive New Zealand sense of adventure， wandering through the darkness looking for the next cluster of lights.

阿姆斯特丹：燭光運河

近期幾次冬游阿姆斯特丹，看到成千上萬閃爍的燭光照亮城市河道，讓人精神十分振奮。當時行至此地，或明月高照，或夜幕茫茫，市中心便燈火通明。另一特別之處則是荷蘭傳統(tǒng)的新老藝術大師畫作展示。著名藝術家和地方藝術家都在露天展出自己的作品。

那不勒斯：絢麗煙火

2020年9月的皮耶迪格羅塔燈光節(jié)在形式上簡化了許多。但通常情況下，在這座海濱教堂慶祝圣母馬利亞神啟的活動，伴隨著那不勒斯灣的璀璨煙火達到高潮?；蚣尤胍恢艄庥涡嘘犖?，或僅僅是手拿冰淇淋跟在舉著燭火的漫步者身后閑逛，觀賞著山上閃爍的萬家燈火，身旁浪花拍岸，背后維蘇威火山雄偉險峻，那是值得銘記一生的浪漫旅行經歷。

達勒姆：英國北郡燈光

達勒姆郡盧米埃爾燈光節(jié)隔年11月舉辦，大部分項目免費。達勒姆市著名的地標建筑，如城堡和大教堂，都會被激光照亮。每屆燈光節(jié)各不相同，往年最精彩的造型有置于市中心的一個巨型雪花玻璃球和一頭浮出威爾河的鯨。

泰國：光明與好運

2018年11月，我在泰國普吉島的邦道海灘參加了水燈節(jié)慶?；顒?。水燈節(jié)慶祝光明，人們制作貢品以求能帶來好運。我們花了50泰銖（一英鎊出頭）從村里的商店買了水燈（用樹葉、鮮花和蠟燭裝點而成的貢品）放入湖中任其漂流。慶祝活動有地方社區(qū)表演、食品市集以及地方酒店組織的有獎趣味游戲。我建議，若純粹為了體驗社群精神，那就要和當地居民一起慶祝，而不是待在酒店。

秘魯：魔力之水

僅需4索爾（85便士）便可觀賞利馬魔幻水環(huán)線的13個燈光噴泉。我們又額外花了2索爾乘坐“觀光小火車”熟悉路線，然后開始徒步游覽占地19英畝的保護區(qū)公園。這些噴泉融入了五彩燈光、音樂，以及壯觀的激光秀。部分噴泉有游客互動，有時出奇不意噴你一身水。

多倫多：小丑演奏《白色圣誕節(jié)》

加拿大冬季寒冷而漫長，人們也就充分享受它。氣溫可能已降到零下15攝氏度，但滑冰、舉著火炬雪上行走或點燃篝火會幫助人們振奮精神、抵御黑暗。同安大略省眾多燈節(jié)中的多數一樣，多倫多肯辛頓市場的冬至節(jié)2020年取消了，但冬至節(jié)的經歷最難忘懷。平日里，這是個帶有文藝氣息的波西米亞居住區(qū)，但燈籠節(jié)巡游讓它愈發(fā)迷人。我們聽著小丑用卡祖笛演奏《白色圣誕節(jié)》，看著雪花從天空飄落，對巨人般噴火木偶舞者點燃高聳的篝火驚嘆不已。

英國湖區(qū)：社區(qū)燈節(jié)

阿爾弗斯頓距離湖區(qū)南端幾英里，人稱節(jié)日之城。9月中旬的燈籠節(jié)通常是當地一場盛事，居民會傾城而出。4條由自制燈籠（用柳條、紙和蠟燭制成，每年都有不同的主題）行成的燈流各自沿著鵝卵石鋪就的街道蜿蜒而行，匯聚到一起后，繼續(xù)奔向一座公園加入最后的高潮：一場由音樂、舞蹈和煙花組成的華麗驚艷的演出。盡管2020年的游行被迫取消，但人們依舊在家中制作燈籠，發(fā)布照片和視頻。包容和社區(qū)歸屬感讓業(yè)已精彩的活動更加活力四射。

愛沙尼亞：注目觀景亭

愛沙尼亞首都一年一度的燈節(jié)——燈光漫步，2020年取消了，但燈節(jié)極富魅力。燈節(jié)9月下旬在卡德里奧花園舉行，持續(xù)3個晚上，一切免費。從林中小徑兩旁的蠟燭到高科技激光燈和煙花，應有盡有。燈節(jié)最美的地方當屬湖心的觀景亭。

日本：水上燈光節(jié)

2019年，我們到熊本縣看橄欖球比賽。新到一國，無攻略地漫游會偶有所得，熊本秋季水上燈光節(jié)便是一例。在地震中未完全遭到破壞的巨大古城堡裝飾有6萬盞燈;好幾英里的小徑兩旁布置了數以千計的竹燈。竹竿內部是燈，外部飾有復雜圖案。小河蜿蜒穿城而過，數千盞燈籠半沒半浮其上，仿佛刻印在水中的圖案。因這是在日本，禮貌虔敬的人群低聲細語，加重了這琥珀色燈光營造的氣氛。所有這一切，在一群售賣烤雞肉串小販的襯托下，更顯凝重。

新西蘭：中國新年

不知道新西蘭的勝景何時會對英國游客重新開放，但不管何時，我都首先推薦奧克蘭元宵燈會（不收取費用）。這一特色活動為慶祝中國新年而舉辦。奧克蘭中央公園的綠地上布置有數百盞明亮燈籠，色彩繽紛。有各種各樣的動物燈，有巨大的奇幻生物燈，也有展現中國傳統(tǒng)生活精美畫面的燈。奧克蘭市有50座火山，中央公園位于其中一座火山山頂，讓人頗覺四野空曠。燈會上可以品嘗美食、欣賞音樂，此外，在黑暗中穿行尋找下一組彩燈則讓游人體驗到了具有新西蘭特色的冒險感。

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎者）