節約還是消費?歐洲人節日季節作選擇

Europeans head into a grim holiday season, as governments cut spending and recession fears mount for 2012. Austerity is the byword in some of the countries hardest hit by Europe's debt crisis, but others are sending out the old year with a final, celebratory bash.

歐洲民衆正進入一個黯淡的節日季節，因爲政府在削減開支而且擔心2012年經濟會陷入衰退。在受歐洲債務危機衝擊最嚴重的一些國家，"緊縮"一詞成了一個標語。

Shoppers crowd the holiday window displays outside the Galleries Lafayette, the famous department store in central Paris. Most are juggling shopping bags filled with holiday gifts. Thirty-five-year-old Alexandra de Brito is among the few who is bare-handed.

在法國巴黎市中心著名的老佛爺百貨店的節日展示櫥窗外，擠滿了購物人羣。多數人手上都提着裝滿了節日禮品的購物袋。35歲的亞歷山德拉·德布里託是爲數不多的兩手空空的人之一。

De Brito says she will not be buying any presents this Christmas time - even though she makes a good salary. Instead, she will make her family a good Christmas dinner and buy them presents during the after-Christmas sales. That is because the cost of everything is going up, she says - everything except salaries.

德布里託說，雖然她的薪水不菲，但聖誕節時她不會買任何禮物。她會給家人做一頓豐盛的節日晚餐，然後在聖誕節之後的商家打折期間給家人買禮物。她說，因爲所有物價都在上漲，只有工資沒漲。

Across Europe, citizens like De Brito are pulling in their belts this holiday season - in line with their governments, who are introducing austerity measures to combat the region's sovereign debt and banking crisis. In some of the hardest-hit countries, like Portugal, Greece and Spain, local governments have cut their holiday budgets and dimmed their Christmas lights.

在歐洲各地，像德布里託這樣的居民這個節日季節正在勒緊褲腰帶，和他們的政府一樣。政府正在實行緊縮措施，以對抗該地區的主權債務和銀行危機。在葡萄牙、希臘和西班牙等一些受創最嚴重的國家，政府已經削減了節日預算，並調暗了聖誕節燈光。

But the picture is more mixed in countries like France, which are still teetering on the brink of the eurozone crisis. Thousands of people protested in Paris and other French cities this last week against new government austerity measures.

但在法國等國家，情況更多樣化一些。這些國家仍處於歐元區危機的邊緣。過去這個星期，巴黎和法國其它城市的數千名民衆走上街頭示威，抗議新的政府緊縮措施。

Twenty-five-year-old student Pierre Dubovatsky joined the Paris demonstrations.

25歲的學生皮埃爾·杜博瓦特斯基參加了巴黎的示威活動。

"I am afraid for my future," he said. "I do not have enough money to live [on] ... As things are difficult and I do not live with my family, I will just use the little money I have to get my family in the south of France, and this will be how I'll be celebrating Christmas. There will be no presents, just getting together."

杜博瓦特斯基說:"我擔心我的未來。我沒有足夠的錢生活......情況很艱難，我沒有和家人住在一起，我會用僅有的這一點點錢回到法國南部的家人那裏......這將是我慶祝聖誕節的方式。沒有禮物，只是家人團聚。"

British tourists Paul and Anita Scotney, eyeing a window display at a Cartier's diamond store on the elegant Champs Elysees, are also worried.

英國遊客保羅和安妮塔·斯科特尼在優雅的香榭麗舍大街上的一家卡地亞鑽石店櫥窗外駐足觀看。他們也感到憂慮。"We are not here to buy anything really," he said. "It is just purely to see my son and to see Paris, because we have never been to Paris before."

保羅·斯科特尼說:"我們來這裏並不是要買什麼東西。只是來看我的兒子和看看巴黎，因爲我們以前從沒來過巴黎。"

Although Britain is not part of the eurozone, its economy is struggling, and the Scotneys are concerned.

雖然英國不屬於歐元區，但是英國經濟也很艱難。斯科特尼夫婦感到擔心。

"Depressed, mostly," said Paul Scotney. "Worried. I am retired so it does not really affect me but Anita is still working, so the job situation could affect us."

斯科特尼說:"主要是感到沮喪。還有擔心。我已經退休了，所以不太會影響到我，但是安妮塔還在工作，所以工作前景可能會對我們有影響。"

But other people - French and Europeans - are opening their pocketbooks this holiday season. Throngs packed department stores during the last weekend before Christmas. Analyst Philippe Moreau Defarges believes people are celebrating while they can.

然而在這個節日季節，法國和歐洲的其他人正打開荷包。在聖誕節前的最後一個週末，大量人羣涌入百貨商店。分析人士菲利浦·莫羅·德法爾日認爲，人們是在還能夠慶祝的時候進行慶祝。

"I think many Europeans and many French are becoming aware that next year will be difficult," he said. "That is why if we can have a last merry Christmas - let us take it."

德法爾日說:"我認爲許多歐洲人和許多法國人正意識到，明年將會很艱難。因此，如果我們可以過最後一個快樂的聖誕節，我們就盡情過吧。"

As strollers admire the holiday decorations on the Champs Elysees, a young man called Gwele rings a bell for the Salvation Army charity, soliciting donations.

當人們在讚美香榭麗舍大街上的節日裝飾時，一個名叫格威爾的年輕男子請人們關注慈善團體"救世軍"，他在那裏募捐。

Gwele says the French are still giving to the poor and homeless this holiday season - aware that they are the first to suffer in these hard economic times.

格威爾說，今年節日季節法國人仍在向窮人和無家可歸者捐獻。要知道，在經濟困難時期，這些人首當其衝受到影響。