舌尖上的航海丨第1集 情人節(jié)里的“哥倫布”

《圣瓦倫丁號》是艘特殊的運輸船?！笆ネ邆惗　钡挠⒄Z原文“Valeutines DaY”，在情人節(jié)登錄美國的時尚網(wǎng)站，出來的結(jié)果百分之八十是關(guān)于吃的，其中絕大多數(shù)是關(guān)于巧克力的，每個頁面都讓人垂涎欲滴。

《圣瓦倫丁號》是艘專門運輸巧克力的貨船，所以起這個船名就不奇怪了。

更讓人稀奇的是，情人節(jié)的英語原文并非“Larey，s Day“而是“Va丨eutines Day”（即圣瓦倫丁），難道這是“翻譯事故“嗎！

這里有鮮為人知的奧妙和故事。

《圣瓦倫丁號》大臺（餐廳）是船員聚餐，也是娛樂的“圣地“。

每逢節(jié)假日，大臺里除擺滿各類美食佳肴，還會講述許多航海與美食的故事。

這天，《圣瓦倫丁號》航行在大西洋上，正值“情人節(jié)”。

大臺餐桌上擺滿了各式各樣的巧克力。這些巧克力大多是船長皮特從世界各地“淘”來的。

遠(yuǎn)洋水手的漂洋過海生活十分特殊，常年漂泊在海上，與家人聚少離多，思鄉(xiāng)之情并未有因距離而淡薄，逢年過節(jié)，總會用各種方式懷念遠(yuǎn)方的親人。

《圣瓦倫丁號》船長皮特出身在意大利哥倫布的故鄉(xiāng)熱那亞，典型的“感情包”，更是一位哥倫布迷！

每逢佳節(jié)，無論在繁忙的碼頭，還是在茫茫大洋里，皮特船長總會讓人在大臺里備上美酒佳肴，并講上一段讓人難忘的鮮為人知的航海人的故事；比如，哥倫布娶了名門閨秀莫尼斯，為哥倫布周旋于葡萄牙和西班牙上層社會，為運洋出海打下基礎(chǔ)，著名的海盜船長納多德如何用渡鴉發(fā)現(xiàn)“冰島“的傳奇…，甚至還會有板有眼地講述中國秦朝航海家徐福東渡日本，尋找“長生不老藥“的傳說…，當(dāng)然，皮特船長講得最多的仍然是哥倫布的故事，誰讓他是“哥倫布迷”哩！

這些故事讓水手們著迷，同時也學(xué)到了許多航海知識，情人節(jié)里餐廳里為啥擺滿了各式各樣的巧克力，難道它與航海和情人節(jié)有關(guān)嗎？

人們正在猜疑，皮特船長身著哥倫布式服裝亮相在餐廳里：“哥倫布！”人們不禁驚叫起來。

皮特船長奇特的裝扮引起人們一陣哄笑和掌聲。

皮特船長隨手拿起桌上一塊巧克力，端祥片刻，神秘地說：“《情人節(jié)》與巧克力，更與哥倫布航海有關(guān)，你們知道嗎！”

水手們沒有猜錯，皮特船長三句不離哥倫布，這是不爭的事實：”哥倫布是海員的驕傲！“這是皮特船長的口頭禪。

但是，人們從未聽說過哥倫布與情人節(jié)和巧克力有關(guān)！

情人節(jié)的大西洋風(fēng)平浪靜，顯得格外溫柔。餐廳里點起少見的蠟燭和擺滿了五顏六色的鮮花。

除了值班人員外，水手們都聚集在餐廳里，聽皮特船長講述哥倫布與情人節(jié)和巧克力的故事。

“據(jù)說，情人節(jié)這天，全球巧克力的銷量高達(dá)263萬公斤，這是有史以來，食品銷量的最高紀(jì)錄！”

皮特船長整理了一下身上的服裝，輕輕咳嗽了一聲，講起了一段耐人尋味又離奇的故事。

”大約在公元前五世紀(jì)未期，羅馬教皇正式確認(rèn)每年的2月14日為《圣瓦倫丁節(jié)》（今情人節(jié)）。那時候，歐州人還未聽說過《巧克力》這個陌生的名詞。

但是，遠(yuǎn)在數(shù)千里之外的拉丁美洲的瑪雅人和阿茲特克人，已經(jīng)享用了巧克力1500多年。

直到15世紀(jì)初，哥倫布率領(lǐng)飽經(jīng)風(fēng)霜的探險船隊歸來，向西班牙女王伊莎貝拉敬獻(xiàn)的禮物中，除黃金珠寶外，還有一種酷似春藥的黑褐色東西。這件黑褐色的東西迷人的香味和神奇的傳說，立刻使歐州的貴族著了迷，成了當(dāng)時貴族獨享的珍品！

十九世紀(jì)初，英國一家名叫吉百利的糖果公司，將這黑褐色東西制成糖果，尋常百姓才知曉它叫巧克力。

巧克力開始風(fēng)靡歐州。

但是，此時，巧克力與圣瓦倫丁節(jié)沒有任何關(guān)係和爪葛。

1861年，吉百利家族一名叫理查德的族人突發(fā)奇想，做出一款心形的包裝盒，將巧克力放置其中，并特意選在情人節(jié)上市，頓時火爆全球。

從此，開始了情人節(jié)與巧克力的不解浪漫之緣！

隨看現(xiàn)代科技的發(fā)展，人們發(fā)現(xiàn)巧克力中含有苯乙胺，是種能觸發(fā)某種如墜愛河感覺的元素。為巧克力與情人節(jié)結(jié)合浪漫關(guān)係，做出合乎情理的解解?！?/p>

講到這里，皮特船長突然仃頓下來，拿起桌上一塊巧克力，口氣變得緩慢而低沉，說：“按照西方宗教的傳說，2月14日非但不是一個浪漫的日子，而是一個悲苦，殉道和犧牲的時刻。傳說中，羅馬皇帝認(rèn)為已婚男子不願離家當(dāng)兵違背天理，因此頒布了一道禁止結(jié)婚的法令。此刻，一個名叫圣瓦倫丁的主教卻違背羅馬皇帝的旨意，秘密為青年人舉行婚禮。圣瓦倫丁的行為激怒了羅馬皇帝，終在公元273年2月14日圣瓦倫丁被處死刑。

這個故事流傳了一千多年。這天成了紀(jì)念圣瓦倫丁犧牲的紀(jì)念日。

直到公元1382年，英國詩人喬叟一首浪漫詩《百鳥會議》中寫道，因為今天是《圣瓦倫丁節(jié)》，所有鳥兒都會來此選擇它們的配偶。這時，《圣瓦倫丁節(jié)》才有了情人節(jié)的寓意?！?/p>

皮特船長最后長長噓了一口氣說：“無論如何，《圣瓦倫丁節(jié)》有了春日萬物姿情生長的寓意，最后它與巧克力結(jié)緣，還是靠偉大的航海家哥倫布的功勞，是他不遠(yuǎn)萬里把巧克力從美洲帶到了歐洲！“

皮特船長三句不離夲行，不愧為哥倫布的忠實崇拜者。

“圣瓦倫丁號》的船員過了一個非同尋常的《情人節(jié)》，也詮釋了《情人節(jié)》英語翻譯的“合理錯誤”。

Columbus and Valentine’s Day

The St Valentine is a cargo ship that specializes in the transportation of chocolate.

When searching for a gift on Valentine’s Day, a vast majority of people immediately

think of chocolate. Chocolate and Valentine’s Day are indisputably tied to one another, so it’s

not difficult to imagine where St Valentine got its name. But its sailors often wondered, how

come the name of the holiday that celebrates love isn’t “Lover’s Day”, but “Valentine’s

Day”?

Though the St Valentine is quite an obscure vessel, many wondrous stories transpired

aboard this inconspicuous raft.

The grand terrace on St Valentine’s deck is a homely gathering spot for the sailors,

and also a sanctuary for entertainment. When the crew spends holidays at sea, the terrace is

adorned with a wide variety of seafood, and tales of seafaring are told amongst the seamen.

The life that sailors live is very special. They often spend years adrift at sea, they

leave home more often than they are able to return to their families. As vast as the ocean is,

it’s still unable to dilute the sailors’ longing and homesickness.

The St Valentine’s Captain, Captain Pete, was no outlier. Born in the town of Genoa,

Italy, Pete was known for his theatrical stories and his fascination with Christopher

Columbus. On any festive occasion, whether it was in a busy dock or on the vast ocean,

Captain Pete would always would always have wine and food prepared in the large stage, and

tell an unforgettable story of little-known seafarers: how Columbus married Filipa Moniz

Perestrelo, a Portuguese noblewoman from Porto Santo Island, who helped Columbus secure

assistance whenever he set sail for long journeys; stories of the famous Captain Nadode, who

used ravens to unravel the legends of Iceland; he’d even speak of the Chinese navigator Xu

Fu of the Qin Dynasty, who crossed into Japan to search for the medicine for immortality.

Above all, however, Captain Pete repeatedly told tales of Christopher Columbus, as Pete was

an unrelenting fan of the navigator.

These stories fascinated Captain Pete’s crewmen, and taught them a lot about sailing.

And so, on Valentine’s Day, as the grand terrace was adorned by chocolates collected

from all across the world by Captain Pete himself, his sailors wondered: is the romantic

holiday somehow related to seafaring?

As the sailors argued amongst themselves, Captain Pete appeared in front of the

terrace, dressed from head to toe in Columbus-style clothing, and exclaimed, “Columbus!”

His peculiar outfit and overwhelming enthusiasm was met with laughter.

Captain Pete picked up a piece of chocolate from the table, held it above his head, and

said mysteriously, “Valentine’s Day is definitely related to seafaring, but it’s all the more tied

to Christopher Columbus!”

The sailors who guessed correctly were delighted, but none of them had actually ever

heard of Columbus’s relation to the delicious sweets. Aside from the few sailors who were on

shift, everyone else gathered around Captain Pete, anticipating a captivating tale of Columbus

and his chocolates.

The sea on Valentine’s Day was calm and quiet, gentle and serene. The crew lit the

grand terrace with their most precious candles and decorated it with colorful flowers.

“It is said that every Valentine's Day, global sales of chocolate

reach 2.63 million kilograms, the highest food sales ever recorded!”

Captain Pete dusted off his costume, cleared his throat, and started

to tell his bizarre story.

"Around the end of the fifth century B.C., the Pope officially

recognized February 14 of each year as "St. Valentine's Day", known today

as Valentine's Day. At the time, however, most Europeans had not yet heard

of the unfamiliar term "chocolate".But the Mayans and Aztecs, who lived

thousands of miles away in Latin America, had been indulging in the treat

for over 1500 years.

It wasn’t until the beginning of the 15th century, after Columbus

returned from a weathered expedition to the Americas, when Queen Isabella

of Spain received a set of cocoa beans along with jewelry, gold, and other

treasures. The unique taste and magical legends surrounding this dark brown

confectionary charmed the European nobility, and became an extremely

valuable gift amongst the noblemen!

Four hundred years later, a British company named Cadbury processed

these cocoa beans into a candy. Cadbury made cocoa beans more widely

available to the general public, who came to know these sweets as

“chocolate”.

Chocolate launched into Europe by storm. However, at the time,

chocolate still had no relationship with the Feast of St. Valentine.

In 1861, a member of the Cadbury family named Richard was suddenly

inspired to make a heart-shaped box to package chocolates in, and chose the

fateful occasion of Valentine’s Day to launch the new design. Chocolates

placed in heart-shaped containers turned into a global phenomenon, and

Valentine's Day and chocolate thus embarked on an inseparable love affair.

With the development of recent technologies, scientists discovered that

chocolates contain phenylethylamine, a chemical compound that triggers a

reaction in the human nervous system that is close to the feeling of

falling in love. This provided a logical explanation for the captivating

connection between chocolate and Valentine’s Day.”

Captain Pete paused in the middle of his story and picked up a piece of

chocolate from the table. His voice turned low and his tone turned steady.

“According to old Christian legends, February 14th is not a romantic day,

but a time of sorrow, martyrdom and sacrifice. In the legend, the Roman

Emperor thought that married men who did not want to leave home to serve as

soldiers were against heavenly justice, so he issued a decree forbidding

marriage. However, a bishop named St Valentine continued to conduct

marriages for young men in secret. He was executed on February 14, 273 AD

for having angered the Roman Emperor.

This story has been passed down for generations. February 14th was

known as the anniversary of St Valentine’s tragic sacrifice.

Over a thousand years later, in 1382, the English poet Chaucer wrote a

romantic poem titled “Parlement of Foules”. Chaucer wrote that the reason

why all birds gathered on February 14th to choose their lovers, was because

St Valentine sacrificed his own life on that day so others could be with

their true love. It was only then that February 14th took on the romantic

undertone that’s now known as Valentine’s Day.”

Captain Pete took a deep breath, and continued: “St Valentine’s Day

has the symbolic meaning of the springtime blossom of all things living,

and its idyllic tie with chocolate is all thanks to the Italian explorer

Christopher Columbus, who traveled thousands of miles to bring chocolate

from the Americas to Europe!”

Captain Pete told the story with great detail and passion, proving his

place as a knowledgeable follower of Christopher Columbus, and also a

dramatic sailor with great enthusiasm for nautical history. The crew of the

St Valentine experienced an unforgettable Valentine’s Day, and now

understood the sentimental background of the holiday that celebrates love

and romantic unity.