Festive magic fueled by nostalgia has been credited for the “astonishing” sale of a Christmas tree, “bought for pennies” more than a century ago, for ￡3,411 (US$4,328) at auction last week. The 31-inch tree, complete with 25 branches, 12 berries and six mini candle holders, was estimated to sell for only ￡60-80 at auction house Hansons Auctioneers in the southeastern English county of Oxfordshire. A global bidding battle meant the final result far exceeded this. “The magic of Christmas lives on! The humblest Christmas tree in the world has a new home and we’re delighted for both buyer and seller,” said Charles Hanson, owner of Hansons Auctioneers. The Christmas tree arrived at the home of Dorothy Grant in Leicestershire in England’s East Midlands in 1920, when she was 8 years old, and she was “wildly excited,” the auction house said in the release. She decorated it with cotton wool to mimic snow, since baubles were lavish after World War I. Dorothy treasured the tree until her passing at the age of 101 in 2014, following which her 84-year-old daughter, Shirley Hall, inherited it. “It would have been bought for pennies originally but it’s sold for thousands and that’s astonishing. I think it’s down to the power of nostalgia. Dorothy’s story resonated with people,” said Hanson. “As simple as it was, Dorothy loved that tree. It became a staple part of family celebrations for decades. The fact that it brought her such joy is humbling in itself. It reminds us that extravagance and excess are not required to capture the spirit of Christmas,” he added. Hanson suggested in the release that the tree could have been produced for an expensive London department store. Even though it resembles the first mass-produced artificial trees sold by popular department store Woolworths, he said it differs from trees sold there previously due to the red paint decoration on its wooden base. “The seller decided to part with it to honor her mother’s memory and to ensure it survives as a humble reminder of 1920s life — a boom-to-bust decade,” he added. A similar Christmas tree, purchased in Scotland for the equivalent of 6 pence (8 cents) in 1937, sold for ￡150 at Hansons Auctioneers in 2019, according to Hanson. Another, found in the English city of Derby, sold for ￡420 in 2017. “But Dorothy’s tree has truly excelled,” he said.(SD-Agencies) Words to Learn 相關詞匯 【驚人的】Jīngrén de astonishing causing a feeling of great surprise or wonder 【奢侈】shēchǐ extravagance lack of restraint in spending money or use of resources 大概是節(jié)日氛圍和人們的懷舊情緒施了魔法，一棵一個多世紀前“用幾分錢買來”的圣誕樹在上周的拍賣會上以 3411 英鎊（4328 美元）的驚人價格地售出。 這棵31英寸高的圣誕樹上有25根樹枝、12顆漿果和6個迷你燭臺，在英國東南部牛津郡的漢森拍賣行，這棵圣誕樹的估價僅為 60-80 英鎊。然而一場全球競拍讓最終結果遠遠超出了估價。 “圣誕節(jié)的魔力仍在繼續(xù)！世界上最不起眼的圣誕樹有了新家，我們?yōu)橘I家和賣家都感到高興，”漢森拍賣行的老板查爾斯?漢森說。 拍賣行在一份新聞稿中說，這棵圣誕樹1920年運抵英格蘭東米德蘭茲郡萊斯特郡一個名叫多蘿西?格蘭特的8歲女孩家中，她 “異常興奮”，用棉絮裝飾了這棵樹，模仿雪的樣子，因為一戰(zhàn)后用于裝飾圣誕樹的閃亮小球是難得一見的奢侈品。 多蘿西一直珍藏著這棵樹，直到 2014年她于101歲去世，之后她84歲的女兒雪莉?霍爾繼承了這棵樹。 漢森說：“這棵樹原本只值幾分錢，但現(xiàn)在卻賣到了數(shù)千美元，這太令人吃驚了。這大概是懷舊的魔力，多蘿西的故事引起了人們的共鳴。” 他補充說：“盡管這棵樹很樸素，但多蘿西真心喜歡它。數(shù)十年來，它一直陪伴這個家庭的節(jié)日慶祝活動。這棵卑微的樹給她帶來了如此多的歡樂，提醒我們，圣誕節(jié)的精神并不在于奢華和縱情享樂。” 漢森在新聞稿中表示，這棵圣誕樹可能原本是為倫敦一家奢侈的百貨公司制作的。他說，盡管這棵樹與著名百貨公司伍爾沃斯出售的第一批大規(guī)模生產的人造圣誕樹很相似，但它和之前出售的圣誕樹又有所不同，因為它的木質底座漆成了紅色。 他補充說：“賣家決定出售這棵樹以紀念她的母親，讓這棵樹去到珍惜它的陌生人身邊 —— 作為 20世紀20年代由盛轉衰那十年謙卑的紀念品。” 漢森稱，有人1937年在蘇格蘭以相當于6便士（8 美分）的價格購得一棵類似的圣誕樹，2019 年在漢森拍賣行以150英鎊的價格拍出。另一棵是在英國德比市發(fā)現(xiàn)的，2017年的售價為420 英鎊。 “但多蘿西的這棵圣誕樹簡直賣出了天價，”他說。(Translated by Debra) | 