Today is Zaragoza’s San Valero Festival, a day to celebrate the city’s patron saint, San Valero. Normally throughout the day there are all events, majorly around the square of Plaza de los Sitios. Loads of workshops, concerts and food stalls are displayed for families and kids.

今天（1月29日）是萨拉戈萨的“圣瓦莱罗节”，纪念的是萨拉戈萨市的守护神圣瓦莱罗。通常今天会举办各种精彩纷呈的活动，摊铺、音乐会、美食一条街……供家人孩子悠游品鉴。

San Valero was the bishop of Zaragoza in the 4th century AD. He was persecuted by the Roman Emperor Diocleciano. The Catholic church then worships him as a saint, and Zaragoza enshrines him as the patron saint of the city.

圣瓦莱罗是公元4世纪基督教萨拉戈萨的主教，遭到罗马皇帝戴克里先的迫害，后来被天主教廷尊崇为圣人，萨拉戈萨则供奉其为城市的守护神。

The highlight of the festival may be when the city hall brings out a gigantic " Roscón de Reyes" and hundreds of cups of thick hot chocolate to share with people. This scenario easily reminds us of the Laba Festival in China, when almost every temple dishes out the Eight-Treasure Porridge to share with the public.

当市政厅端出巨大的“Roscón de Reyes”和千百杯浓情巧克力供大家分享的那一刻，节日达到高潮。这个场景令人想起中国的腊八节，各个寺庙施粥送福的景象。

Roscón de Reyes is a unique Spanish dissert actually for Epiphany, or the Three Kings Day, on January 6, which is only several days ago. In the early evening of January 5, the Biblical Three Kings, or three Wisemen, ride into town on horses bearing gifts and candy for the children of Zaragoza, so there are costumed parades across the city during the night. The next day, January 6, the kids wake up to tons of presents left by the generous Three Kings.

“Roscón de Reyes”是西班牙特产甜点，实际上是主显节的节日食品。主显节是1月6日（又称“三王节”），不过在十几天前而已。节前的1月5日晚，圣经里的三王（又称“东方三贤人”）骑马降临萨拉戈萨城中，还携带着糖果等礼品，盛装游行穿城而过。第二天，孩子们醒来的时候，身边堆满了三位国王慷慨赐予的礼物。

In Bible, it reads that the Three Kings, named Melchoir, Caspar, and Balthazar, followed the star of Bethlehem to see the Christ child. They each brought a gift — frankincense, myrrh, and gold. 

根据圣经记载，三王在“伯利恒之星”（又称“耶稣之星”或“圣诞之星”）指引下，分别携带乳香、没药和黄金，从东方赶来拜见降生的耶稣。

Spain is one of the countries in the world with the most "días festivos" (holiday days) per year. This is admirable, isn’t it! Zaragoza is probably more so, because “Zaragoza is many cultures”—the Roman origins, the Islamic influence, and the confluence of nationalities and religions, all result in a plural and diverse Zaragoza.

西班牙是世界上节假日最多的国家之一——是不是令人艳羡！萨拉戈萨恐怕有过之而无不及，因为“萨拉戈萨汇集了多彩文化”——根植于罗马，受伊斯兰影响，各民族和宗教互相融合，于是造就了多元多样的萨拉戈萨。

Seems we will have series of Holiday Specials in the coming days!

插一句：看来我们的“佳节特刊”系列可望“货”源不断了！

Zaragozans, like the majority of Spanish people, are therefore living with blessings, optimism and enthusiasm. Cablescom team testifies this with their unity and hard-won achievements in the face of past year’s difficulties.

拜赐于此，萨拉戈萨人与大部分西班牙人一样，天性乐观，热情满满。萨拉戈萨线缆公司（Cablescom）用过去一年来的团结一致和难能可贵的成绩，证明了这一点。

Happy San Valero Festival!

节日快乐！

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Later we were told that in the photo above, the lady is wearing the traditional Aragonese costume. It’s the Spanish Manton, or Manila Shawl, which is a Spanish emblem, used also for Flamenco. The amazing part is, the shawl is actually originated in China!

我们得知，最后那张照片里，那位女士身上是传统的阿拉贡穿戴——西班牙披肩，又称“马尼拉披肩”，是西班牙的象征。西班牙国宝弗拉门戈舞中，舞蹈演员时常穿戴。令人惊奇的是，这种披肩竟源于中国！

We looked into history, and found that it’s true! Manila Shawl is so called because it was entrepot-traded in Manila during the 16-19 centuries AD. The shawls were embroidery products of China, transported to Manila, which served as a big entrepot then, and further shipped to Spain and over to the Europe.

我们查阅历史，发现果然如此。之所以叫做“马尼拉”披肩，是因为在16-19世纪期间，这种起源于中国的纺织品，在马尼拉（当时的转口贸易港）进行中转，然后运至西班牙，进而到欧洲各地。

16-19 centuries are the Ming and Qing dynasties in China. During that time, Suzhou textile products, including embroidery, tapestry, among others, were transported to Quanzhou and Guangzhou (Canton) and then flourished on the maritime Silk Road. Taking this into consideration, we may reasonably infer that, Suzhou textile product may have played some role in shaping the Manila Shawl.

16-19世纪是中国的明清时代。那时苏州的刺绣、缂丝等丝织品从泉州、广州出口，在海上丝绸之路上繁荣兴盛。这样的话，我们似乎可以推测，马尼拉披肩的诞生，可能带有苏州丝织品的影子。

Imagine: Flamenco dancing with Suzhou shawls, a splendid Hengtong and Cablescom story.

设想：苏州披肩与弗拉门戈舞交相辉映，这不就是亨通和Cablescom的故事吗？