Interesting Mascots 好玩的吉祥物

陳天怡

The Olympic mascots are fictional characters， usually an animal native to the area or human figures， who represent the cultural heritage of the place where the Olympic and Paralympic Games are taking place. The mascots are often used to help market the Olympic Games to a younger audience， in particular toddlers and children.

[2] Ever since the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble， France， the Olympic Games have always had a mascot. Starting with the 2010 Vancouver mascots， the Olympic and Paralympic mascots have been presented together.

[3] The success of mascots helped the idea of a mascot become a symbol of the Olympic Games and developed into an institution. Mascots are very popular and despite the importance of the message they convey， they are designed in simple manner with bright， happy colors appropriate for the “festive” atmosphere of the Olympic Games.

[4] Now let’s look at some representative and interesting Olympic mascots：

[5] Haakon and Kristin are the mascots at the Lillehammer Olympic Winter Games in 1994. The mascots’ names refer to historical figures from the 13th century whose destiny is closely linked to Norway and the Lillehammer region， King of Norway from 1217 to 1263， and Princess Kristin， his aunt.

[6] The first mascots in human form， Haakon and Kristin are two happy children. Although they wear medieval clothes in reference to1 their historical roots， they are modern children and express the interests and visions of young people， such as environmental awareness.

[7] Owls Sukki， Nokki， Lekki and Tsukki are the mascots at the Nagano Olympic Winter Games in 1998. They are also known as the Snowlets. “Snow” recalls the winter season， during which the Games take place， and “lets” refers to “let’s”， and invitation to join in the Games celebrations. In addition， the first two letters of the four names form the word “snowlets”. “Owlets” means young owls.

[8] The four owls represent respec-tively fire （Sukki）， air （Nokki）， earth （Lekki） and water （Tsukki）. The choice of four mascots is a nod to the four years that make up an Olympiad. Owls are venerated around the world as having the “wisdom of the woods”; in Greek mythology， the owl is associated with Athena， the goddess of wisdom.

[9] Powder， Copper and Coal are the mascots at the Salt Lake City Olympic Winter Games in 2002. The names Powder， Copper and Coal are an allusion to Utah’s natural resources， its snow and its land. Powder is a snowshoe hare， Copper a coyote and Coal a black bear. The hare’s speed， the coyote’s ability to climb the highest mountaintops and the black bear’s strength illustrate the Olympic motto Citius， Altius， Fortius2 （faster， higher， stronger）. The inspiration for the mascots came from ancient Utah cultures. Each wears a necklace featuring the animal he/she represents in the form of a petroglyph （rock engraving） in the style of the Anasazis or Fremonts， ancient peoples from the region. In addition， the three animals were often the major protagonists in Native American legends， passed on from generation to generation.

[10] The two mascots are humanized snowball and ice cube at the Turin Olympic Winter Games in 2006. In Italian， “neve” means snow and “gliz” means ice. Together， they represent the fundamental elements required for successful Winter Games and personify winter sports. Neve， with fluid and rounded contours， is linked to harmony and elegance of movement. She is dressed in red. The angular and smooth shapes of Gliz recall the power and strength of athletes. He wears a blue outfit.

[11] Quatchi and Miga are the mascots at the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games in 2010.They are creatures inspired by the fauna and tales of the First Nations3 on the West Coast of Canada. Quatchi is a sasquatch， a popular character from local legend who lives in the forest. He is covered in thick fur and wears boots and earmuffs. Miga is a sea bear， a mythical animal that is part killer whale and part Kermode bear. The Kermode bear， also called “Bear Spirit”， lives only in British Columbia.

[12] The mascots of the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games are Soohorang and Bandabi. Soohorang4 took its motif5 from the white tiger which has been long considered as Korea’s guardian animal. Soohorang not only has a challenging spirit and passion， but is also a trustworthy friend who protects the athletes， spectators and all the participants of the Olympic Games.

[13] Bandabi6 is an Asiatic black bear. The bear is symbolic of strong will and courage.

奧林匹克吉祥物是虛構的形象，往往要么是奧運會或殘奧會舉辦地特有的動物，要么是人物形象，可以代表當地的文化傳統。吉祥物有助于向低齡觀眾宣傳奧運會，特別是少年兒童。

[2]自1968年在法國格勒諾布爾舉辦的冬季奧運會起，每一屆奧運會都有一個吉祥物。從2010年溫哥華吉祥物開始，奧運會和殘奧會的吉祥物總是一同亮相。

[3]吉祥物的成功使其成為了奧林匹克的象征之一，并發展為一大慣例。吉祥物廣受喜愛，雖然肩負傳遞重要信息的職責，卻也憑借其簡潔的造型和明快的色調，完美烘托了奧運會的“節慶”氛圍。

[4]下面，讓我們一起來看幾組富有代表性而又妙趣橫生的奧運吉祥物吧：

[5]哈康和克里斯汀是1994年利勒哈默爾冬奧會的吉祥物。他們的名字取自13世紀的歷史人物——1217至1263年間統治挪威的國王以及他的姑媽克里斯汀公主，兩人的命運與挪威及利勒哈默爾地區息息相關。

[6]哈康和克里斯汀是首對被賦予人形的吉祥物，外表為兩個快樂的兒童。他們身穿中世紀服飾，以示其歷史淵源，又和當代的孩子一樣，展現出年輕人的興趣和理想，比如環保意識。

[7] 1998年長野冬奧會的吉祥物是名為思崽、鬧崽、賴崽和賜崽的四只貓頭鷹，合稱為雪精靈。其中，snow（雪）令人聯想到冬季，即奧運會舉辦的季節;lets則與let’s（來吧）同音，廣邀大眾共慶奧運。四個名字的前兩個字母合在一起就構成了snowlets一詞，詞的后半段owlets還有小貓頭鷹之意。

[8]四只貓頭鷹分別象征火、風、土和水，數目四契合冬奧會四年舉辦一次的周期。貓頭鷹作為“森林的智者”，受到全世界的尊敬;希臘神話中貓頭鷹讓人聯想到智慧女神雅典娜。

[9]鮑德、卡普爾和克爾是2002年鹽湖城冬奧會的吉祥物。他們的名字喻指猶他州的自然資源、積雪和土地。鮑德是一只雪靴兔，卡普爾是一匹草原狼，克爾是一頭黑熊。野兔的速度，草原狼攀爬高峰的能力，黑熊的力量，展現了“更快、更高、更強”的奧林匹克格言。吉祥物的靈感來自古猶他文化。每個吉祥物都戴有形狀為其對應動物的巖雕項鏈，雕刻風格源自當地的古老民族——阿納薩齊族和佛利蒙族。此外，這三種動物還常作為主角，出現在印第安代代相傳的傳說中。

[10] 2006年都靈冬奧會的兩個吉祥物分別是人形的雪球和冰塊。意大利語的“內葦”是雪的意思，“格利茲”則是冰的意思。他們代表著冬奧會成功舉辦必不可少的兩大要素，同時也是冬季運動的化身。身著紅衣的內葦輪廓流暢圓滑，體現了動作的和諧與優雅。藍衫加身的格利茲外形規整光滑，令人聯想到運動員的力量和強韌。

[11]魁特奇和米加是2010年溫哥華冬奧會的吉祥物。他們脫胎于加拿大西海岸第一民族的動物和故事?？仄媸莻€大腳野人，在當地傳說中頗受歡迎，住在森林之中。他渾身覆蓋著厚厚的毛發，腳踩長靴，頭戴耳罩。米加是只海熊，神話中半虎鯨半克莫德熊的動物?？四滦芤卜Q“靈熊”，僅棲息于不列顛哥倫比亞省。

[12] 2018年平昌冬奧會的吉祥物是守護虎和半月熊。守護虎的形象取自白虎，后者素來被視為韓國的守護獸。守護虎不僅具有挑戰精神和無限熱情，更是守護運動員、觀眾和所有奧運參與者的可靠伙伴。

[13]半月熊是一只亞洲黑熊，象征強大的意志和勇氣?！?/p>