长亭外，古道边，芳草碧连天……缅怀时刻，伴随一首《送别》曲，演员手捧发光的柳条枝，缓缓步入北京冬奥会闭幕式主场地。他们向场地中央汇聚，以今天的方式，演绎中国人传承千年的“惜别怀远”、“折柳寄情”。
[Photo/Xinhua]
中国古代，送行者往往会折一条柳枝送给远行的亲朋，表达惜别、盼归之意。折柳也成为了独具东方文化韵味的送别方式。在北京冬奥会闭幕式上，“折柳寄情”，这一中国式道别惊艳世人。
这份中国浪漫引发外媒关注。美国全国广播公司（NBC）详细描写了“折柳寄情”环节，还为外国观众做了科普。
The performers beautifully interacted with a LED floor to show imagery of the willow, one that showed the emotional symbolism of “a bittersweet goodbye.”
演员与地面上的屏幕影像完美互动，展现虚拟的柳枝，表现出了“苦涩又甜蜜的离别”的情感寄托。
The theme of "one world, one family" continued to be evident through the Games as 365 different individuals all held a willow branch that represented "the unwavering spirit of remembering the departed through the 365 days of a year."365名普通人手捧柳枝，汇聚在场地中央，代表一年365天的思念，将“世界大同，天下一家”的主题表现得淋漓尽致。
The stage then turned into a beautiful shade of green, which was a symbol of the shifting of past negativity into the blossoming of a new day.
舞台随后变化成一片唯美的绿地，转而大地回春，一片生机盎然。
[Photo/Xinhua]
NBC还解释称，“柳”在汉语里与“留”同音，表达分别的悲伤情绪。
The willow twig is a part of the willow tree, and in Chinese, the character for the willow tree is a homophone of the character liu, which means asking a person to stay when bidding farewell. Thus it symbolizes the sorrow of separation.
柳枝是柳树的枝条。在汉语中，“柳”与“留”同音，蕴含着在离别时刻挽留对方的含义。因此，“柳枝”就成了“悲伤的离别”的象征。
In ancient days, when two friends part, the traveling party will always receive a willow twig as a gift.
在中国古代，朋友分离之时，远走的一方常常会被赠予柳条作为离别礼物。
奥林匹克运动会推特官方账号也对“折柳送别”的含义做出了解释，“在中国传统文化中，柳枝是赠予友人的离别礼物。这不是‘告别’，而是‘再见’”。
