国外离婚庆祝业生意红火

For those of us who might wish to throw a more modest and sedate party to mark the end of a marriage, ordering a "divorce cake" could be the way forward.

At one bakery in Florida, Elite Cake Creations in Cooper City, near Miami, they are now getting three to four requests for divorce cakes each month.

Owner Beatriz Otero, says she once made a cake for a male client who asked for it in the shape of a golf bag, with a sign on it that read "free at last, going golfing".

Most requests, however, are for a picture of a bride dragging a groom by the leg, with a sign that says "take him to the trash".

Other cakes may feature grooms being eaten by an alligator, or dismembered in a Jacuzzi.

Ms Otero says: "For one of my customers we did her wedding cake, then five years later we were doing her divorce cake.

"Relationships are hard. My way of helping them is making a sour situation a little bit sweeter."

An Elite Cake Creations' divorce cake for 10 people typically costs about $70, with the customer being able to choose from more than 150 different flavour and fillings combinations.

'Acknowledging loss'

While entrepreneurial small firms across the US are happily making money from the increase in the number of people celebrating a divorce, why has the phenomenon grown so strongly in recent years? And is it a good thing?

As its name suggests, Divorce Hotel checks couples into hotels so they can agree their divorce terms Psychologist Robin Deutsch, director of the Centre of Excellence for Children, Families and the Law, at the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology, says it is a development which should be welcomed.

"The growth of the divorce [celebration] industry speaks to the fact that people want to acknowledge loss through ritual," she says.

"Many people find release through it - I had one couple in my office who said their vows backwards.

"I think it gives them a sense of hope and closure, it's a positive thing.

"People do what they feel they need to do to move on. What they do, what kind of ritual they have, that's their choice."

“终于自由了”

对于那些希望用较为安静的方式纪念婚姻结束的人来说，订做“离婚蛋糕”是一种备受推崇的方式。

佛罗里达州（Florida）的库珀市（Cooper）有一家名叫“精英蛋糕”（Elite Cake Creations）的面包店，就位于迈阿密（Miami）附近，这家店现在每个月会接到3—4个离婚蛋糕订单。

店长比阿特丽丝·奥特罗（Beatriz Otero）说道，她曾为一位女性顾客做了一个高尔夫球袋形状的蛋糕，上面还写着“终于自由了，打高尔夫去”。

而大部分顾客则要求蛋糕上有新娘拖拽新郎腿的图案，就好像在说“把他丢进垃圾桶里”。

还有一些蛋糕很有特色，比如新郎被短吻鳄吃掉、新郎被肢解在浴缸里等。

奥特罗女士说：“有一位顾客，我们为她做了结婚蛋糕，而五年后为她做离婚蛋糕的又是我们。

“走到这一步都不容易。我能做的就是帮助他们在辛酸中加入一丁点的甜蜜。”

“精英蛋糕”店的离婚蛋糕是10人份，通常大约花费70美元。顾客可以在150种不同的口味和馅料组合中自由选择。

“承认婚姻失败”

遍布全美的创业公司纷纷从不断增加的庆祝离婚的人口中赚到钱，可是，为何近些年来离婚势头愈演愈烈？这是一种好的现象吗？

“儿童、家庭和法律卓越中心”（the Centre of Excellence for Children, Families and the Law）主任，麻省专业心理学学院的专家罗宾·卢伊奇（Robin Deutch）认为，这只是一种应该得到认可的发展前景。

“离婚（庆祝）业的蓬勃发展反映了一个现实，人们希望通过用仪式承认婚姻的失败。”她说。

“很多人都从中获得了解脱。——我有过一位合法的配偶，但那都是过去的事了。

“我认为这给了他们希望和婚姻终结的如释重负感。这是一件积极的事情。

“人们做着自己认为需要做的事情。无论做什么，采用怎样的方式，这都是他们的选择。”