圣誕節(jié)的意思是“基督的彌撒”
Christmas Day 圣誕節(jié)
◎ Anonymous
As winter rolls around again this year and the days become chillier, millions of people around the world will break out their winter coats and look forward with anticipation to the approaching holiday season. That’s right, Christmas is upon us again.
冬去冬又回，今年也已入冬，天氣越來越寒冷，全世界數百萬人猛地搬出一大堆冬衣，滿心期待即將來臨的年度大假。沒錯，圣誕節(jié)又來了！
The name Christmas is short for “Christ’s Mass”. A Mass is a kind of Church service. Christmas is a religious festival. It is the day we celebrate as the birthday of Jesus. There are special Christmas services in Christian churches all over the world. But many of the festivities of Christmas do not have anything to do with religion. Exchanging gifts and sending Christmas cards are the modern ways of celebrating the Christmas in the world.
圣誕節(jié)的英文原名Christmas是Christ’s Mass的縮寫，意思是“基督的彌撒”。彌撒是一種教堂禮拜儀式，圣誕節(jié)則是一個宗教節(jié)日，我們在這一天慶祝耶穌的誕生。圣誕節(jié)到來之際，世界各地的基督教教會都會舉行特殊的禮拜儀式。但是，現在的很多圣誕節(jié)歡慶活動已經和宗教毫無關系。直到近些年來，圣誕節(jié)交換禮物和送圣誕卡這兩種大眾慶祝方式才開始興起。
For some, that means digging out those old lights and ornaments out of the closet to hang on the Christmas tree. Although it is generally agreed that the Christmas tree in its current form came from Germany in the early 19th century, the tradition of decorating a tree to mark winter celebrations dates back hundreds of years to Roman times, when they used to decorate evergreen trees with small pieces of metal to celebrate Saturnalia.
對一些人而言，這意味著又要翻箱倒柜找出往年的裝飾燈、裝飾品，將它們掛到圣誕樹上了。眾所周知，現在這種圣誕樹源自19世紀初的德國，但是，通過裝飾樹木作為冬季佳節(jié)來臨的標志這一傳統(tǒng)，卻可以追溯到幾百年前的古羅馬時代。那時的人們就已經開始使用金屬亮片裝飾常青樹，以慶祝農神節(jié)的到來了。
In medieval times the “Paradise Play” was performed every year on 24 December. This depicted the creation of Man and the fall of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden and always included an evergreen hung with apples which represented the apple tree of temptation. In the late 16th century, Martin Luther (the founder of the Protestant religion) was the first to decorate an indoor tree with candles when he attempted to recreate the stars shining over a forest of evergreens. The first mention of decorated trees being taken indoors came in 1605 in Germany—a country with a long Christmas tree history! The trees were initially decorated with fruit and sweets together with hand-made objects such as quilled snowflakes and stars. German Christmas Markets began to sell shaped gingerbreads and wax ornaments which people bought as souvenirs of the fair and took home to hang on their trees.
中世紀時期，每年的12月24日都會上演一出《天堂劇》。這出劇主要描繪的是人類創(chuàng)造之初，以及亞當、夏娃從伊甸園墮入人間的故事，劇中常常出現一顆掛滿蘋果的常青樹，象征著引誘他們墮落的蘋果樹。16世紀末，新教創(chuàng)始人馬丁·路德是第一個用蠟燭裝飾室內樹木的人，而他當時的真正目的，只是想再現群星照耀萬年青樹林的一幕。1605年，德國人最先將裝飾好的樹木移到室內，而圣誕樹在德國可是有著相當悠久的歷史！圣誕樹上的裝飾物最初只有水果和糖果，以及用羽毛手工制作的雪花和星星。但慢慢地，德國的圣誕集市上開始出售形狀各異的姜餅和蠟質飾品。人們把這些買回家掛在樹上，當作趕集的紀念品。
For many children, Christmas is the season of Santa Claus, that mysterious and jolly invader of chimneys, soaring through the sky on his magical sled, bearing gifts for the nice and coal for the naughty. Most people who celebrate Christmas are familiar with the figure of Santa Claus. However, few know the details of his origins or the fairly complex history of his development.
對孩子們來說，圣誕節(jié)可是圣誕老人的大舞臺，這個神神秘秘、樂樂呵呵、愛爬煙囪的老頭，會駕著他那魔幻般的雪橇滑過天際，將禮物撒向乖孩子，而將煤球留給淘氣鬼。大多數慶祝圣誕節(jié)的人都很熟悉圣誕老人的形象，但圣誕老人的來歷以及那錯綜復雜的發(fā)展史，幾乎沒幾個人能說清楚。
The figure of Santa Claus actually has many different origins and is derived from a variety of traditions. Elements from these different traditions became incorporated together with time and produced the Santa Claus that we know today. The primary inspiration for Santa Claus is the 4th century Christian bishop Saint Nicholas of Myra. Nicholas resided in the ancient Lycian town of Myra, located in Byzantine Anatolia. Having devoted his entire life to Christianity at a young age, Nicholas became known for his generous gifts to the poor. One famous story tells of how he presented three impoverished daughters of a faithful Christian with dowries so that they would not have to become prostitutes. Today, we continue to use Saint Nicholas (or Saint Nick) as a pseudonym for Santa Claus.
事實上，圣誕老人的形象出處相當多，源自于許多不同的傳統(tǒng)。隨著時間的推移，不同傳統(tǒng)中的文化元素逐漸融為一體，最終形成了我們今日熟悉的圣誕老人形象，其主要靈感來源于4世紀邁拉的基督教主教圣·尼古拉斯。邁拉是他的居住地，位于小亞細亞拜占庭的古利西亞小鎮(zhèn)。他在很小的時候就是基督教徒，畢生都獻身于基督教事業(yè)，并因好善濟施而出名。關于他有一個廣為流傳的故事：曾有一名虔誠的基督徒，膝下有三個窮得叮當響的女兒，在圣尼古拉斯的資助下，才得以置辦嫁妝而不至于淪為娼妓。今天，人們繼續(xù)使用圣·尼古拉斯（或簡稱圣·尼克）作為圣誕老人的別稱。
