圣诞节的习俗
From the Old English ‘Cristes Mæsse’ ~ meaning the ‘mass of Christ’ ~ the story of Christmas begins with the birth of a babe in Bethlehem.圣诞节源自古英语‘Cristes Mæsse’～意即“基督的弥撒”～圣诞节的故事始于伯利恒一个婴儿的诞生。
Many Christmas customs are based on the birth of Christ. Such as giving presents because of the Wise Men, who brought presents to the baby Jesus. Christmas carols based on Christ's birth and scenes of the birth with figures of shepherds, the Wise Men, and animals surrounding the baby Jesus.许多圣诞节的风俗都基于基督诞生的传说。譬如圣诞节互赠礼物的习俗就始于那几位贤者，他们给婴儿耶稣带了礼物。圣诞颂歌也源于基督诞生，那一刻，牧羊人、贤者、和动物们环绕在小耶稣身边，景象动人。(译者注：Wise-men，也作Magi、东方三博士等)
But some of the ways people celebrate Christmas have nothing to do with Christ's birthday. Many bits of older holidays have crept into Christmas!但人们的一些庆祝方式其实和基督诞生没有任何关系。并且许多古老的节日习俗也混进了圣诞节。
It wasn't until about 200 years after Christ's death that Christians even thought about celebrating his birth. No one knows the exact date of his birth. It is believed that December the 25th was chosen to turn people away from celebrating other holidays in this time of the year.并非是等到耶稣死后200年，基督徒们才想起庆祝他的诞生。其实没人知道他诞生的确切日期。有人认为，12月25日是从每年这个时段中的其它节庆中被选出来的。
Saturnalia, was the Romans holiday that they celebrated in December. It was a time of feasting and parties. Also, in northern Europe there was a holiday known as Yule. They celebrated this holiday by making great fires. They then would dance around the fires, yelling for the winter to end.农神节，罗马人在12月里的一个节日，那是纵情于盛宴与欢聚的日子。同样，北欧人也有他们的“尤尔节”(Yule)。他们的庆祝方式是燃起熊熊大火，然后围著火堆跳舞，为冬天行将结束而呐喊欢歌。(译者注：早期Asatru异教的冬至假日Yule被基督徒吸收，今天圣诞节一词在斯堪的纳维亚语里依然是异教的jul或yule。)
In time, Christmas took the place of these holidays. But people kept some of the old customs -- such as burning a Yule log and having feasts and parties. The word Yule is still used as a name for the Christmas season.经过一段时间后，圣诞节就取代了这些节日。但是人们保留了一些古老的习俗——诸如燃烧“圣诞柴火”、举办宴会和派对。Yule这个词仍被用作称呼“圣诞节”。
As time went on, new customs crept into Christmas. One was the Christmas tree, which was started in Germany. As the Germans settled in new lands they brought with them this tradition.随著时间推移，新的节日习俗也逐渐渗入圣诞节。其中一个就是圣诞树，原本这一风俗起源于德国。当德国人到一个新地方定居下来，他们的传统习俗也随之而来。
In 16th-century Germany fir trees were decorated, both indoors and out, with apples, roses, gilded candies, and colored paper. In the Middle Ages, a popular religous play depicted the story of Adam and Eve’s expulsion from the Garden of Eden.十六世纪的德国盛行装饰冷杉树，无论室内的还是屋外的，都会挂上苹果、玫瑰、涂金的蜡烛，以及花花绿绿的彩色纸片。中世纪，一部流行的宗教剧就描述过亚当和夏娃被赶出伊甸园的故事。
A fir tree hung with apples was used to symbolize the Garden of Eden — the Paradise Tree. The play ended with the prophecy of a saviour coming, and so was often performed during the Advent season.一棵挂满苹果的冷杉树被作为伊甸园的象徵——天堂之树。那部宗教剧以一个救世主即将降临作为结尾，所以“降临节”期间常演出这个剧目。(译者注：Advent season也作将临期，是为庆祝耶稣圣诞前的准备期和等待期，可算是教会的新年。)
It is held that Protestant reformer Martin Luther first adorned trees with light. While coming home one December evening, the beauty of the stars shining through the branches of a fir inspired him to recreate the effect by placing candles on the branches of a small fir tree inside his home.新教革新家马丁.路德是第一个用摇曳灯火来装饰圣诞树的人。12月的一个夜晚，当他回到家中，看到闪烁星光透过树枝的那种美，灵感顿时被激发，他把家里小冷杉树的枝条上挂满蜡烛，以替代星光闪烁的效果。
The Christmas Tree was brought to England by Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert from his native Germany. The famous Illustrated News etching in 1848, featuring the Royal Family of Victoria, Albert and their children gathered around a Christmas tree in Windsor Castle, popularized the tree throughout Victorian England. Brought to America by the Pennsylvania Germans, in the late 19th century.圣诞树的传统是由英国伊丽莎白女王的丈夫，阿尔伯特亲王从家乡德国带来。1848年，著名的《伦敦新闻画报》刊有一幅版画，刻画了温莎城堡中的王室一家——伊丽莎白女王和丈夫孩子们一起，团聚在一棵圣诞树的周围。正是这幅版画，使圣诞树风俗在英格兰流行开来。19世纪末，又被宾州的德国人带到美国。
Last but not least is Saint Nick. A long time ago, a bishop named Nicholas lived in what is now the country of Turkey. No one knows much about him. There are stories that he often helped children in need. Many years after his death, Nicholas was made a saint. In time, he became the patron saint of children.最后，但也是最重要的，是圣诞老人(Saint Nick也作圣尼克)。很久以前，在那个现在被称为土耳其的国度，有一个名叫尼古拉斯的主教。关于他，没人有更多的了解。只有一些故事流传下来，因为常常帮助有需要的孩子，所以在他去世多年之后，被塑造成一个圣者的形象。又过了一段时间，他就变成了传说中孩子们的守护神。
The origin of Santa Claus begins in the 4th century with Saint Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, an area in present day Turkey. By all accounts St. Nicholas was a generous man, particularly devoted to children. After his death around 340 A.D. he was buried in Myra, but in 1087 Italian sailors purportedly stole his remains and removed them to Bari, Italy, greatly increasing St. Nicholas’ popularity throughout Europe.圣诞老人的风俗源于4世纪时，土耳其迈拉(Myra)的圣.尼古拉斯主教。据说他是一个好心人，尤其是对小孩子。在他死后大约公元340年被葬于迈拉，但是1087年，据意大利一些海员们说，他的遗体被偷偷迁葬于意大利巴里，这很大程度上增加了圣.尼古拉斯的知名度。(译者注：原文中，上段与此段内容有重复)
His kindness and reputation for generosity gave rise to claims he that he could perform miracles and devotion to him increased. St. Nicholas became the patron saint of Russia, where he was known by his red cape, flowing white beard, and bishop’s mitre.恰是他的善良和慷慨声望，使得他拥有魔法和热衷奉献这类的说法更令人信服。圣.尼古拉斯就变成了俄罗斯的守护神，他身披红斗篷，飘动的白胡子，头戴主教帽的形象已为人所熟知。
In Greece, he is the patron saint of sailors, in France he was the patron of lawyers, and in Belgium the patron of children and travellers. Thousands of churches across Europe were dedicated to him and some time around the 12th century an official church holiday was created in his honor. The Feast of St. Nicholas was celebrated December 6 and the day was marked by gift-giving and charity.在希腊，他是水手的守护神;在法国，他是律师的守护神;在比利时，他是孩子们和行旅者的守护神。全欧洲上千所教堂都有在供奉他，甚至12世纪前后，一个官方的教会节日也因他之荣耀而创立。12月6日的“圣.尼古拉斯节”，其显著的庆祝方式就是馈赠与布施。
After the Reformation, European followers of St. Nicholas dwindled, but the legend was kept alive in Holland where the Dutch spelling of his name Sint Nikolaas was eventually transformed to Sinterklaas. Dutch children would leave their wooden shoes by the fireplace, and Sinterklaas would reward good children by placing treats in their shoes. Dutch colonists brought brought this tradition with them to America in the 17th century and here the Anglican name of Santa Claus emerged.宗教改革运动之后，圣.尼古拉斯主教的欧洲追随者逐渐减少，但是关于他的传说在荷兰仍保持鲜活，荷兰人把他的名字拼成“Sint Nikolaas”，最终变成“Sinterklaas”。荷兰儿童会把他们的木屐留在壁炉边，Sinterklaas就留些小礼物奖励那些好孩子。17世纪，荷兰殖民者把这一传统风俗带到了美利坚。在美国，英国教会正式用Santa Claus命名“圣诞老人”。
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