圣誕節(jié)的習(xí)俗
From the Old English ‘Cristes M?sse’ ~ meaning the ‘mass of Christ’ ~ the story of Christmas begins with the birth of a babe in Bethlehem.圣誕節(jié)源自古英語‘Cristes M?sse’～意即“基督的彌撒”～圣誕節(jié)的故事始于伯利恒一個(gè)嬰兒的誕生。
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.許多圣誕節(jié)的風(fēng)俗都基于基督誕生的傳說。譬如圣誕節(jié)互贈(zèng)禮物的習(xí)俗就始于那幾位賢者，他們給嬰兒耶穌帶了禮物。圣誕頌歌也源于基督誕生，那一刻，牧羊人、賢者、和動(dòng)物們環(huán)繞在小耶穌身邊，景象動(dòng)人。(譯者注：Wise-men，也作Magi、東方三博士等)
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!但人們的一些慶祝方式其實(shí)和基督誕生沒有任何關(guān)系。并且許多古老的節(jié)日習(xí)俗也混進(jìn)了圣誕節(jié)。
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.并非是等到耶穌死后200年，基督徒們才想起慶祝他的誕生。其實(shí)沒人知道他誕生的確切日期。有人認(rèn)為，12月25日是從每年這個(gè)時(shí)段中的其它節(jié)慶中被選出來的。
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.農(nóng)神節(jié)，羅馬人在12月里的一個(gè)節(jié)日，那是縱情于盛宴與歡聚的日子。同樣，北歐人也有他們的“尤爾節(jié)”(Yule)。他們的慶祝方式是燃起熊熊大火，然后圍著火堆跳舞，為冬天行將結(jié)束而吶喊歡歌。(譯者注：早期Asatru異教的冬至假日Yule被基督徒吸收，今天圣誕節(jié)一詞在斯堪的納維亞語里依然是異教的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.經(jīng)過一段時(shí)間后，圣誕節(jié)就取代了這些節(jié)日。但是人們保留了一些古老的習(xí)俗——諸如燃燒“圣誕柴火”、舉辦宴會(huì)和派對(duì)。Yule這個(gè)詞仍被用作稱呼“圣誕節(jié)”。
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.隨著時(shí)間推移，新的節(jié)日習(xí)俗也逐漸滲入圣誕節(jié)。其中一個(gè)就是圣誕樹，原本這一風(fēng)俗起源于德國(guó)。當(dāng)?shù)聡?guó)人到一個(gè)新地方定居下來，他們的傳統(tǒng)習(xí)俗也隨之而來。
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.十六世紀(jì)的德國(guó)盛行裝飾冷杉樹，無論室內(nèi)的還是屋外的，都會(huì)掛上蘋果、玫瑰、涂金的蠟燭，以及花花綠綠的彩色紙片。中世紀(jì)，一部流行的宗教劇就描述過亞當(dāng)和夏娃被趕出伊甸園的故事。
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.一棵掛滿蘋果的冷杉樹被作為伊甸園的象徵——天堂之樹。那部宗教劇以一個(gè)救世主即將降臨作為結(jié)尾，所以“降臨節(jié)”期間常演出這個(gè)劇目。(譯者注：Advent season也作將臨期，是為慶祝耶穌圣誕前的準(zhǔn)備期和等待期，可算是教會(huì)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.新教革新家馬丁.路德是第一個(gè)用搖曳燈火來裝飾圣誕樹的人。12月的一個(gè)夜晚，當(dāng)他回到家中，看到閃爍星光透過樹枝的那種美，靈感頓時(shí)被激發(fā)，他把家里小冷杉樹的枝條上掛滿蠟燭，以替代星光閃爍的效果。
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.圣誕樹的傳統(tǒng)是由英國(guó)伊麗莎白女王的丈夫，阿爾伯特親王從家鄉(xiāng)德國(guó)帶來。1848年，著名的《倫敦新聞畫報(bào)》刊有一幅版畫，刻畫了溫莎城堡中的王室一家——伊麗莎白女王和丈夫孩子們一起，團(tuán)聚在一棵圣誕樹的周圍。正是這幅版畫，使圣誕樹風(fēng)俗在英格蘭流行開來。19世紀(jì)末，又被賓州的德國(guó)人帶到美國(guó)。
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，是圣誕老人(Saint Nick也作圣尼克)。很久以前，在那個(gè)現(xiàn)在被稱為土耳其的國(guó)度，有一個(gè)名叫尼古拉斯的主教。關(guān)于他，沒人有更多的了解。只有一些故事流傳下來，因?yàn)槌３椭行枰暮⒆?，所以在他去世多年之后，被塑造成一個(gè)圣者的形象。又過了一段時(shí)間，他就變成了傳說中孩子們的守護(hù)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.圣誕老人的風(fēng)俗源于4世紀(jì)時(shí)，土耳其邁拉(Myra)的圣.尼古拉斯主教。據(jù)說他是一個(gè)好心人，尤其是對(duì)小孩子。在他死后大約公元340年被葬于邁拉，但是1087年，據(jù)意大利一些海員們說，他的遺體被偷偷遷葬于意大利巴里，這很大程度上增加了圣.尼古拉斯的知名度。(譯者注：原文中，上段與此段內(nèi)容有重復(fù))
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聲望，使得他擁有魔法和熱衷奉獻(xiàn)這類的說法更令人信服。圣.尼古拉斯就變成了俄羅斯的守護(hù)神，他身披紅斗篷，飄動(dòng)的白胡子，頭戴主教帽的形象已為人所熟知。
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.在希臘，他是水手的守護(hù)神;在法國(guó)，他是律師的守護(hù)神;在比利時(shí)，他是孩子們和行旅者的守護(hù)神。全歐洲上千所教堂都有在供奉他，甚至12世紀(jì)前后，一個(gè)官方的教會(huì)節(jié)日也因他之榮耀而創(chuàng)立。12月6日的“圣.尼古拉斯節(jié)”，其顯著的慶祝方式就是饋贈(zèng)與布施。
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.宗教改革運(yùn)動(dòng)之后，圣.尼古拉斯主教的歐洲追隨者逐漸減少，但是關(guān)于他的傳說在荷蘭仍保持鮮活，荷蘭人把他的名字拼成“Sint Nikolaas”，最終變成“Sinterklaas”。荷蘭兒童會(huì)把他們的木屐留在壁爐邊，Sinterklaas就留些小禮物獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)那些好孩子。17世紀(jì)，荷蘭殖民者把這一傳統(tǒng)風(fēng)俗帶到了美利堅(jiān)。在美國(guó)，英國(guó)教會(huì)正式用Santa Claus命名“圣誕老人”。
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