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Part 1 The History of Christmas 圣诞节的来历
Christmas is a Christian holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. No one knows the exact date of Christ's birth, but most Christians observe Christmas on December 25. On this day, many go to church, where they take part in special religious services. During the Christmas season, they also exchange gifts and decorate their homes with holly, mistletoe, and Christmas trees. The word Christmas comes from Cristes maesse, an early English phrase that means Mass of Christ. The story of Christmas comes chiefly from the Gospels of Saint Luke and Saint Matthew in the New Testament.
The history of Christmas dates back over 4000 years. Many of our Christmas traditions were celebrated centuries before the Christ child was born. The 12 days of Christmas, the bright fires, the yule log, the giving of gifts, carnivals(parades) with floats, carolers who sing while going from house to house, the holiday feasts, and the church processions can all be traced back to the early Mesopotamians.
Many of these traditions began with the Mesopotamian celebration of New Years. The Mesopotamians believed in many gods, and as their chief god-Marduk. Each year as winter arrived it was believed that Marduk would do battle with the monsters of chaos. To assist Marduk in his struggle the Mesopotamians held a festival for the New Year. This was Zagmuk, the New Year's festival that lasted for 12 days.
The Persians and the Babylonians celebrated a similar festival called the Sacaea. Part of that celebration included the exchanging of places, the slaves would become the masters and the masters were to obey. The ancient Greeks held a festival similar to that of the Zagmuk/Sacaea festivals to assist their god Kronos who would battle the god Zeus and his Titans.
The Roman's celebrated their god Saturn. Their festival was called Saturnalia which began the middle of December and ended January 1st. With cries of "Jo Saturnalia!" the celebration would include masquerades in the streets, big festive meals, visiting friends, and the exchange of good-luck gifts called Strenae (lucky fruits). The Romans decked their halls with garlands of laurel and green trees lit with candles. Again the masters and slaves would exchange places.
"Jo Saturnalia!" was a fun and festive time for the Romans, but the Christians thought it an abomination to honor the pagan god. The early Christians wanted to keep the birthday of their Christ child a solemn and religious holiday, not one of cheer and merriment as was the pagan Saturnalia.
Some legends claim that the Christian "Christmas" celebration was invented to compete against the pagan celebrations of December. The 25th was not only sacred to the Romans but also the Persians whose religion Mithraism was one of Christianity's main rivals at that time. The Church eventually was successful in taking the merriment, lights, and gifts from the Saturanilia festival and bringing them to the celebration of Christmas.
The exact day of the Christ child's birth has never been pinpointed. Traditions say that it has been celebrated since the year 98 AD. In 137 AD the Bishop of Rome ordered the birthday of the Christ Child celebrated as a solemn feast. In 350 AD another Bishop of Rome, Julius I, choose December 25th as the observance of Christmas.
The birth of Jesus had a story: In Nazareth, a city of Galilee. The virgin's name was Mary was betrothed to Joseph. Before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Joseph her husband was minded to put her away secretly. While he thought about these things, Gabriel, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and told him did not be afraid to take Mary as wife. And Mary will bring forth a Son, and he shall call his name, Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.
Before Jesus births, Joseph and Mary came to Quirnius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. Joseph also went up out of Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and of the lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. So it was that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
And that, Christmas is the feast of the nativity of Jesus, is on 25th, December every year. But nobody knows the actual birthday of Jesus. And the Christmas has become popular when Christmas cards appeared in 1846 and the concept of a jolly Santa Claus was first made popular in nineteenth Century.
The custom of giving gifts to relatives and friends on a special day in winter probably began in ancient Rome and northern Europe. In these regions, people gave each other small presents as part of their year-end celebrations.
In the 1800's, two more Christmas customs became popular--decorating Christmas trees and sending Christmas cards to relatives and friends. Many well-known Christmas carols, including ``Silent Night" and ``Hark! The Herald Angels Sing," were composed during this period. In the United States and other countries, Santa Claus replaced Saint Nicholas as the symbol of gift giving.
The word Xmas is sometimes used instead of Christmas. This tradition began in the early Christian church. In Greek, X is the first letter of Christ's name. It was frequently used as a holy symbol.
“圣诞节”这个名称是“基督弥撒”的缩写。弥撒是教会的一种礼拜仪式。耶诞节是一个宗教节。我们把它当作耶稣的诞辰來庆祝，因而又名耶诞节。这一天，世界所有的基督教会都举行特別的礼拜仪式。但是有很多圣诞节的欢庆活动和宗教并无半点关联。交换礼物，寄圣诞卡，这都使圣诞节成为一个普天同庆的日子。
圣诞节是基督教世界最大的节日。4世纪初，1月6日是罗马帝国东部各教会纪念耶稣降生和受洗的双重节日、称为“主显节”Epiphany，亦称“显现节”即上帝通过耶稣向世人显示自己。当时只有耶路撒冷的教会例外，那里只纪念耶稣的诞生而不纪念耶稣的受洗。
后来历史学家们在罗马基督徒习用的日历中发现公元 354年12月25日页内记录着：“基督降生在犹大的伯利恒。”经过研究，一般认为12月25日作为圣诞节可能开始于公元336年的罗马教会。12月25日原来是波斯太阳神（即光明之神）密特拉（Mithra）的诞辰，是一个异教徒节日，同时太阳神也是罗马国教众神之一。这一天又是罗马历书的冬至节，崇拜太阳神的异教徒都把这一天当作春天的希望，万物复苏的开始。可能由于这个原因，罗马教会才选择这一天作为圣诞节。这是教会初期力图把异教徒的风俗习惯基督教化的措施之一。后来，虽然大多数教会都接受12月25日为圣诞节，但又因为各地教会使用的历书不同，具体日期不能统一，于是就把12月24日到第二年的1月6日定为圣诞节节期（Christmas Tide），各地教会可以根据当地具体情况在这段节期之内庆祝圣诞节。
随着基督教的广泛传播，圣诞节已成为各教派基督徒，甚至广大非基督徒群众的一个重要节日。在欧美许多国家里，人们非常重视这个节日，把它和新年连在一起，而庆祝活动之热闹与隆重大大超过了新年，成为一个全民的节日。
12月25日的主要纪念活动都与耶稣降生的传说有关。耶稣的出生是有一段故事的，耶稣是因着圣灵成孕，由童女马利亚所生的。神更派遣使者加伯列在梦中晓谕约瑟，叫他不要因为马利亚未婚怀孕而不要她，反而要与她成亲，把那孩子起名为“耶稣”，意思是要他把百姓从罪恶中救出來。当马利亚快要临盆的时候，罗马政府下了命令，全部人民到伯利恒务必申报戶籍。约瑟和马利亚只好遵命。他们到达伯利恒时，天色已昏，无奈两人未能找到旅馆借宿，只有一个马棚可以暫住。就在這时，耶稣要出生了！於是马利亚唯有在马槽上，生下耶稣。
后人为纪念耶稣的诞生，便把十二月二十五日定为圣诞节，纪念耶稣的出世。但真实的诞生日就沒有人知道了。十九世紀，圣诞卡的流行、圣诞老人的出现，圣诞节也开始流行起來了。
Part 2 The History of Santa Claus 圣诞老人的来历
On the night before Christmas, all across the world, millions of children will be tucked in their beds while "visions of sugarplums dance in their heads." When they awake they will check their stockings to see if Santa Claus has come.
Santa Claus has become the most beloved of Christmas symbols and traditions. The image of the jolly old elf flying in a sleigh pulled by reindeers and leaving toys and gifts for every child is known worldwide.
Just like the season of Christmas, the history of the origins of Santa Claus is influenced by the customs and cultures of many countries, beginning in Asia Minor sometime around the 4th century AD. It was here that Bishop Nicholas became renowned for his exceptional generosity, especially to the very young. Many years later he became known as Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of children.
As time went on, adults began to dress in the manner of Saint Nicholas, dressed in Bishops vestments and carrying a staff., to re-enact the kindness of the saint. They went from house to house, asking if the children who lived there had been well behaved. In response to these visits, the children left their shoes outside the doors of their houses so that next morning they might find them filled with sweets and trinkets.
An Anglo-Saxon version eventually evolved and was known as Father Christmas. His character was a mixture of the Saint Nicholas and earthly perceptions of the gods Thor and Saturn. He wore robes decorated with ivy and holly and carried a switch to threaten unruly children, as well as a bag of toys to reward the well behaved.
In North America the British, German and Dutch settlers introduced their own derivations of Father Christmas and of these the Dutch figure of 'Sinterklaas' became the common favourite. Eventually this name was anglicised to become Santa Claus, the mythical figure of Christmas who placed toys, sweets and trinkets into stockings hung by the fireplace.
The modern perception of the character of Father Christmas was greatly influenced by Thomas Nast, a cartoonist with Harpers Weekly, who published a drawing of Santa Claus in 1860. This was a portly figure with white hair and a long beard, dressed in a red robe and wearing a crown of holly, holding a long clay pipe similar to that of Sinterklaas.
Perhaps the final stage in the evolution of the modern Santa Claus was brought about by publicity from the Coca Cola Company. They launched an advertising campaign in the 1930s with Santa Claus as the central figure and subsequently used the motif for the next forty years or so.
This conception of Santa Claus was produced for them by Haddon Sundblom, who built on the character and costume created by Thomas Nast to produce a cheery, chubby fellow that is still a familiar perception of the mythical Christmas character to millions of people throughout the Western world.
圣诞老人的传说在数千年前的斯堪的纳维亚半岛即出现。北欧神话中司智慧，艺术，诗词，战争的奥丁神，寒冬时节，骑上他那八脚马坐骑驰骋于天涯海角，惩恶扬善，分发礼物。与此同时，其子雷神着红衣以闪电为武器与冰雪诸神昏天黑地恶战一场，最终战胜寒冷。据异教传说，圣诞老人为奥丁神后裔。也有传说称圣诞老人由圣·尼古拉而来，所以圣诞老人也称St.Nicholas.因这些故事大多弘扬基督精神，其出处，故事情节大多被淡忘，然而圣诞老人却永驻人们精神世界。
在德国，传说他把坚果和苹果放在孩子们鞋里。他乘双轮马车四处漫游，观察人们的行为，尤其是小孩，如果表现好，将会得到苹果、坚果、糖等诸多奖品。坏孩子则得一鞭子。家长们灵机一动纷纷采用此传说来鼓励孩子们听话。大大超过了新年，成为一个全民的节日。圣诞老人已经成为圣诞节最受喜爱的象征和传统。他赶着驯鹿，拉着装满玩具和礼物的雪橇挨家挨户给每个孩子送礼物的快乐老精灵的形象已深深地留在人们的记忆中。
19世纪60年代卡通制作者Thomas Nash画了一幅胖胖的、慈祥的圣诞老人作为《Harper的一周》的插图。这个圣诞老人的形象开始深深地扎根于美国人民的脑海中。随着时间的推移，圣诞老人的形象传回欧洲，传到南美洲，传遍世界各地。
