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No holiday has a richer and more varied tradition than Christmas.
没有哪个节日的传统比圣诞节更丰富多彩。
So let's look into its history and see if we can uncover some of that richness and tradition.
那么让我们一起研究它的历史，看看我们能否挖掘出它的某些悠久传统。
And if you don't celebrate Christmas, well, at least you'll have a better appreciation of why so many people do.
如果你不过圣诞节，好吧，至少你会更理解为什么那么多人庆祝圣诞节。
Here's what everybody knows: Christmas is when Christians celebrate the birthday of Jesus Christ.
以下是人人都知道的：圣诞节是基督徒庆祝耶稣基督诞生的日子。
That in itself is a very big deal.
这点本身就意义重大。
Christianity, in all its many iterations, remains the most popular religion in the world. Two billion people follow it.
基督教历经多次迭代，至今仍是世界上最受欢迎的宗教。信徒有二十亿人。
Aside from its obvious religious significance, the first Christmas stands as the great divide for the recording of human history.
除了其明显的宗教意义，第一个圣诞节还象征着人类历史记录的重大分界线。
Until recently, history was divided between BC (Before Christ) and AD (Anno Domini, which is Latin for "Year of Our Lord").
直至最近，历史是按公元前（基督前）与公元（拉丁文“主的年份”）区分。
Now you'll often see BCE (Before the Common Era) and CE (Common Era). No matter. The divide is still Jesus's birth.
现在常见的是BCE与CE。没关系，它仍然是按基督诞生日划分。
The great kings of the first millennium recognized the significance of the day and attached themselves to it.
第一个千年的伟大国王们认识到这天的重要性并依附于它。
Charlemagne, Alfred the Great, and William the Conqueror, among many others, were either baptized or coronated on December 25.
其中，查理曼、阿尔弗雷德大帝与征服者威廉要么在12月25日受洗，要么在此日加冕。
The idea of Christmas as a time of gift-giving also goes back to the earliest days of Christianity.
在圣诞节这天互相交换礼物的做法同样可追溯至基督教早期。
The story is told that a third-century church bishop, Nicholas, would anonymously throw bags of gold coins into the windows of the poor.
传说是这样的，公元三世纪的一位主教尼古拉斯，偷偷将一袋袋金币扔进穷人家的窗户。
The coins supposedly landed in the shoes or stockings that were drying by the fireplace. Thus, was the stocking stuffer born.
金币会落到悬挂在壁炉上烘干的鞋子或袜子里。这就是圣诞袜小礼物的由来。
After Nicholas died and was declared a saint,
尼古拉斯逝世后被追谥为圣徒，
his popularity and positive Christmas message spread across Europe, each nation adding its own distinct contribution.
他的名声及积极的圣诞节信息传遍欧洲，每个国家都加入了自己的独特贡献。
In Germany, the winter tradition of placing evergreens in their homes took on a new significance in the 16th century
在德国，家里摆放常青树的冬日传统在16世纪被赋予了新的意义，
when Protestant reformer Martin Luther put candles in the branches.
当时新教改革家马丁·路德往树枝上挂蜡烛。
He told his children the lights were like the sky above Bethlehem on the night of Christ's birth.
他告诉孩子们这一束束光就如同基督降生在伯利恒那晚的天空。
The idea that St. Nicholas would judge whether you've been good or bad during the year stems from the Book of Revelation in the New Testament,
圣·尼古拉斯会评判你那年是好人还是坏人的概念起源于《新约圣经-启示录》
which depicts Christ returning to Earth riding a white horse.
其中描述了基督骑在一匹白马上返回地球。
In the Middle Ages, the legend sprang up that Saint Nicholas had been chosen as the Savior's advance guard.
在中世纪，圣·尼古拉斯被选为救世主前卫的传说流传开来。
He wouldn't come at the end of the world, but every year to check things out and give a report.
他不会在世界末日出现，但每年都会巡查并作报告。
When this notion arrived in Norway, it encountered a problem: there were no horses in Norway.
当这个概念传到挪威，它遇到了一个问题：挪威没有马。
But they did have plenty of reindeer.
但那里有许多驯鹿。
And, of course, Norway abuts the Arctic Circle and the North Pole, so St. Nick found himself with a new domicile.
当然了，挪威毗邻北极圈与北极点，于是圣·尼古拉斯找到了新住址。
All these various European traditions came together in the great melting pot of America.
所有各种各样的欧洲传统都汇聚到了美国这个大熔炉中。
In New York in 1823, a professor at the Protestant Episcopal Seminary, Clement Moore, wrote a poem for his children,
1823年的纽约，新教圣公会神学院教授克莱门特·摩尔给孩子们写了一首诗，
'Twas the night before Christmas: The stockings were hung by the chimney with care.
圣诞前夜。袜子稳妥地挂在壁炉旁。
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there...
盼望圣·尼古拉斯快些出现。
The poem caught on and became a Christmas staple every school child could recite.
这首诗广为流传，成为了圣诞节主打诗，所有学龄儿童都能背诵。
The holiday got another push in 1843, when the great British writer, Charles Dickens, published his short novel, A Christmas Carol.
1843年，这个节日得到了又一次推广，当时英国伟大作家查尔斯·狄更斯发表了短篇小说《圣诞颂歌》。
The redemption of Ebenezer Scrooge perfectly captured what we now refer to as "the Christmas spirit":
艾比尼泽·斯克鲁奇的救赎完美表达了我们如今所称「圣诞精神」的核心：
the idea that the holiday brings out the best in all of us.
这个节日激发出我们最好的一面。
As the new century turned, Hollywood got into the act.
新世纪来临，好莱坞也进来插了一脚。
Almost as soon as there were movies, there were movies celebrating Christmas. To this day, a year doesn't go by without a new one.
几乎自电影问世以来就一直有庆祝圣诞节的电影。直至今日，每年依然有新的圣诞档电影。
Madison Avenue saw a big opportunity, too.
美国广告业也看到巨大机遇。
In 1931, Coca-Cola hired artist Haddon Sundblom to create a Christmas ad of Santa Claus (which is Dutch for St. Nicholas) drinking Coke.
1931年，可口可乐聘请了艺术家海顿·姗布创造出圣诞老人（圣·尼古拉斯的荷兰文）喝可口可乐的圣诞广告。
The jolly white-bearded fellow in a bright red suit remains the personification of Old St. Nick.
这位欢乐的穿着鲜红色服装的白胡子老人仍然是圣尼古拉的化身。
And, in perfect melting-pot fashion, Irving Berlin, the son of a rabbi, wrote the definitive yuletide song, "White Christmas."
以完美的大熔炉风格，欧文·柏林，一个拉比的儿子，写出了标志性的圣诞季节歌《白色圣诞》。
