圣诞节英文专栏 Season's Greeting Greeting, 圣诞节, Season, 专栏, 英文

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[attach]6802[/attach]Let's say that on December 20 you were to meet a friendly space alien. That is, let's say that his space ship discreetly drops him off in your back yard while you are looking out your window. You walk outside to meet the visitor, and you find out he's a pretty nice guy. His name is Gorg, he is wearing a costume that makes him look passably human, he speaks reasonable English, and he explains that his goal is to spend a week on the planet to learn about its people. He asks if you would consider being his guide for the week, and you decide to take on the job.

So you take Gorg around and start showing him your town. Since it is December 20, one thing is for sure -- Gorg is going to ask about Christmas. And he is going to ask a LOT of questions, because Christmas is a pretty complicated tradition. Think about all the different questions Gorg might ask:

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What is Christmas?

If Gorg can assimilate all of that and make sense of it in a week, then obviously he is a member of a highly advanced species! You may find that you yourself don't know the answers to half of these questions. Where DID Rudolf come from? And why DO we deck the halls with boughs of holly? Holly is a common Christmas symbol -- but why? In this article, we will answer all of these questions so that you can understand how Christmas works and where all of these Christmas traditions come from! What is Christmas? The word Christmas comes from the words Cristes maesse, or "Christ's Mass." Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus for members of the Christian religion. Most historians peg the first celebration of Christmas to Rome in 336 A.D. Christmas is both a holiday and a holy day. In America it is one of the biggest event of the year (especially for kids), and for members of the Christian religions it is an important day on the religious calendar. During the Christmas season in America, many people take their children to a mall where they can "meet Santa." The federal government, all state governments, all schools/colleges/universities and the vast majority of businesses in America give employees one or two days off at Christmas, making it an important holiday (other federal holidays are: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Day, Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving). In the Roman Catholic calendar, Christmas is one of six holy feast days celebrated in America, the others being: Circumcision (New Year's Day), Ascension, Assumption (Mary's assumption into heaven, August 15), All Saints (November 1), and the Immaculate Conception (December 8).

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Why is Christmas such a big deal?

Why is Christmas such a big deal? There are two reasons why Christmas is such a big deal: According to the 1994 "Britannica Book of the Year," there are 1.8 billion Christians in a total world population of 5.5 billion, making it the largest religion worldwide. In America, 241 million out of a total population of 281 million people are Christians -- that's 85 percent. Because Christians follow Jesus, the birth of Jesus is important to them. In America, the weeks leading up to Christmas are the biggest shopping weeks of the year. Many retailers make up to 70 percent of their annual revenue in the month preceding Christmas. Therefore, retailers hype the event beyond belief. The image of Santa is a familiar Christmas sight. According to Daniel Boorstin in his book "The Americans," Christmas was largely a non-event in America until the 1860s. 1867 was the first year that Macy's department store in New York City remained open until midnight on Christmas Eve. 1874 was the year of the first window displays with a Christmas theme at Macy's. It has snowballed from there.

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Why do people give each other presents on Christmas day?

Why do people give each other presents on Christmas day? The tradition of gifts seems to have started with the gifts that the wise men (the Magi) brought to Jesus. As recounted in the Bible's book of Matthew, "On coming to the house they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh." As mentioned in the previous question, however, no one was really in the habit of exchanging elaborate gifts until late in the 1800s. The Santa Claus story (described later), combined with an amazing retailing phenomenon that has grown since the turn of the century, has made gift giving a central focus of the Christmas tradition.

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Is December 25 really the day Jesus was born?

Is December 25 really the day Jesus was born? No one really knows. What is known is that Christian leaders in 336 A.D. set the date to December 25 in an attempt to eclipse a popular pagan holiday in Rome (Saturnalia) that celebrated the winter solstice. Originally, the celebration of Christmas involved a simple mass, but over time Christmas has replaced a number of other holidays in many other countries, and a large number of traditions have been absorbed into the celebration in the process (as we will see in later sections).

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Why is there a small evergreen tree in your living room?

Why is there a small evergreen tree in the living room? This is a German tradition, started as early as 700 A.D. In the 1800s the tradition of a Christmas tree was widespread in Germany, then moved to England and then to America through Pennsylvanian German immigrants.

 

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Why have you decorated this evergreen with ornaments, lights, fake snow and Mylar plastic tinsel?

Why is this evergreen decorated? ...with ornaments, lights, fake snow and Mylar plastic tinsel? In Victorian times, people had already started decorating trees with candies and cakes hung with ribbon. In 1880, Woolworths first sold manufactured Christmas tree ornaments, and they caught on very quickly. Martin Luther, in the 16th century, is credited as being the first person to put candles on a tree, and the first electrically lighted Christmas tree appeared in 1882. Calvin Coolidge in 1923 ceremoniously lit the first outdoor tree at the White House, starting that long tradition. Fake snow and tinsel... Who knows? It's probably related to the song "White Christmas" (we'll get to that soon). Christmas Lights

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Why do you have holly draped over the mantel and staircase?

Why do you have holly draped over the mantel and staircase? Mistletoe has apparently been used as a decoration in houses for thousands of years and is also associated with many pagan rituals. The church forbade the use of mistletoe in any form, mindful of its idolatrous associations. As a substitute, it suggested holly. The sharply pointed leaves were to symbolize the thorns in Christ's crown and the red berries drops of his blood. Holly became a nativity tradition. The Christian ban on mistletoe was in effect throughout the Middle Ages. Surprisingly, as late as the 20th century, there were churches in England that forbade the wearing of mistletoe sprigs and corsages during services.

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Why is mistletoe hanging over the front door?

Why is mistletoe hanging over the front door? For Scandinavians, the goddess of love (Frigga) is strongly associated with mistletoe. This link to romance may be where our tradition of kissing under mistletoe comes from.

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And what about this nativity scene in the corner?

And what about this nativity scene in the corner? The star, the manger, the swaddling clothes, the shepherds, the angels, the heavenly host and the wise men all come from the books Matthew and Luke in the Bible.