圣诞节知识大扫盲

 　　1. 圣诞节的来历是什么？

　　In Christianity, Christmas is the festival celebrating the Nativity of Jesus, the Christian¹ belief that the Messiah foretold² in the Old Testament's Messianic prophecies was born to the Virgin³ Mary。

　　在基督教的传统中，圣诞节是为庆祝基督耶稣降生的节日。基督教徒相信，弥赛亚告知圣母玛利亚孕育了上帝的儿子耶稣。

　　2. 传统的圣诞习俗有哪些？

　　Even in countries where there is a strong Christian tradition, Christmas celebrations can vary markedly from country to country. For many Christians⁴, a religious service plays an important part in the recognition of the season. Secular⁵ processions, featuring Santa Claus and other seasonal⁶ figures are often held. Family reunions and the exchange of gifts are a widespread feature of the season。

　　圣诞习俗国与国之间非常不同。对基督教徒来说，在圣诞节举行相应的宗教仪式必不可少。世俗的传统，通常包含圣诞老人和其他节日特征。家庭会在这一天团聚、互换礼物。

　　3. 各国的圣诞大餐都吃些啥？

　　A special Christmas family meal is an important part of the celebration for many, but what is actually served can vary greatly from country to country. In England, and countries influenced by its traditions, a standardChristmas meal would include turkey, potatoes, vegetables, sausages and gravy⁷, followed by Christmas pudding or mince⁸ pies. In Poland and other parts of Eastern Europe and Scandinavia, fish often provides the traditional main course, but richer meat such as lamb is increasingly served. Ham is the main meal in the Philippines, while in Germany, France and Austria, goose and pork are favored. Beef, ham and chicken in various recipes are popular throughout the world。

　　和习俗一样，各国的圣诞大餐也有差别。在英国，和英语文化圈，标准的圣诞大餐通常包括火鸡、土豆、蔬菜、香肠和肉汁，以圣诞布丁或碎肉派结尾；在波兰等东欧国家、包括斯堪的纳维亚半岛，鱼是圣诞餐的主菜，不过近年来类似羊肉的红肉也越来越盛行；火腿是菲律宾的主菜；在德国、法国和澳洲，鹅和猪肉是人们喜爱的菜肴；另外的，牛肉、火腿和鸡肉的菜肴在全球的圣诞菜单上都很流行。

　　4. 圣诞的传统装饰都有哪些？

　　Since the 19th century, the poinsettia, a native plant from Mexico, has been associated with Christmas. Other popular holiday plants include holly⁹, mistletoe, red amaryllis, and Christmas cactus¹⁰. Along with a Christmas tree, the interior of a home may be decorated with these plants, along with garlands and evergreen¹¹ foliage¹². In Australia, North and South America, and Europe, it is traditional to decorate the outside of houses with lights and sometimes with illuminated¹³ sleighs, snow-men, and other Christmas figures. The traditional colors of Christmas are pine-green (evergreen)， snow white, and heart red。

　　自19世纪开始，一品红，一种原产于墨西哥的植物就和圣诞节联系起来。其他流行的圣诞装饰植物还包括冬青树、懈寄生(拜痞子蔡所赐相信大家都知道了那个著名的关于亲吻的故事)、红色宫人草和蟹爪兰。它们和圣诞树、花环、绿叶一起用以装饰房间。在澳洲、南北美和欧洲，还有用灯泡、发光的雪橇、雪人和其他圣诞人物装饰屋子外部的传统。圣诞节最传统的装饰颜色是青色、雪白和大红。

　　5. 圣诞赞歌有什么来源吗？

　　In the thirteenth century, in France, Germany, and particularly, Italy, a strong tradition of popular Christmas songs in the native language developed. Christmas carols in English first appear in 1426. The songs we know specifically as carols were originally communal¹⁴ songs sung during celebrations like harvest tide as well as Christmas。

　　13世纪，法国德国、特别是在意大利，用当地语言写成的圣诞歌开始流行起来。第一首英语的圣诞赞歌写于1426年。现在为我们所熟知的那些圣诞赞歌应该是和丰收节的传统一并起源的。

1 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

2 foretold   

v.预言，预示( foretell的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She foretold that the man would die soon. 她预言那人快要死了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Must lose one joy, by his life's star foretold. 这样注定：他，为了信守一个盟誓／就非得拿牺牲一个喜悦作代价。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学

3 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。

4 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

5 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

6 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

7 gravy   

n.肉汁；轻易得来的钱，外快

参考例句：

• You have spilled gravy on the tablecloth.你把肉汁泼到台布上了。
• The meat was swimming in gravy.肉泡在浓汁之中。

8 mince   

n.切碎物；v.切碎，矫揉做作地说

参考例句：

• Would you like me to mince the meat for you?你要我替你把肉切碎吗？
• Don't mince matters,but speak plainly.不要含糊其词，有话就直说吧。

9 holly   

n.[植]冬青属灌木

参考例句：

• I recently acquired some wood from a holly tree.最近我从一棵冬青树上弄了些木料。
• People often decorate their houses with holly at Christmas.人们总是在圣诞节时用冬青来装饰房屋。

10 cactus   

n.仙人掌

参考例句：

• It was the first year that the cactus had produced flowers.这是这棵仙人掌第一年开花。
• The giant cactus is the vegetable skycraper.高大的仙人掌是植物界巨人。

11 evergreen   

n.常青树；adj.四季常青的

参考例句：

• Some trees are evergreen;they are called evergreen.有的树是常青的，被叫做常青树。
• There is a small evergreen shrub on the hillside.山腰上有一小块常绿灌木丛。

12 foliage   

n.叶子，树叶，簇叶

参考例句：

• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage.小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。
• Dark foliage clothes the hills.浓密的树叶覆盖着群山。

13 illuminated   

adj.被照明的；受启迪的

参考例句：

• Floodlights illuminated the stadium. 泛光灯照亮了体育场。
• the illuminated city at night 夜幕中万家灯火的城市

14 communal   

adj.公有的，公共的，公社的，公社制的

参考例句：

• There was a communal toilet on the landing for the four flats.在楼梯平台上有一处公共卫生间供4套公寓使用。
• The toilets and other communal facilities were in a shocking state.厕所及其他公共设施的状况极其糟糕。