VOA慢速英语2013 Is His Name Santa Claus, Saint Nicholas, Kris Kringle or Pelznickel? Who Cares, So Long As He Brings Gifts!

 

Is His Name Santa Claus, Saint¹ Nicholas, Kris Kringle or Pelznickel? Who Cares, So Long As He Brings Gifts!

Now, the VOA Special English program Words and Their Stories.

Santa Claus is someone who will remain in the hearts of children forever. He is the make-believe person who brings toys and other gifts to children at Christmas. To  grown-ups, he is a special symbol of good will and selfless giving.

Santa Claus also has some other names: Saint Nicholas, St. Nick, Kris Kringle, Pelznickel.

Two of his names -- Santa Claus and Saint Nicholas -- both come from the Dutch who settled in New York long ago.

The Dutch believed Saint Nikolaas gave gifts to children. They honored³ this kindly⁴ saint with a yearly⁵ festival on December 6th. The English-speaking people who lived  nearby greatly enjoyed Dutch festivals. And they brought the saint and the custom of giving gifts into their own celebration at Christmas time.

The Dutch spoke⁶ the name “Saint Nikolaas” very fast. It sounded like “Sinterklaas.” And so, when the English said this word, it sounded like Santa Claus.

West of New York, in Pennsylvania, many German farmers had also heard of Saint Nikolaas. But they called him Pelznickel. This word came from “pelz,” meaning fur, and  “nickel” for Nicholas. And so, to the Germans of Pennsylvania, Saint Nicholas or Pelznickel was a man dressed in fur who came once a year with gifts for good  children.

Soon, people began to feel that the love and kindness Pelznickel brought should be part of a celebration honoring⁷ the Christkindl, as the Germans called the Christ²  child. After a time, this became “Kris Kringle.” Later, Kris Kringle became another name for Santa Claus himself.

Whatever he is called, he is still the same short, fat, jolly⁸ old man with a long beard, wearing a red suit with white fur.

The picture of Santa Claus, as we see him, came from Thomas Nast. He was an American painter born in Bavaria. He painted pictures for Christmas poems. Someone asked  him to paint a picture of Santa Claus.

Nast remembered when he was a little boy in southern Germany. Every Christmas, a fat old man gave toys and cakes to the children. So, when Nast painted the picture,  his Santa Claus looked like the kindly old man of his childhood. And through the years, Nast’s painting has remained as the most popular picture Of Santa Claus.

Santa can be seen almost everywhere in large American cities during the Christmas season. Some stand on street corners asking for money to buy food and gifts for the  needy. Others are found in stores and shopping centers.

It is easy to find them by the long lines of children waiting to tell Santa what they want for Christmas.

You have been listening to the VOA Special English program Words and Their Stories.

Maurice Joyce was your narrator.

I’m Shirley Griffith.

1 saint   

n.圣徒；基督教徒；vt.成为圣徒，把...视为圣徒

参考例句：

• He was made a saint.他被封为圣人。
• The saint had a lowly heart.圣人有谦诚之心。

2 Christ   

n.基督，救世主，耶稣

参考例句：

• I regarded him as the Christ.我把他当作救世主。
• Christ preached that we should love each other.基督在布道中说人们应该互爱。

3 honored   

adj.光荣的：荣幸的v.尊敬，给以荣誉( honor的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I hope to be honored with further orders. 如蒙惠顾，不胜荣幸。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This is a time-honored custom. 这是一个古老的习俗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

5 yearly   

adj.每年的，一年一度的；adv.一年一次地

参考例句：

• The flower show is a yearly event in our town.我们镇上的花展一年举行一次。
• The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 honoring   

v.尊敬，给以荣誉( honor的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They sat in silence, honoring the clan Jordache for a moment. 他们默默地坐了一会儿，对乔达虚家族表示了一番敬意。 来自辞典例句
• Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check. 美国没有履行这项神圣的义务，只是给黑人开了一张空头支票。 来自辞典例句

8 jolly   

adj.快乐的，高兴的；adv.很；vt.劝服，哄

参考例句：

• That day they got together and had a jolly time.那天他们聚在一起热闹了一番。
• She was a jolly,kindhearted woman.她是个整天乐呵呵心地善良的女人。