欧美人文风情第108篇:圣诞小故事

 On the 24th of December every year, children around the world put out milk and cookies  每年的十二月二十四日，世界各地的孩子都会拿出牛奶及饼干，

in the hopes of luring¹ a magic fat man into their home who will leave presents behind before sneaking² into the house next door. 希望能吸引一名有魔法的胖男人来到他们家，并在偷偷潜入下一户人家前留下礼物。

How did such an odd tradition begin? 这样奇怪的传统是如何开始的？

You can pretty much blame Northern Europe, where the winter weather is cold and dark and depressing. 你几乎可以归咎于北欧，在这里冬天的气候又冷、又暗、令人消沉。

And the coldest and darkest and depressingest day is the Solstice on December 21st to 22nd 而最冷、最暗、最令人消沉的一天是十二月二十一日到二十二日的冬至，

when the sun only gives a few weak hours of light if any at all. 这时即便有阳光，也只会带来几个小时的微弱光明。

These sun-deprived people invented magical characters to visit them and lighten the mood by bringing gifts and celebrations. 这些缺乏日光的人们创造出神秘的角色拜访他们，并带来礼物及庆典来放松他们的情绪。

These characters ranged from elves to Gods to goats, 这些角色的范围从精灵到神、到山羊都有，

but there are two of particular interest to the modern story. 但对现代故事来说，其中有两个特别重要。

The first is Saint Nick, in The Netherlands. Saint Nick is thin and perhaps a bit stern, 第一个是荷兰的Saint Nick。Saint Nick很瘦，可能还有点严苛，

but still brings presents to children in early December. 但还是会在十二月初带礼物给孩子们。

He dresses like a bishop³ in red and white with a staff and rides on a horse named Amerigo, 他穿着像主教一样的红白衣服，拿着权仗并骑着一匹名为Amerigo的马，

for whom Dutch children are encouraged to leave out a carrot. 荷兰的孩子们被鼓励留给它一支红萝卜。

Saint Nick is called Sinterklaas in Dutch. Saint Nick的荷兰文叫做Sinterklaas。

The second character is Father Christmas from England. 第二个角色是从英国来的Father Christmas。

Father Christmas is a big, jolly pagan dressed in green with a holly⁴ wreath on his head. Father Christmas是个身材魁梧、快乐的异教徒，穿着绿色衣服，头戴冬青花环。

Traditionally he is less concerned with children and gifts than he is with food and wine and celebration 传统上，他跟孩子们及礼物的关系，还不及于他和食物、美酒和庆典的关系，

and is perhaps best known for being one of the three spirits of Christmas who terrorize Scrooge. 而且也许他最出名的身分可能是三个圣诞节精灵之中，会恐吓Scrooge(吝啬鬼)的那一个。

When Europeans settled the colonies, Saint Nick and Father Christmas and the other characters began to mix together. 当欧洲人安顿好殖民地后，Saint Nick、Father Christmas及其他角色开始融合。

This explains why the U.S. version has so many names. 这解释了为什么美国的版本有这么多名字。

Santa Claus is the Americanization of Sinterklaas,  圣诞老人是经美国化的Sinterklaas，

but he's also called Saint Nick and Father Christmas and Kris Kringle which comes from Germany. 但他同样也被称为Saint Nick、Father Christmas还有从德国来的Kris Kringle。

In the old world these were different characters, 在旧世界(欧亚非大陆)这些是不同的角色，

but in the new world over time they evolved into one which you can see happening in older stories. 但在新世界(美洲大陆)，他们随着时间合而为一，你可以在较古老的故事中目睹。

For example, the poem "The Night Before Christmas" came out in 1823 in New York, 举例来说，〈圣诞节前夕〉这首诗是在1823年的纽约诞生的，

which established that Santa lands on the roof and fills stocking with toys. 它表明了圣诞老人会降落在屋顶上，并将袜子塞满玩具。

But this Santa is an elf, much like those from the Nordic Countries. 但这个圣诞老人是个精灵，很像那些从北欧国家来的。

He's small and drives a miniature sleigh with tiny reindeer⁵, 它身材短小，驾着小型雪橇和迷你驯鹿，

which makes a lot more sense for someone whose job description includes fitting down chimneys. 这对于一个工作内容包括钻进烟囱的人来说合理多了。

Also, the word "Santa" appears nowhere in the poem. 同样的，“Santa”这个字在诗里任何地方都没有出现。

The original title is "A visit from Saint Nick." 原本的题目是“Saint Nick的探访”。

As the 1800s continued, a fat, human looking immortal⁶ Santa evolved into the standard among American authors. 随着十九世纪过去，一个胖胖的、人类模样、长生不老的圣诞老人发展成了美国作家间的标准。

It was in the States that he gained both his elvish workforce⁷ and a wife. 他就是在美国得到了他的精灵工人以及妻子。

By about 1900, Santa had developed into his current iconic style. 在大约西元1900年时，圣诞老人发展成了现今的经典形象。

It should be noted⁸ that, contrary to popular belief, Coca-Cola didn't change his colors to their corporate⁹ scheme, 值得一提的是，与普遍的认知相反，可口可乐并没有将圣诞老人的颜色改成他们的公司企划，

but instead used the conveniently red-and-white Santa in 1931 to help sell more soda¹⁰ during their off season. 而是便利地在1931年时使用红白色的圣诞老人，帮助在淡季时卖出更多可乐。

Though Coke didn't create him, their omnipresent ads probably did brand this as the One True Santa in the minds of millions, 虽然可口可乐并没有创造出他，但他们无所不在的广告可能将这作为“唯一真正的圣诞老人”，铭刻在数百万人的心中，

helping¹¹ spread him around the world to many cultures with no traditions of winter gift-givers. 帮助圣诞老人普及于世界上许多没有冬季送礼传统的文化。

This American Santa in turn influenced his relations in Northern Europe to become more like him, 这个美国版圣诞老人反过来影响了他在北欧的亲戚们，让他们变得更像他，

although not always to the pleasure of the locals. 虽然当地人并非总是对此感到开心。

In particular, the British Father Christmas has been completely assimilated into the Santa collective, 特别是英国的Father Christmas已完全被圣诞老人系列给同化，

to the point where many Britons don't realize they were ever separate. 以致于到了许多英国人并没有意识到他们曾经是不同的地步。

In the Netherlands, however, Saint Nick is still successfully holding his own as a distinct character. 然而，在荷兰，Saint Nick还是成功地坚持住自己与众不同的特色。

The one last detail about modern Santa that's still up for debate, at least between countries, is exactly where he lives. 有关现代圣诞老人的最后一个细节是仍有争议的，至少是在国家之间仍有争议，就是他到底住在哪里。

In the late 1800s, his home was the magnetic North Pole, centered under the aurora¹² borealis. 在十九世纪晚期，他的家在磁北极，以北极光底下为中心。

While this would be the most diplomatic option for Santa, Magnetic North has since moved off the Polar Ice Sheet and into the ocean, 尽管对圣诞老人来说，这是最圆融的选择，但磁北极自此离开了极地冰原，进入海洋之中，

a rather inconvenient¹³ place to set up a toy factory. 一个比较不方便设立玩具工厂的地方。

So Canada claims his workshop is somewhere in Nunavut and has given Santa a post code and, no joke, 所以加拿大声称他的工作坊是在Nunavut某处，并提供圣诞老人一个邮递区号，还有，没在开玩笑，

official Canadian citizenship¹⁴. 正式的加拿大公民身份。

The American response is that the North Pole doesn't refer to the obviously inhospitable sheet of non-domestic ice 美方的回应是，北极指的并不是明显荒凉、不适宜居住的冰层，

but rather to the little town of North Pole, Alaska. 而是阿拉斯加的一个小镇，North Pole镇。

Denmark claims he lives in their former colony of Greenland. 丹麦声称他住在他们的前殖民地格陵兰。

And Greenland, not surprisingly, agrees. 而格陵兰，不意外的，也同意这说法。

The Nordic countries quarrel about his exact location, 北欧国家争论他确切的所在地，

but Finland is the clear winner of this argument with his workshop in Rovaniemi on the Arctic Circle. 但芬兰这关于他的工作坊在北极圈的Rovaniemi市的说法，在这场争执中显然是个赢家。

For the evidence inclined, you can actually go visit Santa and see the elves, toys, reindeer and post office, 为寻找有力证据，你可以实际上过去拜访圣诞老人，并看看精灵、玩具、驯鹿和邮局，

which makes Finland's claim pretty strong. Santa is even available during the off-season. 这些使得芬兰的声明相当有力。甚至在圣诞节以外的季节也能看到圣诞老人。

But no matter where he might be based, Santa still manages to get around the world in just one night to deliver all those presents... 但不管他可能以何处为基地，圣诞老人仍设法在仅仅一个晚上环游世界递送所有礼物...

and eat all those cookies. 并吃掉所有饼干。

 

1 luring   

吸引，引诱（lure的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Cheese is very good for luring a mouse into a trap. 奶酪是引诱老鼠上钩的极好的东西。
• Her training warned her of peril and of the wrong, subtle, mysterious, luring. 她的教养警告她：有危险，要出错儿，这是微妙、神秘而又诱人的。

2 sneaking   

a.秘密的，不公开的

参考例句：

• She had always had a sneaking affection for him. 以前她一直暗暗倾心于他。
• She ducked the interviewers by sneaking out the back door. 她从后门偷偷溜走，躲开采访者。

3 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

4 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。

5 reindeer   

n.驯鹿

参考例句：

• The herd of reindeer was being trailed by a pack of wolves.那群驯鹿被一只狼群寻踪追赶上来。
• The life of the Reindeer men was a frontier life.驯鹿时代人的生活是一种边区生活。

6 immortal   

adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的

参考例句：

• The wild cocoa tree is effectively immortal.野生可可树实际上是不会死的。
• The heroes of the people are immortal!人民英雄永垂不朽！

7 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

9 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

10 soda   

n.苏打水；汽水

参考例句：

• She doesn't enjoy drinking chocolate soda.她不喜欢喝巧克力汽水。
• I will freshen your drink with more soda and ice cubes.我给你的饮料重加一些苏打水和冰块。

11 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

12 aurora   

n.极光

参考例句：

• The aurora is one of nature's most awesome spectacles.极光是自然界最可畏的奇观之一。
• Over the polar regions we should see aurora.在极地高空,我们会看到极光。

13 inconvenient   

adj.不方便的，令人感到麻烦的

参考例句：

• You have come at a very inconvenient time.你来得最不适时。
• Will it be inconvenient for him to attend that meeting?他参加那次会议会不方便吗？

14 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。