VOA文化艺术2023--The Story of Santa Claus

The Story of Santa Claus

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, like Saint Nicholas, Kris Kringle and Pelznickel.

The Santa Claus we talk about in the United States flies from his home at the North Pole on Christmas Eve to bring toys and gifts to children. The happy, white-bearded man is dressed in red. He usually flies on a sleigh led by his reindeer¹. Santa enters each home through the chimney and fills children's stockings with toys and gifts.

This modern image of Santa Claus largely comes from Clement² Clark Moore's famous poem, A Visit from St. Nicholas.

‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;...

He spoke³ not a word, but went straight to his work,

And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,

And laying his finger aside of his nose,

And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;

Santa Claus is believed to have come from the story of St. Nicholas. He was a 4th-century clergy⁴ in the Mediterranean⁵ port city of Myra, part of modern-day Turkey. It is said that St. Nicholas gave away all his wealth to help the poor and the sick. History.com says St. Nicholas became known as the protector of children and sailors. It adds that he was the most popular saint in Europe.

In the 18th century, Dutch immigrants brought the story of Saint Nikolaas and the tradition of gift-giving to New York City. The Dutch said his name very quickly. It sounded like "Sinterklaas." When English speakers said this word, it sounded like Santa Claus.

German immigrants working as farmers in the American state of Pennsylvania also knew of Saint Nikolaas. But they called him Pelznickel. This word came from "pelz," meaning fur in German, and "nickel" for Nicholas. Saint Nikolaasor became a man dressed in fur who came once a year with gifts for good children.

Pelznickel became part of a celebration honoring the Christkindl, as the Germans called the child of Christ. After some time, Christkindl became "Kris Kringle." That is another name you will hear for Santa Claus.

A Santa-liked figure is known as Father Christmas in Britain and Père Noel in France. In Scandinavia, an elf named Jultomten was thought to deliver gifts in a sleigh drawn⁶ by goats. In Italy, a woman called La Befana rides a broomstick down the chimneys of homes to bring toys for lucky children.

The image of Santa Claus as we now see him came from Thomas Nast. He was an American painter born in Bavaria, Germany.

Nast remembered that, when he was a little boy, a kind old man would give toys and cakes to the children on Christmas. So, when Nast painted Santa Claus, he looked like the old man from his childhood.

Nast painted Santa as a short, fat, jolly old man with a long beard. He wore a red suit with white fur. He also gave Santa a North Pole workshop, elves, and a wife, Mrs. Claus. Through the years, Nast's painting has remained the most popular picture of Santa Claus.

American children write letters to Santa hoping to be on his "nice list" for Christmas gifts. On Christmas Eve, they leave cookies and milk for Santa and carrots for his reindeer: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer⁷, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and "the most famous reindeer of all," Rudolph.

Words in This Story

sleigh - n. a large, open vehicle that is usually pulled by a horse (or reindeer) over snow or ice.

chimney - n. a part of a building through which smoke rises into the air

figure - n. a person

jolly - adj. happy and cheerful

1 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。

2 clement   

adj.仁慈的；温和的

参考例句：

• A clement judge reduced his sentence.一位仁慈的法官为他减了刑。
• The planet's history contains many less stable and clement eras than the holocene.地球的历史包含着许多不如全新世稳定与温和的地质时期。

3 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。

4 clergy   

n.[总称]牧师，神职人员

参考例句：

• I could heartily wish that more of our country clergy would follow this example.我衷心希望，我国有更多的牧师效法这个榜样。
• All the local clergy attended the ceremony.当地所有的牧师出席了仪式。

5 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

6 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

7 prancer   

腾跃前进的人[马]

参考例句：