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中英对照文本 翻译：Mangosteen 校对：FungChuh “‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse…” 「圣诞节前夜，屋内静悄悄，连老鼠都不出声音……」 You probably know what happens next. But do you know who wrote this poem, and when? Do you know where the tradition of the Christmas tree comes from? Lights on the Christmas tree? Stockings? Even the idea of gift-giving? 也许你还知道后面几句。但你知道这首诗的作者与创作时间吗？你知道圣诞树传统的起源吗？圣诞树上的灯饰呢？圣诞袜呢？还有互相赠礼的主意呢？ No holiday has a richer and more varied tradition than Christmas. So let’s look into its history and see if we can uncover some of that richness and tradition. And if you don’t celebrate Christmas—well, at least you’ll have a better appreciation of why so many people do. 没有哪个节日的传统比圣诞节更丰富多彩。那么让我们一起研究它的历史，看看我们能否挖掘出它的某些悠久传统。如果你不过圣诞节——好吧，至少你会更理解为什么那么多人庆祝圣诞节。 Here’s what everybody knows: 以下是人人都知道的： Christmas is when Christians celebrate the birthday of Jesus Christ. That in itself is a very big deal. Christianity, in all its many iterations, remains the most popular religion in the world. Two billion people follow it. 圣诞节是基督徒庆祝耶稣基督诞生的日子。这点本身就意义重大。基督教历经多次迭代，至今仍是世界上最受欢迎的宗教。信徒有二十亿人。 Aside from its obvious religious significance, the first Christmas stands as the great divide for the recording of human history. Until recently, history was divided between BC (Before Christ) and AD (Anno Domini, which is Latin for “Year of Our Lord”). Now you’ll often see BCE (Before the Common Era) and CE (Common Era). No matter. The divide is still Jesus’s birth. 除了其明显的宗教意义，第一个圣诞节还象征着人类历史记录的重大分界线。直至最近，历史是按公元前（基督前）与公元（拉丁文「主的年份」）区分。现在常见的是 BCE 与 CE。没关系。它仍然是按基督诞生日划分。 The great kings of the first millennium recognized the significance of the day and attached themselves to it. Charlemagne, Alfred the Great, and William the Conqueror, among many others, were either baptized or coronated on December 25. 第一个千年的伟大国王们认识到这天的重要性并依附于它。其中，查理曼、阿尔弗雷德大帝与征服者威廉要么在 12 月 25 日受洗，要么在此日加冕。 The idea of Christmas as a time of gift-giving also goes back to the earliest days of Christianity. The story is told that a third-century church bishop, Nicholas, would anonymously throw bags of gold coins into the windows of the poor. The coins supposedly landed in the shoes or stockings that were drying by the fireplace. Thus, was the stocking stuffer born. After Nicholas died and was declared a saint, his popularity and positive Christmas message spread across Europe, each nation adding its own distinct contribution. 在圣诞节这天互相交换礼物的做法同样可追溯至基督教早期。传说是这样的，公元三世纪的一位主教尼古拉斯偷偷将一袋袋金币扔进穷人家的窗户。金币会落到悬挂在壁炉上烘干的鞋子或袜子里。这就是圣诞袜小礼物的由来。尼古拉斯逝世后，被追谥为圣徒，他的名声及积极的圣诞节信息传遍欧洲，每个国家都加入了自己的独特贡献。 In Germany, the winter tradition of placing evergreens in their homes took on a new significance in the 16th century when Protestant reformer Martin Luther put candles in the branches. He told his children the lights were like the sky above Bethlehem on the night of Christ's birth. 在德国，家里摆放常青树的冬日传统在 16 世纪被赋予了新的意义，当时新教改革家马丁·路德往树枝上挂蜡烛。他告诉孩子们，这一束束光就如同基督降生在伯利恒那晚的天空。 The idea that St. Nicholas would judge whether you’ve been good or bad during the year stems from the Book of Revelation in the New Testament, which depicts Christ returning to Earth riding a white horse. In the Middle Ages, the legend sprang up that Saint Nicholas had been chosen as the Savior’s advance guard. He wouldn’t come at the end of the world, but every year to check things out and give a report. 圣·尼古拉斯会评判你那年是好人还是坏人的概念起源于《新约圣经》「启示录」，其中描述了基督骑在一匹白马上返回地球。在中世纪，圣·尼古拉斯被选为救世主前卫的传说流传开来。他不会在世界末日出现，但每年都会巡查并作报告。 When this notion arrived in Norway, it encountered a problem: there were no horses in Norway. But they did have plenty of reindeer. And, of course, Norway abuts the Arctic Circle and the North Pole, so St. Nick found himself with a new domicile. 当这个概念传到挪威，它遇到了一个问题：挪威没有马。但那里有许多驯鹿。当然了，挪威毗邻北极圈与北极点，于是圣·尼古拉斯找到了新住址。 All these various European traditions came together in the great melting pot of America. 所有各种各样的欧洲传统都汇聚到了美国这个大熔炉中。 In New York in 1823, a professor at the Protestant Episcopal Seminary, Clement Moore, wrote a poem for his children, 'Twas the night before Christmas: 1823 年的纽约，新教圣公会神学院教授克莱门特·摩尔给孩子们写了一首诗，「圣诞前夜」： '…The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, 「袜子稳妥地挂在壁炉旁， In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there…' 盼望圣·尼古拉斯快些出现……」 The poem caught on and became a Christmas staple every school child could recite. 这首诗广为流传，成为了圣诞节主打诗，所有学龄儿童都能背诵。 The holiday got another push in 1843, when the great British writer, Charles Dickens, published his short novel, A Christmas Carol. The redemption of Ebenezer Scrooge perfectly captured what we now refer to as “the Christmas spirit”: the idea that the holiday brings out the best in all of us. 1843 年，这个节日得到了又一次推广，当时英国伟大作家查尔斯·狄更斯发表了短篇小说《圣诞颂歌》。艾比尼泽·斯克鲁奇的救赎完美表达了我们如今所称「圣诞精神」的核心：这个节日激发出我们最好的一面。 As the new century turned, Hollywood got into the act. Almost as soon as there were movies, there were movies celebrating Christmas. To this day, a year doesn’t go by without a new one. 新世纪来临，好莱坞也进来插了一脚。几乎自电影问世以来，就一直有庆祝圣诞节的电影。直至今日，每年依然有新的圣诞档电影。 Madison Avenue saw a big opportunity, too. In 1931, Coca-Cola hired artist Haddon Sundblom to create a Christmas ad of Santa Claus (which is Dutch for St. Nicholas) drinking Coke. The jolly white-bearded fellow in a bright red suit remains the personification of Old St. Nick. 美国广告业也看到巨大机遇。1931 年，可口可乐聘请了艺术家海顿·姗布，创造出圣诞老人（圣·尼古拉斯的荷兰文）喝可口可乐的圣诞广告。这位欢乐的穿着鲜红色服装的白胡子老人仍然是圣尼古拉的化身。 And, in perfect melting-pot fashion, Irving Berlin, the son of a rabbi, wrote the definitive yuletide song, “White Christmas.” 以完美的大熔炉风格，欧文·柏林，一个拉比的儿子，写出了标志性的圣诞季节歌「白色圣诞」。 Many complain today that the religious aspect of Christmas has been overwhelmed by commerce. Retail sales between Thanksgiving and Christmas are now $1 trillion. This is not a new complaint. The Puritans refused to celebrate Christmas because they thought it trivialized the holiday’s religious message. 许多人抱怨宗教意义的圣诞节今天已严重商业化。感恩节圣诞节期间的零售额高达万亿。这种抱怨并不新鲜。清教徒拒绝庆祝圣诞节，因为他们认为这样做淡化了这个节日的宗教信息。 But this remains the minority view. Most people love Christmas and all the things—the lights, the tree, the songs, the movies, and, yes, the gifts—that come with it. And who can deny that people tend to act a little nicer, a little happier, as the special day draws near? 但这仍然是少数人观点。大多数人爱圣诞节以及与它相关的一切——灯光、树木、歌曲、电影还有，没错，礼物。谁能否认当这个特别的日子临近，人们常常变得更友善，更快乐了呢？ In a world that feels so divided, Christmas still unites us. For that, we should all be grateful. 在这个似乎极其分裂的世界，圣诞节仍然把我们团结在一起。为此，我们应该感激。 I’m William Federer, author of There Really Is a Santa Claus, for Prager University. 我是威廉·费德勒，There Really Is a Santa Claus 作者，为 PragerU 制作。 |
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