西方节日介绍

西方节日介绍 2012年4月8日是复活节。和其它基督教节日一样，复活节正慢慢“被世俗”和“被商业”。 即便如此，复活节的这两个性质和它的标志并不是必然的“现代产物”。 As with almost all "Christian" holidays, Easter has been secularized and commercialized. The dichotomous nature of Easter and its symbols, however, is not necessarily a modern fabrication. 和其它基督教节日一样，复活节正慢慢“被世俗”和“被商业”。即便如此，复活节的这两个性 质和它的标志并不是必然的“现代产物”。 The history of Easter 复活节的历史 Since its conception as a holy celebration in the second century, Easter has had its non-religious side. In fact, Easter was originally a pagan festival. “复活节是神圣的庆典”的概念在公元200年已经形成，自那时起，复活节就站在了非宗教的 一方。而事实上，最初的复活节是异教徒的节日。 The ancient Saxons celebrated the return of spring with an uproarious festival commemorating their goddess of offspring and of springtime, Eastre. When the second-century Christian missionaries encountered the tribes of the north with their pagan celebrations, they attempted to convert them to Christianity. They did so, however, in a clandestine manner. 古撒克逊人庆祝春至时非常热闹，因为这也纪念他们祖先和春天的“复活”。在公元200年， 基督教的传教士并偶然来到这个拥有异教庆典的北方部落。这些传教士尝试让撒克逊人改信 基督教，而他们使用的方法非常隐秘。 It would have been suicide for the very early Christian converts to celebrate their holy days with observances that did not coincide with celebrations that already existed. To save lives, the missionaries cleverly decided to spread their religious message slowly throughout the populations by allowing them to continue to celebrate pagan feasts, but to do so in a Christian manner. 早期的基督教人为了庆祝他们神圣的节日而在仪式中自杀，然而这些仪式并没有与以前的庆 祝仪式相类似。为了拯救生命，传教士略施小计，在人群中慢慢散布神明的信息，谎称神明 允许人们继续庆祝异教节日，但是要使用基督教的方式进行庆祝。 As it happened, the pagan festival of Eastre occurred at the same time of year as the Christian observance of the Resurrection of Christ. It made sense, therefore, to alter the festival itself, to make it a Christian celebration as converts were slowly won over. The early name, Eastre, was eventually changed to its modern spelling, Easter. 就这样，复活节在同年出现了，而且被当作耶稣复活的基督教仪式。因此，这个节日就慢慢 被改变，渐渐转变为基督教的一个节日。于是，人们渐渐皈依基督教。而复活节早期的名字 Eastre，最后也被改成流传至今的拼法Easter。 The date of Easter 复活节的日期 Prior to A.D. 325, Easter was variously celebrated on different days of the week, including Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. In that year, the Council of Nicaea was convened by emperor Constantine. It issued the Easter Rule which states that Easter shall be celebrated on the first Sunday that occurs after the first full moon on or after the vernal equinox. However, a caveat must be introduced here. The "full moon" in the rule is the ecclesiastical full moon, which is defined as the fourteenth day of a tabular lunation, where day 1 corresponds to the ecclesiastical New Moon. It does not always occur on the same date as the astronomical full moon. The ecclesiastical "vernal equinox" is always on March 21. Therefore, Easter must be celebrated on a Sunday between the dates of March 22 and April 25. 在公元325年之前，复活节的庆祝时间可以是一周中不同的时间，而这些时间包括星期五、 星期六和星期天。在那些年里，康斯坦丁大帝组建了尼西亚理事会。这个理事会制定了复活 节的 标准 excel标准偏差excel标准偏差函数exl标准差函数国标检验抽样标准表免费下载红头文件格式标准下载 :复活节应该在第一个满月后或是春分后的第一个星期进行庆祝。在这里，我们要 作一下解释。在规定中所指的“满月”是基督教的满月，而“满月”的时间定在阴历月份的第十 四天，那么，这个月的1号就是基督教的“新月”。由于天文满月，复活节的日期不会是每年 的同一天。另外，基督教的“春分”通常是3月21日。因此，复活节必须在3月22日-4月 24日之间的其中一个星期天进行庆祝。 The Lenten season 四旬斋季节 Lent is the forty-six day period just prior to Easter Sunday. It begins on Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras (French for "Fat Tuesday") is a celebration, sometimes called "Carnival," practiced around the world, on the Tuesday prior to Ash Wednesday. It was designed as a way to "get it all out" before the sacrifices of Lent began. New Orleans is the focal point of Mardi Gras celebrations in the U.S. Read about the religious meanings of the Lenten Season. 四旬斋是早期复活节里面为期46天的时期。四旬斋开始于圣灰星期三。“狂欢节”也称为“嘉 年华”。在早期，它横跨星期三和圣灰星期四，是一个全世界都进行的庆典。在四旬斋献祭 开始前，狂欢节是一个使人身心舒畅的节日。其中，新奥尔良是美国狂欢节的焦点。因此， 我们要好好理解四旬斋的宗教含义。 The Easter Bunny 复活兔 The Easter Bunny is not a modern invention. The symbol originated with the pagan festival of Eastre. The goddess, Eastre, was worshipped by the Anglo-Saxons through her earthly symbol, the rabbit. 复活兔并不是现代产物。复活兔起源于异教的复活节。当时，耶稣的世俗象征是一个兔子， 并被盎格鲁撒克逊人供奉着。 The Germans brought the symbol of the Easter rabbit to America. It was widely ignored by other Christians until shortly after the Civil War. In fact, Easter itself was not widely celebrated in America until after that time. 而德国人将复活兔带到了美国。直至美国南北战争后，复活兔才被大多数基督教人士所重视。 事实上，在这次内战结束后，复活节也未在美国被人们广泛地庆祝。 The Easter Egg 复活蛋 As with the Easter Bunny and the holiday itself, the Easter Egg predates the Christian holiday of Easter. The exchange of eggs in the springtime is a custom that was centuries old when Easter was first celebrated by Christians. 与复活兔和复活节一样，复活蛋预示着复活节即将到来。当基督教徒庆祝第一个复活节后， 人们开始春天互相交换复活蛋，而这已成为了人们好几百年的习俗。 From the earliest times, the egg was a symbol of rebirth in most cultures. Eggs were often wrapped in gold leaf or, if you were a peasant, colored brightly by boiling them with the leaves or petals of certain flowers. 在早期，复活蛋在许多文明中象征着“再生”。人们常常用金色的叶子包裹复活蛋，或是农 民的做法:将复活蛋画得色彩斑斓，并把它和叶子或是真花瓣一起煮沸。 Today, children hunt colored eggs and place them in Easter baskets along with the modern version of real Easter eggs -- those made of plastic or chocolate candy. 在今天，孩子们到处搜刮复活蛋，并将这些蛋放到复活节篮子中。为什么呢,因为现代的复 活蛋是用软糖或巧克力做的。 在愚人节这天你被鼓励去和你的爱人、同事、熟人甚至公车站遇见的人开 玩笑。这真是一个古怪的传统，但它是如何开始的呢,愚人节的由来到底是怎么一回事呢, 愚人节起源大揭秘 April Fools’ Day: The history of the holiday 汉语译文 Consider yourself warned. Sunday is April Fools' Day, a day when you are encouraged to pull pranks on loved ones, co-workers, casual acquaintances, and even that one guy at the bus stop. It's an odd tradition, but how did it get started? What's the history of April Fools' Day, anyway? Nobody is completely sure about the origin of this, the silliest of holidays. However the urban legend experts at Snopes.com say that most experts give credit to Pope Gregory XIII, who, in the 1500s, gave the world the Gregorian calendar. In 1562, the Gregorian calendar moved the first day of the year from April 1 to January 1. Word did eventually get around, but some people were a bit slow to hear the news. These folks continued celebrating the new year on April 1, unaware that they were now three months behind the times. These "April fools" were tricked by those in the know. The tradition eventually made its way to the USA. And it's still going strong. Over the past week, Web searches on "april fools day jokes" and "april fools day pranks" have more than doubled, and related lookups for "easy april fools day pranks" and "april fools day jokes for work" also spiked. Bottom line: Keep your guard up, especially if somebody offers you a word search puzzle. Lookups for "impossible april fools day word searches" are up 200%. But really, there is no way to be certain you'll escape trickery. Because on April 1, even corporations are out to trick you. In 1998, Burger King tricked its customers by releasing "the left-handed Whopper." In 1957, the BBC reported Swiss farmers were harvesting spaghetti from trees. And in 1996, Taco Bell took out ads in major newspapers announcing that the company had purchased the Liberty Bell and renamed it the Taco Liberty Bell. Shudder.(Agencies) 别说我没有警告你，星期天就是愚人节了。在这天你被鼓励去和你的爱人、同事、熟人甚至 公车站遇见的人开玩笑。这真是一个古怪的传统，但它是如何开始的呢,愚人节的由来到底 是怎么一回事呢, 没人可以完全肯定这个最愚蠢的节日的起源。不过，Snopes.com的都市传说专家称，大多 数专家将其归功于在16世纪颁行格列高利历(公历)的教皇格列高利十三世。 1562年，格列高利历将一年的第一天从4月1日移到1月1日。这一消息后来传开了，不 过有些人比较后知后觉。这些人依然在4月1日庆祝新年，没有意识到他们已经落后了三个 月时间。这些“四月愚人”被那些知情者耍了一把。这一传统最后传到了美国。 而现在愚人节依然很流行。在过去一周里，对“愚人节笑话”和“愚人节恶作剧”的网络搜 索量增加了一倍多，对“简易的愚人节恶作剧”和“职场愚人节笑话”的相关搜索量也大大 增加了。底线是:保持警惕，特别是当有人让你做单词搜索迷宫题时。对“让人受不了的愚 人节单词搜索”词条的搜索量增加了200%。 实际上，没有什么方法可以保证你不被捉弄。因为在4月1日，甚至连公司也会开你玩笑。 1998年，汉堡王宣布推出“左撇子巨无霸汉堡”，结果是和顾客开的玩笑。1957年，英国广 播公司报道说，瑞士农民从树上收割意大利面。1996年，提供墨西哥美食的餐饮公司“塔 可钟”在各大报纸上发布广告，宣布公司已经买下了自由钟，并把它的名字改成了“塔可自 由钟”。天哪。 每年二月十四日是情人节(Valentine's Day)，情人节是西方的传统节日之一。 情侣们在情人节这天会互相馈赠礼物，用以 表 关于同志近三年现实表现材料材料类招标技术评分表图表与交易pdf视力表打印pdf用图表说话 pdf 达爱意或友好。 每年2月14日，从美国到全世界的情侣们以圣?瓦伦丁的名义交换糖果、鲜花和礼物。 Every February 14, across the United States and in other places around the world, candy, flowers and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. But who is this mysterious saint, and where did these traditions come from? Find out about the history of this centuries-old holiday, from ancient Roman rituals to the customs of Victorian England. The history of Valentine's Day — and its patron saint — is shrouded in mystery. But we do know that February has long been a month of romance. St. Valentine's Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. So, who was Saint Valentine and how did he become associated with this ancient rite? Today, the Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred. One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men — his crop of potential soldiers. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death. Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons where they were often beaten and tortured. According to one legend, Valentine actually sent the first "valentine" greeting himself. While in prison, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl — who may have been his jailor's daughter — who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter, which he signed "From your Valentine," an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories certainly emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic, and, most importantly, romantic figure. It's no surprise that by the Middle Ages, Valentine was one of the most popular saints in England and France. While some believe that Valentine's Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine's death or burial — which probably occurred around 270 A.D — others claim that the Christian church may have decided to celebrate Valentine's feast day in the middle of February in an effort to "christianize" celebrations of the pagan Lupercalia festival. In ancient Rome, February was the official beginning of spring and was considered a time for purification. Houses were ritually cleansed by sweeping them out and then sprinkling salt and a type of wheat called spelt throughout their interiors. Lupercalia, which began at the ides of February, February 15, was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus. To begin the festival, members of the Luperci, an order of Roman priests, would gather at the sacred cave where the infants Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were believed to have been cared for by a she-wolf or lupa. The priests would then sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification. The boys then sliced the goat's hide into strips, dipped them in the sacrificial blood and took to the streets, gently slapping both women and fields of crops with the goathide strips. Far from being fearful, Roman women welcomed being touched with the hides because it was believed the strips would make them more fertile in the coming year. Later in the day, according to legend, all the young women in the city would place their names in a big urn. The city's bachelors would then each choose a name out of the urn and become paired for the year with his chosen woman. These matches often ended in marriage. Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine's Day around 498 A.D. The Roman "lottery" system for romantic pairing was deemed un-Christian and outlawed. Later, during the Middle Ages, it was commonly believed in France and England that February 14 was the beginning of birds' mating season, which added to the idea that the middle of February — Valentine's Day — should be a day for romance. The oldest known valentine still in existence today was a poem written by Charles, Duke of Orleans to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt. The greeting, which was written in 1415, is part of the manuscript collection of the British Library in London, England. Several years later, it is believed that King Henry V hired a writer named John Lydgate to compose a valentine note to Catherine of Valois. In Great Britain, Valentine's Day began to be popularly celebrated around the seventeenth century. By the middle of the eighteenth century, it was common for friends and lovers in all social classes to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes. By the end of the century, printed cards began to replace written letters due to improvements in printing technology. Ready-made cards were an easy way for people to express their emotions in a time when direct expression of one's feelings was discouraged. Cheaper postage rates also contributed to an increase in the popularity of sending Valentine's Day greetings. Americans probably began exchanging hand-made valentines in the early 1700s. In the 1840s, Esther A. Howland began to sell the first mass-produced valentines in America. According to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated one billion valentine cards are sent each year, making Valentine's Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year. (An estimated 2.6 billion cards are sent for Christmas.) Approximately 85 percent of all valentines are purchased by women. In addition to the United States, Valentine's Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, and Australia. Valentine greetings were popular as far back as the Middle Ages (written Valentine's didn't begin to appear until after 1400), and the oldest known Valentine card is on display at the British Museum. The first commercial Valentine's Day greeting cards produced in the U.S. were created in the 1840s by Esther A. Howland. Howland, known as the Mother of the Valentine, made elaborate creations with real lace, ribbons and colorful pictures known as "scrap." Wrong gift can derail romance It pays to communicate your love in ways that have the most meaning for your partner for Valentine's Day, the California Healthy Marriages Coalition advises. Patty Howell, vice president of the California Healthy Marriages Coalition in Los Angeles, says candy and cards are traditional on Valentine's Day but that only works if a partner really wants candy and cards. "If your partner craves appreciation, quality time, physical touch or acts of service like washing dishes, there is no amount of roses that will do the job; but if your partner's 'Love Language' is gifts, it makes sense to head for the florist shop," Howell says in a statement. "The key is to know what lights your partner's fire and deliver your love that way. Otherwise, you're just spinning your wheels." Howell and her husband, Ralph Jones, are co-authors of "World Class Marriage," which along with their workshop of the same name, has helped couples achieve emotional intimacy and lasting friendship. Howell offers the following tips to help couples maximize Valentine's Day: -- Set goals together. There are two types of goals, those that you are both working towards, or shared goals and those that only one of you pursues, agreed-upon goals. -- Avoid blame and public criticism. -- Nurture the honeymoon feelings through activities that allow you to experience joy with your partner, use positive "I-Language" when giving compliments and be generous with your affection. 送错礼物，浪漫不成反而事与愿违 加利福尼亚健康婚姻联盟建议情人节送爱人的礼物不仅要饱含爱意，还要正中对方心怀。 位于洛杉矶的联盟副主席帕特•霍薇儿说糖果和卡片是情人节的传统礼物，然而如果对方对 之并不感冒，则难以打动对方。 霍薇儿在一项声明里称:“如果对方想要的是赞赏，一段优美时光，亲密接触或者是诸如主 动刷碗等家务活，送的玫瑰再多也无济于事。如果对方喜欢用礼物表达爱意，那么去花店则 是不错的选择。” “关键是你必须知道如何点燃对方的火花，然后与之所欲。否则反而弄巧成拙。” 霍薇儿和她的丈夫拉尔夫•琼斯共同撰写了《世界顶级婚姻》一书，并开设了同名夫妻店， 他们帮助很多人关系更亲密，友谊更长久。霍薇儿还给了他们以下情人节浪漫小贴士: 1. 一起制定目标。这里的目标指两种，一种是两人共同努力的方向，即共同目标，另一种 是其中一方追求的目标，即相互达成一致的目标。 2. 避免埋怨或当众指责对方。 3. 酝酿一种蜜月般的感情，和另一半一起体验愉悦和幸福，不要吝啬你的溢美之词去赞美 对方。 万圣夜(Halloween)到来时，孩子们都会急切穿上五颜六色的化妆服，戴上奇怪的面具， 提着一盏“杰克灯”走家窜户，向大人们索要节日的礼物。万圣节最广为人知的象征也正是这 两样——奇异的“杰克灯”和“不给糖就捣乱”的恶作剧。——百度百科。 本文介绍万圣夜的来源和历史。 Ancient Origins of Halloween Halloween's origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in). The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter. To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities. During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other's fortunes. When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter. By A.D. 43, Romans had conquered the majority of Celtic territory. In the course of the four hundred years that they ruled the Celtic lands, two festivals of Roman origin were combined with the traditional Celtic celebration of Samhain. The first was Feralia, a day in late October when the Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead. The second was a day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple and the incorporation of this celebration into Samhain probably explains the tradition of "bobbing" for apples that is practiced today on Halloween. By the 800s, the influence of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands. In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV designated November 1 All Saints' Day, a time to honor saints and martyrs. It is widely believed today that the pope was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, but church-sanctioned holiday. The celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints' Day) and the night before it, the night of Samhain, began to be called All-hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween. Even later, in A.D. 1000, the church would make November 2 All Souls' Day, a day to honor the dead. It was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels, and devils. Together, the three celebrations, the eve of All Saints', All Saints', and All Souls', were called Hallowmas. 万圣节(All Hallow's Day)是西方的鬼节，时间是每年公历的11月1日，庆祝活动从10月 31日晚开始，称为万圣节前夜(Halloween)。目前流行在习惯说英语的一些国家。在前夜， 人们会按照风俗带上面具、穿上奇异的衣服打扮成鬼怪的模样，家家户户都会用南瓜雕空做 成灯。孩子们会打扮好后提着南瓜灯挨家挨户讨要糖果。人们在这天并不拜祭祖先或鬼神， 据说打扮成鬼怪模样和做南瓜灯是为了吓跑出来作恶的鬼怪。关于这一日得起源，存在四种 不同的说法，但都与鬼有关。流传至今，已经几乎没有了任何宗教或迷信色彩成分，人们的 打扮已经不止是鬼怪，任何人都可以随意发挥，很多地区每年都会组织举行大型化妆游行活 动，热闹非凡。 万圣节可以用Hallowmas、All Saint's Day、All Hallow's Day来表达，至于Halloween则是万 圣节前夜或万圣节前夕的意思。需要注意的是Hallowmas是旧称。 万圣夜英文称之“Halloween”，为“All Hallow Eve”的缩写，是指万圣节(All Hallow's Day) 的前夜，类似于圣诞夜被称为“Christmas Eve”。“Hallow”来源于中古英语halwen，与holy 词源很接近，在苏格兰和加拿大的某些区域，万圣节仍然被称为“All Hallow Mas”，意思是 在纪念所有的圣人(Hallow)那一天，要举行的弥撒仪式(Mass)。 万圣夜通常与灵异的事物联系起来。欧洲传统上认为万圣节是鬼魂世界最接近人间的时间， 这传说与中国的盂兰节类似。美国明尼苏达州的Anoka号称是“世界万圣节之都”，每年都 举行大型的巡游庆祝。 Christmas December 25 The history of Christmas dates back over 4000 years. Many of our Christmas traditions were celebrated centuries before the Christ child was born. The 12 days of Christmas, the bright fires, the yule log, the giving of gifts, carnivals(parades) with floats, carolers who sing while going from house to house, the holiday feasts, and the church processions can all be traced back to the early Mesopotamians. Many of these traditions began with the Mesopotamian (美索不达米亚) celebration of New Years. The Mesopotamians believed in many gods, and as their chief god - Marduk (马杜克,古代巴比伦 人的主神,原为巴比伦的太阳神). Each year as winter arrived it was believed that Marduk would do battle with the monsters of chaos. To assist Marduk in his struggle the Mesopotamians held a festival for the New Year. This was Zagmuk, the New Year's festival that lasted for 12 days. The Mesopotamian king would return to the temple of Marduk and swear his faithfulness to the god. The traditions called for the king to die at the end of the year and to return with Marduk to battle at his side. To spare their king, the Mesopotamians used the idea of a "mock" king. A criminal was chosen and dressed in royal clothes. He was given all the respect and privileges of a real king. At the end of the celebration the "mock" king was stripped of the royal clothes and slain, sparing the life of the real king. The Roman's celebrated their god Saturn. Their festival was called Saturnalia which began the middle of December and ended January 1st. With cries of "Jo Saturnalia!" the celebration would include masquerades (化妆舞会) in the streets, big festive meals, visiting friends and the exchange of good-luck gifts called Strenae (lucky fruits). "Jo Saturnalia!" was a fun and festive time for the Romans, but the Christians though it an abomination (深恶痛绝) to honor the pagan (异教) god. The early Christians wanted to keep the birthday of their Christ child a solemn and religious holiday, not one of cheer and merriment as was the pagan Saturnalia. But as Christianity spread they were alarmed by the continuing celebration of pagan customs and Saturnalia among their converts. At first the Church forbid this kind of celebration. But it was to no avail (徒劳). Eventually it was decided that the celebration would be tamed and made into a celebration fit for the Christian Son of God. Some legends claim that the Christian "Christmas" celebration was invented to compete against the pagan celebrations of December. The 25th was not only sacred to the Romans but also the Persians whose religion Mithraism (密特拉教，奉祀密特拉神的宗教，纪元后最初3世纪内传 至罗马帝国) was one of Christianity's main rivals at that time. The Church eventually was successful in taking the merriment, lights, and gifts from the Saturanilia festival and bringing them to the celebration of Christmas. “圣诞节”这个名称是“基督彌撒”的缩写。彌撒是教会的一种礼拜仪式。耶诞节是一个宗 教节。我们把它当作耶苏的诞辰來庆祝，因而又名耶诞节。这一天，世界所有的基督教会都 举行特別的礼拜仪式。但是有很多圣诞节的欢庆活动和宗教并无半点关联。交换礼物，寄圣 诞卡，这都使圣诞节成为一个普天同庆的日子。 圣诞节是基督教世界最大的节日。4世纪初，1月6日是罗马帝国东部各教会纪念那稣降 生和受洗的双重节日、称为“主显节”Epiphany，亦称“显现节”即上帝通过那稣向世人显 示自己。当时只有那路拉冷的教会例外，那里只纪念耶稣的诞生而不纪念那稣的受洗。后来 历史学家们在罗马基督徒习用的日历中发现公元 354年12月25日页内记录着:“基督降生 在犹大的伯利恒。”经过研究，一般认为12月25日伴为圣诞节可能开始于公元336年的罗 马教会)约在公元375年传到小亚细亚的安提阿，公元 430年传到埃及的亚历山大里亚， 那路撒冷的教会接受得最晚，而亚美尼亚的教会则仍然坚持1月6日主显节是那稣的诞辰。 12月25日原来是波斯太阳神(即光明之神)密特拉(Mithra)的诞辰，是一个异教徒节日， 同时太阳神也是罗马国教众神之一。这一天又是罗马历书的冬至节，崇拜太阳神的异教徒都 把这一天当作春天的希望，万物复苏的开始。可能由于这个原因，罗马教会才选择这一天作 为圣诞节。这是教会初期力图把异教徒的风俗习惯基督教化的 措施 《全国民用建筑工程设计技术措施》规划•建筑•景观全国民用建筑工程设计技术措施》规划•建筑•景观软件质量保证措施下载工地伤害及预防措施下载关于贯彻落实的具体措施 之一。后来，虽然大多数 教会都接受12月25日为圣诞节，但又固各地教会使用的历书不同，具体日期不能统一，于 是就把12月24日到第二年的1月6日定为圣诞节节期(Christmas Tide)，各地教会可以根 据当地具体情况在这段节期之内庆祝圣诞节。自从12月25日被大多数教会公认为圣诞节后， 原来1月6日的主显节就只纪念耶稣受洗了，但天主教会又把1月6日定为“三王来朝节”， 以纪念耶稣生时东方三王(即三位博士)来朝拜的故事。随着基督教的广泛传播，圣诞节已 成为各教派基督徒，甚至广大非基督徒群众的一个重要节日。在欧美许多国家里，人们非常 重视这个节日，把它和新年连在一起，而庆祝活动之热闹与隆重大大超过了新年，成为一个 全民的节日。12月25日的主要纪念活动都与那稣降生的传说有关。耶苏的出生是有一段故 事的，耶苏是因着圣灵成孕，由童女马利亚所生的。神更派遣使者加伯列在梦中晓谕约瑟， 叫他不要因为马利亚未婚怀孕而不要她，反而要与她成亲，把那孩子起名为“耶苏”，意思 是要他把百姓从罪恶中救出來。 当马利亚快要临盆的时候，罗马政府下了命令，全部人民到伯利恒务必申报戶籍。约瑟和马利亚只好遵命。他们到达伯利恒时，天色已昏，无奈两人未能找到旅馆渡宿，只有一个马棚可以暫住。就在這时，耶苏要出生了～於是马利亚唯有在马槽上，生下耶苏。后人为纪念耶苏的诞生，便定十二月二十五为圣诞节，年年望彌撒，纪念耶苏的出世。 虽然圣诞节是在12月25日，但欢度圣诞却从12月24日就开始了。这就像中国人过春节并不从正月初一开始，而是从大年三十开始一样。 欢度圣诞节的活动，虽然各个国家不完全相同，但大同小异。单从这一点看，就充分说明圣诞节确实是一个很不一般的世界性节日。 赠送圣诞卡拉开了圣诞节的序幕，早在圣诞节到来之前，人们就开始互相赠圣诞卡了。这是人们普遍采用的祝贺方式。一般习惯把圣诞贺卡邮寄给对方，对不能常见面的人或在远方的亲友更是如此。据说圣诞节赠送圣诞节，邀请了许多王族的孩子们进宫参加欢宴，请帖上印有祝贺的词句，后来，欧洲其它各国也纷纷效仿，于是逐步演变发展成祝贺圣诞和新年的节日贺卡。在我国，早在宋代元年间(1086-1093年)就有用名帖拜年的风俗。屈指算来，我国使用节日贺卡至少要比外国人早750多年。节日贺卡是由中国最先发明和使用的。 随着圣诞夜的渐渐临近，街道、商店出开始打份起来，橱窗里摆上了各种各样的圣诞礼品，五色彩灯拉成了串，耶稣诞生图成了市场上的热门货。五彩缤纷的圣诞树到处可见。人们纷纷忙着采购各种礼品和食物，其中特别值得一提的是，每个家庭在节前都要在家中布置一棵圣诞树，圣诞树一般用小松树或小柏树这类呈塔形的常青树做成。树上挂满五光十色的彩色灯泡，枝头上缀着金色和银色的闪光纸片，花花绿绿的拉花从小树上拉向四方。树上还挂着用棉花做成的雪花，各种精巧别致的小礼品点缀在树丛之中。夜幕降临，全家人围坐在圣诞树前互赠圣诞礼品，互祝节日快乐。然后，点燃一支支圣诞蜡烛，围坐在一起，共进圣诞晚餐。这顿晚餐很像中国大年三十的团圆饭。全家人围坐在一起，频频举杯，笑语欢声，整个晚餐都沉浸在一种团圆、幸福、美满的气氛中。子夜时分，教堂响起了悠扬的钟声，教堂里开始举行隆重"子夜弥撒"，庆祝耶稣降生，迎接圣诞节的到来。当孩子们困倦地上床睡觉时，还忘不了把自己的鞋袜口朝上放大壁炉旁，希望圣诞老人带来的礼物能装满自己的鞋袜。圣诞老人是基督教童话故事中的人物。传说他是一位主教的化身，是个身穿大红袍，长着白胡子白眉毛的慈祥老头。每年圣诞节，他都要从遥远的北方坐着雪橇驰来，由烟囱进入各家，分送礼物，所以孩子们在圣诞之夜都把鞋袜放在壁炉旁。有不少人家为了增节日的欢乐气氛，还真的请一位亲友装扮成圣诞老人的模样，来到家里，向孩子人祝贺节日，并把随身带来的礼物分送给大家。 l?澳大利亚的圣诞大餐 澳大利亚在南半球，12月底，正是热不可耐的仲夏季节。因此节日晚上，澳大利亚人会带着饮料到森林里BBQ。用石头垒起露天灶，架上枯枝生火，上面架一块铁板，把香肠、牛肉、鲜鱼等放上去煎。吃饱喝足后，就跳起“迪斯科”和“袋鼠舞”，一直要闹到深夜才结束。喝醉了的，便往草地上一躺，在如雷的鼾声中迎接圣诞老人的莅临。 ?美国的圣诞大餐 在美国，过圣诞节比较着重家庭布置，安置圣诞树，在袜子中塞满礼物，以火鸡为主的圣诞晚餐中还有一样特别的食品———烤熟的玉米粥，上面有一层奶油，并放一些果料，香甜可口，别有滋味。 ?丹麦的圣诞大餐 圣诞晚餐开始时，人们必须先吃一份杏仁布丁，然后才能开始吃别的东西。 ?法国的圣诞大餐 生性浪漫的法国人喜欢在12月24日的晚上载歌载舞，伴着白兰地和香槟酒的浓郁酒香，醉度圣诞。 ?英国的圣诞大餐 英国人的圣诞大餐很丰富，而且多半喜欢自己在家烹调火鸡。节日里英国的一些家庭还喜欢去异地旅游，而比较保守的家庭则在圣诞前夜举家团聚。 ?德国的圣诞大餐 德国人过圣诞节全家人都要赶回家吃团聚饭，就好像中国人年三十晚上的团年饭。因为德国盛产啤酒，所以即使在冬天的节日里，人们还喜欢畅饮啤酒。