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A,?E7O l,^4pE+m"t0(Contributed by Bing Wei, Granny Betty's Story
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食品伙伴个性空间^{yPmm9hMost people know that the simple meaning of Christmas is to
celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, the son of God in the Christian religion.
The word Christmas originated from an old English phrase, "Cristes Masse",
meaningthe mass of Christ(基督弥撒). The date, December 25, was established by
Bishop Liberius of Rome in 354 AD. He selected the date to mark the official
time for celebrating Christ's birth. Before then, the birth of Jesus was
observed on different days and even to this day no one is certain the exact date
of Christ's birth.
0I*Z7H$x(Y_0食品伙伴个性空间)h@p2pPN Christmas celebrations食品伙伴个性空间 T
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食品伙伴个性空间F9~"`1u]"kCH;?Cultural celebrations of Christmas include glittering light
displays, the ever-present jolly oldSanta
Claus(圣诞老人), group celebrations and
singing calledcarolling(圣诞颂歌), baked holiday cookies and cakes, decorations ofmistletoe(槲寄生,装饰性植物)and pine
wreaths, lighted, ornamented Christmas trees with wrapped presents displayed
underneath. The spirit of Christmas at its heart is a festival to celebrate
family, love, gratitude to others and giving presents to show appreciation to
friends and loved ones.食品伙伴个性空间E kuF@
食品伙伴个性空间%P-n)Pu!IIn Europe, typically, family and friends gather together on
Christmas Eve, on Dec 24, for a big turkeydinner, completed with Christmas pudding (a rich cake
with brandy source). Everyone shares their stories of the year or brings a
newsletter to read out for what has happened during the past year. Games are
played after the dinner. On Christmas day, Dec 25, abrunch(常用构词法:breakfast+lunch)with family is the norm, followed by some light
sporting events, such as a countrywalk, to digest the heavy food.
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oG1| Ro;i0Dec 26 is called Boxing Day(节礼日,往往在这一日大家互赠礼物)in the UK, which means everyone
opens their box of presents - the most joyful day for the children. In the US,
having just celebrated Thanksgiving with turkey, Christmas Eve dinner is more
likely to have ham on the menu with a heavy dessert. Dec 25, the Christmas Day is
normally the day all the presents are opened.食品伙伴个性空间[%H e:d$U [1tP?#\t
T7o:z Dr7s}0zm z0 Christmas
trees & cards食品伙伴个性空间pX1p!r&iy;Ac
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believed to come from Germany. Since the medieval time, lighting a candle on a
tree is common to welcome guests. Such practice has evolved into the Christmas
celebration.
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0A/t8k/uS]RTjA0The formal Christmas Tree was introduced to England about
100 years ago when Queen Victoria married German Albert. The evidence of
Victoria's love for Albert is not only expressed through inheriting the German
tradition of having a Christmas Tree but also through the goldAlbert Statuesthat Victoria had ordered built for
Albert, standing in many places in London. In America, the Christmas Tree idea
was brought by German immigrants too.食品伙伴个性空间&v9P'C5~[;C(DR
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England around 1850. The first cards were decorated with elaborate designs of
flowers, birds and landscapes.食品伙伴个性空间:z+bns:C4E
'Le:e E4gp)A0 Santa
Claus
H9~_fs0食品伙伴个性空间y.f#dt jDlAs for Saint Nicholas, or Santa Claus, the story goes back to
the third century.食品伙伴个性空间$^8U si.b~
tb'`o ]/XQ0Legend has it, Saint Nicholas dedicated all his life to
helping mankind, especially children. He died on December 6, which marks
theSaint Nicholas Day in many European countries and that was
when gifts were given to children. St. Nicholas bears many different names, such
asFather Christmas in the UK, San Nicolass in the Netherlands,
Le Pere Noel in France, and Kriss Kringle in Germany.
yOw w2Bt,D0食品伙伴个性空间~:].n0n6]'O He also arrives on different dates to deliver presents
to children in different countries, typically from chimneys.The chimney story was this: Santa flew over house tops in a sleigh,
he dropped coins by accident and they landed in some stockings hanging next to
the fireplace to dry. From then on, red stockings were hung by the chimney in
hopes Santa would fill them with gifts.食品伙伴个性空间f'Z#l B,d i
\&\0pT.v@b0Most countries use fabric stocking while in others, wood
shoes are also placed on earth for Santa's gift-dropping. In America, the image
of Santa Claus was conceived by the famous poem "The Night Before Christmas",
written by Clement Moor. Moor transformed the Santa character from a saint in a
long robe to a chubby, rosy-cheeked elderly man in a red suit, riding on a
sleigh pulled by a team of reindeer.食品伙伴个性空间1TBL"cGb `
食品伙伴个性空间8y4W:K'G\WM%x-q Christmas
carols食品伙伴个性空间2U a2J&W!NMCD
食品伙伴个性空间X\ _sd+[F0TThe tradition of carol singing originated from the carolling
practised by the Waits in the fourteenth century. Waits were royal singers who
were sent by the court to perform. in selected homes for treats, pennies and/or
fun. "Carol" means a circle dance accompanied by a song. Most Christmas carols
we sing now were composed around 1400-1600's.食品伙伴个性空间x3w[5L*tgD)~
zQAc`y0 Jewish
Chanukah食品伙伴个性空间(\Qo7@2h+c
食品伙伴个性空间%L/x4r:Pn WrThe Jewish community celebratesChanukah(光明节,为纪念公元前165年犹太人战胜希腊的叙利亚侵略者并夺回圣殿)
instead of Christmas in December. Chanukah (Hanukkah) is celebrated on the 25th
day of Kislev, the third month of the Jewish calendar, usually falling somewhere
in December on the Gregorian calendar.食品伙伴个性空间#^9a5v`|BT$]
3vpVV/~QQ8fA0Chanukah commemorates the cleansing of the Temple after the
Jews defeated their occupation by the Syrian Greeks and is observed by lighting
the candles of the menorah for eight days, one on the first, two the second and
so on so forth.食品伙伴个性空间&UP^E-y7E*P2z
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