關於聖誕節英語故事閱讀
現如今隨着中西文化的交流、融合,聖誕節已成爲一個世界性的節日。在中國這一節日也是特別的受到年輕羣體的追捧,這一年輕充滿活力的羣體通常會以各種各樣的方式慶祝聖誕的到來。小編精心收集了關於聖誕節英語故事，供大家欣賞學習!
Christmas is for love 聖誕節是爲了愛
christmas is for love. it is for joy, for giving and sharing, for laughter, for reuniting with family and friends, for tinsel and brightly covered packages. but, mostly christmas is for love. i had not believed this until a small elfin like pupil with wide innocent eyes and soft rosy cheeks gave me a wondrous gift one christmas.
matthew was a 10 year old orphan who lived with his aunt, a bitter, middle aged woman greatly annoyed with the burden of caring for her dead sister’s son. she never failed to remind young matthew, if it hadn’t been for her generosity, he would be a vagrant, homeless waif. still, with all the scolding and chilliness at home, he was a sweet and gentle child.
i had not noticed matthew particularly until he began staying after class each day [at the risk of arousing his aunt's anger so i learned later] to help me straighten up the room. we did this quietly and comfortably, not speaking much, but enjoying the solitude of that hour of the day. when we did talk, matthew spoke mostly of his mother. though he was quite young when she died, he remembered a kind, gentle, loving woman who always spent time with him.
as christmas drew near however, matthew failed to stay after school each day. i looked forward to his coming, and when the days passed and he continued to scamper hurriedly from the room after class, i stopped him one afternoon and asked him why he no longer helped me in the room. i told him how i had missed him, and his large brown eyes lit up eagerly as he replied, ‘did you really miss me?’
i explained how he had been my best helper, ‘i was making you a surprise,’ he whispered confidentially. ‘it’s for christmas.’ with that, he became embarrassed and dashed from the room. he didn’t stay after school any more after that.
finally came the last school day before christmas. matthew crept slowly into the room late that afternoon with his hands concealing something behind his back. ‘i have your present,’ he said timidly when i looked up. ‘i hope you like it.’ he held out his hands, and there lying in his small palms was a tiny wooden box.
‘it’s beautiful, matthew. is there something in it?’ i asked opening the top to look inside. ‘oh you can’t see what’s in it,’ he replied, ‘and you can’t touch it, or taste it or feel it, but mother always said it makes you feel good all the time, warm on cold nights and safe when you’re all alone.’
i gazed into the empty box. ‘what is it, matthew’ i asked gently, ‘that will make me feel so good?’
‘it’s love,’ he whispered softly, ‘and mother always said it’s best when you give it away.’ he turned and quietly left the room.
so now i keep a small box crudely made of scraps of wood on the piano in my living room and only smile when inquiring friends raise quizzical eyebrows when i explain to them there is love in it.
yes, christmas is for gaiety, mirth, song, and for good and wondrous gifts. but mostly, christmas is for love.
關於聖誕節英語故事篇2Hiding the Presents 藏禮物
i had finished my christmas shopping early and had wrapped all the presents. having two curious children, i had to find a suitable hiding place. i chose an ideal spot—the furnace room. i stacked the presents and covered them with a blanket, positive they’d remain undiscovered. when i went to get the gifts to put them under the tree, i lifted the blanket and there, stacked neatly on top of my gifts, were presents addressed to "mom and dad, from the kids."
早些天我就做好聖誕購物幷包裝好所有的禮物了。因爲有兩個好奇的孩子，我需要找一個適合藏禮物的隱蔽處。我想到了一個理想的地方--爐子間。我疊好禮物，用一塊毯子把它們蓋起來，覺得它們肯定不會被發現。當我去拿禮物想把它們放在聖誕樹下時，我掀開毯子，看到，在我準備好的禮物上面整齊地疊放着另一些禮物，上面寫着“給爸爸媽媽，你們的寶貝”。
關於聖誕節英語故事篇3聖誕老人的故事 A Brief History of Santa
On the 24th of December every year, children around the world put out milk and cookies in the hopes of luring a magic fat man into their home who will leave presents behind before sneaking into the house next door.
每年的12月24日，世界各地的孩子都會拿出牛奶及餅乾，希望能吸引一名有魔法的胖男人來到他們家，並在偷偷潛入下一戶人家前留下禮物。
How did such an odd tradition begin?
這樣奇怪的傳統是如何開始的?
You can pretty much blame Northern Europe, where the winter weather is cold and dark and depressing. And the coldest and darkest and depressingest day is the Solstice on December 21st to 22nd when the sun only gives a few weak hours of light if any at all.
你幾乎可以歸咎於北歐，在這裏冬天的氣候又冷、又暗、令人消沈。而最冷、最暗、最令人消沈的一天是12月21日到22日的冬至，這時即便有陽光，也只會帶來幾個小時的微弱光明。
These sun-deprived people invented magical characters to visit them and lighten the mood by bringing gifts and celebrations. These characters ranged from elves to Gods to goats, but there are two of particular interest to the modern story.
這些缺乏日光的人們創造出神祕的角色拜訪他們，並帶來禮物及慶典來放鬆他們的情緒。這些角色的範圍從精靈到神、到山羊都有，但對現代故事來說，其中有兩個特別重要。
The first is Saint Nick, in The Netherlands. Saint Nick is thin and perhaps a bit stern, but still brings presents to children in early December. He dresses like a bishop in red and white with a staff and rides on a horse named Amerigo, for whom Dutch children are encouraged to leave out a carrot. Saint Nick is called Sinterklaas in Dutch.
第一個是荷蘭的Saint Nick。Saint Nick很瘦，可能還有點嚴苛，但還是會在12月初帶禮物給孩子們。他穿着像主教一樣的紅白衣服，拿着權仗並騎着一匹名爲Amerigo的馬，荷蘭的孩子們被鼓勵留給牠一支紅蘿蔔。Saint Nick的荷蘭文叫做Sinterklaas。
The second character is Father Christmas from England. Father Christmas is a big, jolly pagan dressed in green with a holly wreath on his head. Traditionally he is less concerned with children and gifts than he is with food and wine and celebration and is perhaps best known for being one of the three spirits of Christmas who terrorize Scrooge.
第二個角色是從英國來的Father Christmas。Father Christmas是個身材魁梧、快樂的異教徒，穿着綠色衣服，頭戴冬青花環。傳統上，他跟孩子們及禮物的關係，還不及於他和食物、美酒和慶典的關係，而且也許他最出名的身分可能是三個聖誕節精靈之中，會恐嚇Scrooge(吝嗇鬼)的那一個。
When Europeans settled the colonies, Saint Nick and Father Christmas and the other characters began to mix together. This explains why the U.S. version has so many names.
當歐洲人安頓好殖民地後，Saint Nick、Father Christmas及其他角色開始融合。這解釋了爲什麼美國的版本有這麼多名字。
Santa Claus is the Americanization of Sinterklaas, but he’s also called Saint Nick and Father Christmas and Kris Kringle which comes from Germany. In the old world these were different characters, but in the new world over time they evolved into one which you can see happening in older stories.
聖誕老人是經美國化的Sinterklaas，但他同樣也被稱爲Saint Nick、Father Christmas還有從德國來的Kris Kringle。在舊世界(歐亞非大陸)這些是不同的角色，但在新世界(美洲大陸)，他們隨着時間合而爲一，你可以在較古老的故事中目睹。
For example, the poem “The Night Before Christmas” came out in 1823 in New York, which established that Santa lands on the roof and fills stocking with toys. But this Santa is an elf, much like those from the Nordic Countries. He’s small and drives a miniature sleigh with tiny reindeer, which makes a lot more sense for someone whose job description includes fitting down chimneys. Also, the word “Santa” appears nowhere in the poem. The original title is “A visit from Saint Nick”.
舉例來說，「聖誕節前夕」這首詩是在1823年的紐約誕生的，它表明了聖誕老人會降落在屋頂上，並將襪子塞滿玩具。但這個聖誕老人是個精靈，很像那些從北歐國家來的。它身材短小，駕着小型雪橇和迷你馴鹿，這對於一個工作內容包括鑽進煙囪的人來說合理多了。同樣的，「Santa」這個字在詩裏任何地方都沒有出現。原本的題目是「Saint Nick的探訪」。
As the 1800s continued, a fat, human looking immortal Santa evolved into the standard among American authors. It was in the States that he gained both his elvish workforce and a wife.
隨着十九世紀過去，一個胖胖的、人類模樣、長生不老的聖誕老人發展成了美國作家間的標準。他就是在美國得到了他的精靈工人以及妻子。
By about 1900, Santa had developed into his current iconic style. It should be noted that, contrary to popular belief, Coca-Cola didn’t change his colors to their corporate scheme, but instead used the conveniently red-and-white Santa in 1931 to help sell more soda during their off season. Though Coke didn’t create him, their omnipresent ads probably did brand this as the One True Santa in the minds of millions, helping spread him around the world to many cultures with no traditions of winter gift-givers.
在大約公元1900年時，聖誕老人發展成了現今的經典形象。值得一提的是，與普遍的認知相反，可口可樂並沒有將聖誕老人的顏色改成他們的公司企劃，而是便利地在1931年時使用紅白色的聖誕老人，幫助在淡季時賣出更多可樂。雖然可口可樂並沒有創造出他，但他們無所不在的廣告可能將這作爲「唯一真正的聖誕老人」，銘刻在數百萬人的心中，幫助聖誕老人普及於世界上許多沒有冬季送禮傳統的文化。
This American Santa in turn influenced his relations in Northern Europe to become more like him, although not always to the pleasure of the locals. In particular, the British Father Christmas has been completely assimilated into the Santa collective, to the point where many Britons don’t realize they were ever separate. In the Netherlands, however, Saint Nick is still successfully holding his own as a distinct character.
這個美國版聖誕老人反過來影響了他在北歐的親戚們，讓他們變得更像他，雖然當地人並非總是對此感到開心。特別是英國的Father Christmas已完全被聖誕老人系列給同化，以致於到了許多英國人並沒有意識到他們曾經是不同的地步。然而，在荷蘭，Saint Nick還是成功地堅持住自己與衆不同的特色。
The one last detail about modern Santa that’s still up for debate, at least between countries, is exactly where he lives. In the late 1800s, his home was the magnetic North
Pole, centered under the aurora borealis.
有關現代聖誕老人的最後一個細節是仍有爭議的，至少是在國家之間仍有爭議，就是他到底住在哪裏。在十九世紀晚期，他的家在磁北極，以北極光底下爲中心。
While this would be the most diplomatic option for Santa, Magnetic North has since moved off the Polar Ice Sheet and into the ocean — a rather inconvenient place to set up a toy factory.
儘管對聖誕老人來說，這是最圓融的選擇，但磁北極自此離開了極地冰原，進入海洋之中–一個比較不方便設立玩具工廠的地方。
So Canada claims his workshop is somewhere in Nunavut and has given Santa a post code and — no joke — official Canadian citizenship. The American response is that the North Pole doesn’t refer to the obviously inhospitable sheet of non-domestic ice but rather to the little town of North Pole, Alaska. Denmark claims he lives in their former colony of Greenland. And Greenland, not surprisingly, agrees.
所以加拿大聲稱他的工作坊是在Nunavut某處，並提供聖誕老人一個郵政編碼，還有–沒在開玩笑–正式的加拿大公民身分。美方的響應是，北極指的並不是明顯荒涼、不適宜居住的冰層，而是阿拉斯加的一個小鎮，North Pole鎮。丹麥聲稱他住在他們的前殖民地格陵蘭。而格陵蘭，不意外的，也同意這說法。
The Nordic countries quarrel about his exact location, but Finland is the clear winner of this argument with his workshop in Rovaniemi on the Arctic Circle. For the evidence inclined, you can actually go visit Santa and see the elves, toys, reindeer and post office, which makes Finland’s claim pretty strong. Santa is even available during the off-season.
北歐國家爭論他確切的所在地，但芬蘭這關於他的工作坊在北極圈的Rovaniemi市的說法，在這場爭執中顯然是個贏家。爲尋找有力證據，你可以實際上過去拜訪聖誕老人，並看看精靈、玩具、馴鹿和郵局，這些使得芬蘭的聲明相當有力。甚至在聖誕節以外的季節也能看到聖誕老人。
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… and eat all those cookies.
但不管他可能以何處爲基地，聖誕老人仍設法在僅僅一個晚上環遊世界遞送所有禮物…並吃掉所有餅乾。
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