英語六級晨讀美文：聖誕老人

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Christmas celebrates the birth of Christ, the Nativity of the babe in the manger whom Christians believe was the Son of God. Indeed, the very word Christmas means "Christ festival".

聖誕節是慶祝基督——這名被_視爲上帝之子的嬰兒在馬槽裏的誕生。的確，“聖誕節”這個詞的意思就是“基督的慶典竹。

Yet there can be little doubt that for many it is Santa Claus - not Jesus - who is the human face of Christmas. In fact, it is fair to say that in much of the world, Santa is better known than the Christ who gave his name to the holiday.

然而，可能有許多人會有點疑惑，爲什麼聖誕節的代表人物是聖誕老人，而不是耶穌呢?事實上，這樣說也不爲過：在世界上許多地方，聖誕老人要比以其名字來命名該節日的基督還要出名。

But how did the fat man in the Coca-Cola red-and-white suit become the symbol of Christmas? The truth is that like the Christmas story itself, the story of Saint Nicholas is a composite of history, myth, and legend.

但是，那個穿着一套可口可樂紅白顏色衣服的胖子是怎麼成爲聖誕節的象徵的呢?事實上，跟聖誕節本身的故事一樣，聖人尼古拉的故事，也是集歷史、神話和傳說於一身。

According to tradition, he was born in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey) in about A.D. 270. When young, he traveled to Palestine and Egypt. Not long afterward, he became a bishop.

按照傳統的說法，公元270年，尼古拉出生於小亞細亞(現在的土耳其)。年輕時，他曾經到巴勒斯坦和埃及旅行。不久以後他成爲了一名主教。

During the Roman emperor Diocletian's bloody persecution of Christians in 303, Nicholas was imprisoned. Howeve r, when Constantine the Great became emperor in 306, he legalized Christianity and made it the officalreligion of the Roman Empire. Nicholas was freed

公元3 03年，在羅馬皇帝戴克裏血腥迫害_期間，尼古拉被捕入獄。然而，公元306年君士坦丁大帝登基稱帝，他使基督教合法化，並

使之成爲羅馬帝國的國教，尼古拉也獲釋放。

The scribes tell us that Nicholas's prayers and leadership during the great tribulation led many to become Christians, Nicholas continued to serve as bishop for many years. On December 6, 343, Nicholas the man died, and Saint Nicholas the legend was born.

據史書記載，尼古拉在受難期間的祈禱和領導讓很多人皈依成爲基督教徒，(出獄後)尼古拉繼續擔任主教多年。公元343年12月6日，真人尼古拉去世，然而聖人尼古拉的傳說誕生了。

During his lifetime, Nicholas's reputation for generosity and kindness gave rise to stories of miracles he performed for the poor, the weak and children. After his death, devotion to Nicholas extended to all parts of Europe. His feast day was celebrated on December 6, but his reputation as a gift-giver later became attached to the celebration of Christmas on December 25.

尼古拉在世時慷慨仁慈的名聲衍生出他爲窮人、弱者和孩子創造奇蹟的許多故事。尼古拉死後，人們對他的摯愛延伸到歐洲各地。節日儀式定在12月6日舉行，但是他作爲“贈禮者”的聲望，後來卻與12月25日聖誕節的慶典扯上了關係。

After the Reformation in the 16th century, Nicholas's cult disappeared in most Protestant countries of Europe. But his legend was united with old Nordic folktales of a magician who punished naughty children and rewarded good children with presents. In England, he became known as Father Christmas. But in Holland, Saint Nicholas' name and reputation persisted as "sinterklaas".

16世紀宗教改革運動以後，對尼古拉的膜拜便在多數歐洲新教國家銷聲匿跡了o但是有關他的傳說卻跟一個北歐民間故事結合了起來，故事中有位魔術師，他愛懲罰頑皮的孩子，並送禮物獎勵好孩子。在英格蘭，尼古拉成爲家喻戶曉的聖誕節之父。而在荷蘭，聖人尼古拉的名聲依舊以“Sinterklaas”的名字流傳。

In the 17th century , Dutch colorusts took this tradition with them to America. Later, Sinterklaas was adopted by the English-speaking majority as¨Santa Claus". The resulting image of a "jolly old elf' driving a sleigh with "eight tiny reindeef' crystallized in the 19th century . That was when Clement Moore wrote the now-famous poem "A Visit From Saint Nick. And the red-and-white suit? That was created by a Coca-Cola adman in the 1930s.

17世紀，荷蘭的殖民者將這個傳統帶到美洲。後來.“Sinterklaas”爲多數說英語的人民所採用，並改成了“Santa Claus”，他最後的形象——“快樂的老矮”駕着“八隻小馴鹿”拉的雪橇—是在19世紀開始變得明確具體起來的。摩爾(Clement Moore)就在那時寫了《聖人尼克的來訪》這首聞名至今的詩。還有那件紅白套裝呢?那是在20世紀30年代，可口可樂公司的廣告商創造出來的。

Although greatly commercialized, the modern Santa Claus still embodies Saint Nicholas' generosity and love for children. And for some, he still points to the Nativity of the babe in the manger, and reminds us of the reason we celebrate Christmas.

儘管現代的聖誕老人已經被高度商業化，但他仍舊錶現了聖人尼古拉的寬大胸懷和對孩子們的愛。對某些人來說，他仍然象徵着馬槽裏聖嬰的誕生，並讓我們想起慶祝聖誕節的緣由。