地名学圣诞节英语故事带翻译：圣诞老人的故事

2020年12月14日发(作者：韩垂)
圣诞节英语故事带翻译：圣诞老人的故事

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，世界各地的孩子都会拿出牛奶及饼干，希望
能吸引一名有魔法的胖男人来到他们家，并在偷偷潜入下一户人家前
留下礼物。

How did such an odd tradition begin?

这样奇怪的传统是如何开始的？

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.

你几乎能够归咎于北欧，在这里冬天的气候又冷、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，
这时即便有阳光，也只 会带来几个小时的微弱光明。

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.

这些缺乏日光的人们创造出神秘的角色拜访他们，并带来礼物及
庆典来放松他们的情绪。这 些角色的范围从精灵到神、到山羊都有，
但对现代故事来说，其中有两个特别重要。

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.

第一个是荷兰的Saint Nick。Saint Nick很瘦，可能还有点严苛，
但还是会在12 月初带礼物给孩子们。他穿着像主教一样的红白衣服，
拿着权仗并骑着一匹名为Amerigo的马，荷 兰的孩子们被鼓励留给牠
一支红萝卜。Saint Nick的荷兰文叫做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.

第二个角色是从英国来的Father Christmas。Father Christmas
是个 身材魁梧、快乐的异教徒，穿着绿色衣服，头戴冬青花环。传统
上，他跟孩子们及礼物的关系，还不及于 他和食物、美酒和庆典的关
系，而且也许他最出名的身分可能是三个圣诞节精灵之中，会恐吓
S crooge（吝啬鬼）的那一个。

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.

当欧洲人安顿好殖民地后，Saint Nick、Father Christmas及其
他角色开始融合。这解释了为什么美国的版本有这么多名字。

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.

圣诞老人是经美国化的Sinterklaas，但他同样也被称为Saint
Nick、Father Christmas还有从德国来的Kris Kringle。在旧世界< br>（欧亚非大陆）这些是不同的角色，但在新世界（美洲大陆），他们
随着时间合而为一，你能够在 较古老的故事中目睹。

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”.

举例来说，「圣诞节前夕」这首诗是在1823年的纽约诞生 的，它
表明了圣诞老人会降落在屋顶上，并将袜子塞满玩具。但这个圣诞老
人是个精灵，很像那 些从北欧国家来的。它身材短小，驾着小型雪橇
和迷你驯鹿，这对于一个工作内容包括钻进烟囱的人来说 合理多了。
同样的，「Santa」这个字在诗里任何地方都没有出现。原本的题目是
「Sai nt Nick的探访」。

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.