西方传统节日及习俗

Christmas

：

The name Christmas is short for

Mass is a kind of Church service.

Christmas is a religious festival. It is the day we celebrate as the birthday of Jesus. Exchanging

gifts and sending Christmas cards are the modern ways of celebrating the Christmas in the world.

This conception of Santa Claus was produced for them by Haddon Sundblom, who built on the

character and costume created by Thomas Nast to produce a cheery, chubby fellow that is still a

familiar

perception

of

the

mythical

Christmas

character

to

millions

of

people

throughout

the

Western world.

19

世纪

60

年代卡通制作者

Thomas

Nash

画了一幅胖胖的、 慈祥的圣诞老人

作为《

Harper

的 一周》的插图。这个圣诞老人的形象开始深深地扎根于美国人民的脑海中。

随着时间的推 移，圣诞老人的形象传回欧洲，传到南美洲，传遍世界各地。

A beautifully decorated evergreen tree, with colored lights ablaze inspires in many warm

memories of Christmases long past. The Christmas tree has become one of the most beloved and

well know holiday symbols.

The tradition of a holiday tree has been around since ancient times and has played an important

part in winter celebrations for many centuries. Many pagan festivals used trees when honoring

their gods and spirits. In Northern Europe the Vikings considered the evergreen a symbol and

reminder that the darkness and cold of winter would end and the green of spring would return. The

Druids of ancient England and France decorated oak trees with fruit and candles to honor their

gods of harvests. At the festival Saturnalia the Romans decorated trees with trinkets and candles.

圣诞树一直是庆祝圣诞节不可少的装饰物，如果家中没有圣诞树，就大大减少了过节气氛。

关于圣诞树的来源有多种不同的传说。

其中一个是说：

大约在 十六世纪，

圣诞树最先出现在

德国，

德 国人把长青的松柏枝拿到屋中去摆设，

将之成为圣诞树。后来，

由德国人马丁路德

把蜡烛放在树林中的枞树枝上，

然后点燃蜡烛 ，

使它看起来像是引导人们到伯利恒去。

而今

< br>日，人们已经改用粉色的小灯泡了。

St

Valentine's

Day

is

celebrated

on

February

14

of

each

year,

the

reason

why

it

is

celebr

ated

on

this

day

is

because

this

was

the

day

that

the

Patron

Saint

of

Lovers

Valentin

e

was

supposedly

executed

on.

On

this

day

lovers

all

around

the

world

mark

this

occasi

on

as

a

day

for

sending

poems,

cards,

flowers

or

candy,

etc.

They

might

also

be

a

social

gathering

or

ball

to

mark

the

occasion.

Many

Valentine's

Day

customs

involved

ways

that

single

women

could

learn

who

their

future

husbands

would

be.

Englishwomen

of

the

1700's

wrote

men's

names

on

scraps

of

paper,

rolled

each

in

a

little

piece

of

clay,

and

dropped

them

all

into

water.

The

first

pap

er

that

rose

to

the

surface

supposedly

had

the

name

of

a

woman's

true

love.

Also

in

the

1700's,

unmarried

women

pinned

five

bay

leaves

to

their

pillows

on

the

ev

e

of

Valentine's

Day.

They

pinned

one

leaf

to

the

center

of

the

pillow

and

one

to

each

c

orner.

If

the

charm

worked,

they

saw

their

future

husbands

in

their

dreams.

One

of

the

oldest

customs

was

the

practice

of

writing

women's

names

on

slips

of

pape

r

and

drawing

them

from

a

jar.

The

woman

whose

name

was

drawn

by

a

man

became

hi

s

valentine,

and

he

paid

special

attention

to

her.

Many

men

gave

gifts

to

their

valentines.

In

some

areas,

a

young

man

gave

his

valentine

a

pair

of

gloves.

Wealthy

men

gave

fanc

y

balls

to

honor

their

valentines.

Valentine

cards

became

popular

in

Great

Britain

in

the

nineteenth

century.

Noted

artist

Kate

Greenaway

created

cards

which

featured

joyful

children

and

beautiful

gardens.

Esther

Howland

was

one

of

the

first

Valentine

card

manufacturers

in

the

United

States.

Inspired

by

a

British

card,

she

began

production

in

1847.

Her

cards

featured

lace

and

paper

flow

ers

and

leaves.

Other

card

manufacturers

emphasized

Cupid,

the

pudgy,

winged

son

of

Venus,

the

goddess

of

love.

In

Roman

lore,

Cupid

is

known

as

Eros,

the

son

of

Aphrodite.

In

the

United

States

and

Canada,

children

exchange

valentines

with

their

friends.

In

so

me

schools,

the

children

hold

a

classroom

party

and

put

all

the

valentines

into

a

box

they

have

decorated.

At

the

end

of

the

day,

the

teacher

or

one

child

distributes

the

cards.

Ma

ny

children

make

their

own

valentines

from

paper

doilies,

red

paper,

wallpaper

samples,

a

nd

pictures

cut

from

magazines.

Sometimes

they

buy

kits

that

include

everything

needed

t

o

make

valentines.

Many

children

send

their

largest,

fanciest

cards

to

their

parents

and

tea

chers.

In

Europe,

people

celebrate

Valentine's

Day

in

many

ways.

British

children

sing

special

Valentine's

Day

songs

and

receive

gifts

of

candy,

fruit,

or

money.

In

some

areas

of

Engl

and,

people

bake

valentine

buns

with

caraway

seeds,

plums,

or

raisins.

People

in

Italy

hol

d

a

Valentine's

Day

feast.

Valentine's

Day

曾是 英国人喜爱的节日，随着新大陆的开发，英国移民把这一富有浪漫

色彩的节日带到了北美 ，逐渐在美国生根开花。

年轻人是圣

Valentine

节当之 无愧的主角，他们要在这一节日里郑重其事地为恋人选择礼

物、赠送鲜花，表达自己的爱 慕之情。痴情的姑娘可能会按照古老的传说，在圣

Valentine

< br>节前夜把月桂树叶放在枕头上，盼望在梦中同自己的心上人相会。

现在情人节已经不单是情人 们的节日，也是各种朋友之间交换感谢的一个日子，是一个

大众化的节日。

情人节这一天，

不仅仅情侣们互赠卡片和礼物，

人们 也给自己的父母、

老以

及其他受自己尊敬和爱戴的人赠礼物和卡 片。

Valentine's

Day

就是这样一个充满爱情和友谊

的欢乐节日。

The

custom

of

Halloween

was

brought

to

America

in

the

1840's

by

Irish

immigrants

fleei

ng

their

country's

potato

famine.

At

that

time,

the

favorite

pranks

in

New

England

include

d

tipping

over

outhouses

and

unhinging

fence

gates.

The

Halloween

we

celebrate

today

includes

all

of

thes

e

influences,

Pomona

Day's

apples,

nuts,

and

harvest,

t

he

Festival

of

Samhain's

black

cats,

magic,

evil

spirits

and

death,

and

the

ghosts,

skeleton

s

and

skulls

from

All

Saint's

Day

and

All

Soul's

Day.

The

custom

of

trick- or-treating

is

thought

to

have

originated

not

with

the

Irish

Celts,

but

with

a

ninth-century

European

custom

called

souling.

On

November

2,

All

Souls

Day,

earl

y

Christians

would

walk

from

village

to

village

begging

for

cakes,

made

out

of

sq

uare

pieces

of

bread

with

currants.

A:

The

more

soul

cakes

the

beggars

would

receive,

th

e

more

prayers

they

would

promise

to

say

on

behalf

of

the

dead

relatives

of

the

donors.

At

the

time,

it

was

believed

that

the

dead

remained

in

limbo

for

a

time

after

death,

and

t

hat

prayer,

even

by

strangers,

could

expedite

a

soul's

passage

to

heaven.

The

Jack-o-lantern

custom

probably

comes

from

Irish

folklore.

As

the

tale

is

told,

a

man

named

Jack,

who

was

notorious

as

a

drunkard

and

trickster,

tricked

Satan

into

climbing

a

tree.

Jack

then

carved

an

image

of

a

cross

in

the

tree's

trunk,

trapping

the

devil

up

the

tree.

Jack

made

a

deal

with

the

devil

that,

if

he

would

never

tempt

him

again,

he

would

promise

to

let

him

down

the

tree.

According

to

the

folk

tale,

after

Jack

died,

he

was

denied

entrance

to

Heaven

because

of

his

evil

ways,

but

he

was

also

denied

access

to

Hell

because

he

had

tricked

the

devil.

In

stead,

the

devil

gave

him

a

single

ember

to

light

his

way

through

the

frigid

darkness.

Th

e

ember

was

placed

inside

a

hollowed-out

turnip

to

keep

it

glowing

longer.

The

Irish

used

turnips

as

their

lanterns

originall y.

But

when

the

immigrants

came

to

America,

they

found

that

pumpkins

were

far

more

plentiful

than

turnips.

So

the

Jack-

O-Lantern

in

America

was

a

hollowed-out

pumpkin,

lit

with

an

ember.

So,

although

some

cults

may

have

adopted

Halloween

as

their

favorite

the

day

itself

did

not

grow

out

of

evil

practices.

It

grew

out

of

the

rituals

of

Celts

celebrating

a

new

year,

and

out

of

Medieval

prayer

rituals

of

Europeans.

And

today,

even

many

church

es

have

Halloween

parties

or

pumpkin

carving

events

for

the

kids.

After

all,

the

day

itself

is

only

as

evil

as

one

cares

to

make

it.

孩子们今天着装挨家要糖的习俗，也就是我们所说的

Trick

or

Treat

，据说起源于爱尔兰 。

古西欧时候的爱尔兰异教徒们，

相信在万圣节前夜鬼魂会群集 于居家附近，

并接受设宴款待。

因而，

在

“

宴会

”

结 束后，

村民们就自己扮成鬼魂精灵，

游走村外，

引导鬼魂离开，

避邪免灾。

于此同时，

村民们也都注意在屋前院后的摆布些水果及其他食品，

喂足鬼魂而不至于让它们

伤害人类和动物或者掠夺其他收成。后来这习俗一直延续下来，就成了孩子们开的玩笑。

至于南瓜灯，

Jack-o-lantern

< br>，也有一个传说，吝啬的爱尔兰酒鬼

JACK

骗魔鬼爬进 了苹果树

的树洞，然后迅速在树干上刻了一个神圣的十字，困住了魔鬼。

JACK

逼着魔鬼起誓永远不

再追索、

或以任何其它方式谋取他的灵魂，

才把魔鬼放了出来。

然而这却挡不住死亡的来临。

JACK

死后，由于酗酒、吝啬和 欺诈，他未被允许进入天堂。而由于魔鬼的誓言，

JACK

也< /p>

不能进入地狱。

“

那么我去哪里呢？

”JACK

不知所措地问。

“

哪儿来的回哪儿去！

”

魔鬼恶狠

狠地回答。

回去的路冷风四起，

黑暗无边。

魔鬼从地狱之火拣了一块烧得通红的火炭扔给他。

为了照路又不被风吹灭，

JACK

将火炭放进了他手里拿着的大头菜中。

JACK

就这样举着他

的

“

灯笼

”

寻找自己在地球上的存身之处。

后来苏格兰人模仿他，

挖空大头菜，

放入蜡烛 做灯

笼；

爱尔兰人用大头菜也用土豆；

英格兰人则用甜菜。

后来他们移民到美国，

发现了一个更

好用的灯笼

──

南瓜灯！

这个故事其实是在告戒人们，

无论什么情形，

都不要和魔鬼 做交易。

The Thanksgiving legacy has been alive for hundreds of years. The customs we see in

our homes today remind us of ancient celebrations of harvest, thankfulness for peace,

and the endeavors of native Americans. It consists of stories of those who believe that

gratitude for blessings is a virtue all must possess.

Custom of Praying

For centuries, 'Thanksgiving Day' is associated with communal prayers in church and

in homes. People offer various meal time prayers during the day. It is a time, when

mankind thanks God for all his blessings and grace. It is also a day to show gratitude

to your friends and relatives for all the good deeds.

Custom of Family Dinner

Everyone follows the custom of family dinner and reunion religiously every year.

Distances don't really matter as relatives drive down to be with their family. Feasts are

usually held at home. It is a time to enjoy their favorite 'Roasted Turkey' with the

family.

Custom of Decoration

Thanksgiving is a time to decorate homes with wreaths, fresh and dried flowers.

People beautify their homes, give the interiors a whole new look and feel. They light

lamps to brighten the environment. Tables are adorned with best china and antique

silver cutlery to mark the occasion.

Custom of sending messages

Thanksgiving is a day when people send loving messages and warm wishes to their

relatives, colleagues at work place, superiors and subordinates, near and dear ones.

It

is a day of conveying their feelings through Thanksgiving cards.

Hello, I'm Matt Cail and on behalf of Expert Village, I'm here today to tell you all about the

history of Thanksgiving.

Since Thanksgiving became a national holiday, there have been a number of traditions and

associated events around it which have kind of popped up, cropped up over the years and decades.

One of these is the pardoning of the national turkey.

Now some things are known about this, other things are not. Often times of course w

e see on

television the president pardoning the turkey. This turkey has been allowed to live out a natural

life until it's natural demiseon the farm, where it's happy and gets it's fill of eating and doing

whatever basically it wants. It lives, it has a very very good life.

But what you don't know is that that is not the only turkey in the process. Generally there are three

turkeys. This began in the 1940's to which these three turkeys are presented to the president and

the president picks one for pardoning. What happens to the other two? The other two are prepared