圣誕節(jié)從哪來(lái)？圣誕老人的原型到底是誰(shuí)？

由雕龍文庫(kù) 分享時(shí)間：2024-03-30 02:31:09 收藏本文

THE LEGEND OF ST. NICHOLAS

圣?尼古拉斯的傳說(shuō)

The legend of Santa Claus can be traced back hundreds of years to a monk named St. Nicholas. It is believed that Nicholas was born sometime around 280 A.D. in Patara, near Myra in modern-day Turkey.

圣誕老人的傳說(shuō)可以追溯到幾百年前，有一個(gè)主教叫圣?尼古拉斯，據(jù)認(rèn)為他在公元280年左右出生在潘特拉（Patara），在現(xiàn)在土耳其的米拉附近。

Much admired for his piety and kindness, St. Nicholas became the subject of many legends. It is said that he gave away all of his inherited wealth and traveled the countryside helping the poor and sick. His feast day is celebrated on the anniversary of his death, December 6. This was traditionally considered a lucky day to make large purchases or to get married.

由于虔誠(chéng)和善良，他很受人愛(ài)戴，成為了很多傳奇故事的主人公。據(jù)說(shuō)他把繼承的所有財(cái)產(chǎn)都分給了別人，到鄉(xiāng)間各處救助窮人和病人。每年的12月6日是紀(jì)念他去世的日子，這一天在傳統(tǒng)意義上被認(rèn)為是買(mǎi)買(mǎi)買(mǎi)或結(jié)婚的吉日。

SINTER KLAAS COMES TO NEW YORK

SINTER KLAAS到紐約

St. Nicholas made his first inroads into American popular culture towards the end of the 18th century. The name Santa Claus evolved from Nick’s Dutch nickname, Sinter Klaas, a shortened form of Sint Nikolaas (Dutch for Saint Nicholas). In 1804, John Pintard, a member of the New York Historical Society, distributed woodcuts of St. Nicholas at the society’s annual meeting. The background of the engraving contains now-familiar Santa images including stockings filled with toys and fruit hung over a fireplace.

圣?尼古拉斯最初在18世紀(jì)末進(jìn)入美國(guó)主流文化，“圣誕老人”這個(gè)詞是從尼古拉斯的荷蘭語(yǔ)中的昵稱Sinter Klaas轉(zhuǎn)變來(lái)的，是Sint Nikolaas（荷蘭語(yǔ)的圣?尼古拉斯）的簡(jiǎn)稱。1804年，紐約歷史學(xué)會(huì)的John Pintard在學(xué)會(huì)的年會(huì)上分發(fā)了圣?尼古拉斯的木雕，雕刻的背景有現(xiàn)在人們熟知的圣誕老人的形象，包括掛在壁爐上面的裝滿玩具和水果的長(zhǎng)筒襪。

Gift-giving, mainly centered around children, has been an important part of the Christmas celebration since the early 19th century. Stores began to advertise Christmas shopping in 1820.

從19世紀(jì)早期開(kāi)始，以孩子為中心的贈(zèng)送禮物行為開(kāi)始成為圣誕節(jié)慶祝活動(dòng)的主要部分。1820年，商場(chǎng)開(kāi)始為圣誕購(gòu)物打廣告。

THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS

圣誕節(jié)前夜

In 1822, Clement Clarke Moore, an Episcopal minister, wrote a long Christmas poem for his three daughters entitled “An Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas.” Moore’s poem is largely responsible for our modern image of Santa Claus as a “right jolly old elf” with a portly figure and the supernatural ability to ascend a chimney with a mere nod of his head! His poem helped popularize the now-familiar image of a Santa Claus who flew from house to house on Christmas Eve–in “a miniature sleigh” led by eight flying reindeer–leaving presents for deserving children. In 1881, political cartoonist Thomas Nast drew on Moore’s poem to create the first likeness that matches our modern image of Santa Claus. His cartoon depicted Santa as a rotund, cheerful man with a full, white beard, holding a sack laden with toys for lucky children.

1822年英國(guó)圣公會(huì)牧師Clement Clarke Moore為他三個(gè)女兒寫(xiě)了一首圣誕長(zhǎng)詩(shī)“An Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas”，這首詩(shī)很大程度上決定了現(xiàn)代的圣誕老人形象——胖胖的“快樂(lè)老精靈”，微微頷首，有著攀爬煙囪的超能力！他的詩(shī)使現(xiàn)在熟知的圣誕老人形象家喻戶曉——圣誕節(jié)前夜駕著8只會(huì)飛的馴鹿拉的小雪橇在房頂上飛來(lái)飛去，給該得到禮物的孩子們送禮物。1881年，政治漫畫(huà)家Thomas Nast針對(duì)這首詩(shī)畫(huà)了一幅漫畫(huà)創(chuàng)作出了第一個(gè)和現(xiàn)代圣誕老人形象相似的人物。他把圣誕老人畫(huà)成了一個(gè)長(zhǎng)著白色大胡子的矮胖的快樂(lè)男人，拿著一個(gè)裝滿送給幸運(yùn)孩子的玩具的袋子。