| 圣诞老人，报上名来-1 Christmas celebrates the birth of Christ, the Nativity of the babe in the manger whom Christians believe was the Son of God. 圣诞节是庆祝基督——这名被基督徒视为上帝之子的婴儿在马槽里的诞生。 Indeed, the very word Christmas means “Christ festival”. 的确，“圣诞节”这个词意思就是“基督的庆典”。 Yet there can be little doubt that for many it is Santa Claus — not Jesus — who is the human face of Christmas. 然而，可能有许多人会有点疑惑，圣诞节的代表人物竟是圣诞老人，而不是耶稣。 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. 事实上，这样说也不为过：在世界上许多地方，圣诞老人要比赋予该节日名称的基督还更出名。 But how did the fat man in the Coca-Cola red-and-white suit become the symbol of Christmas? 但是，那个穿着一套可口可乐红白颜色衣服的胖子是怎么成为圣诞节的象征的呢？ The truth is that like the Christmas story itself, the story of Saint Nicholas is a composite of history, myth, and legend. 事实上，跟圣诞节本身的故事一样，圣人尼古拉的故事，也是集历史、神话和传说于一身。 According to tradition, he was born in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey) in about A.D. 270. 按照传统的说法，公元270年，尼古拉生于小亚细亚（现在的土耳其）。 When young, he traveled to Palestine and Egypt. Not long afterward, he became a bishop. 年轻时，他曾经到巴勒斯坦和埃及旅行。不久以后，他成为了一名主教。 During the Roman emperor Diocletian's bloody persecution of Christians in 303, Nicholas was imprisoned. 公元303年，罗马皇帝戴克里先血腥迫害基督徒期间，尼古拉被捕入狱。 |
