圣诞碎碎谈 中国版“圣诞老人”了解一下「文末彩蛋」

世界各地的“圣诞节”叫什么？

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圣诞节是基督教纪念耶稣降生的节日（Christmas, Christian festival celebrating the birth of Jesus）。

“Christmas”是这一节日比较新的叫法，更早的时候叫做“耶鲁节”（Yule），源于日耳曼文化的（Germanic）jōl 或（盎格鲁-撒克逊文化的） geōl，两者都指冬至时节的宴会（the feast of the winter solstice）。

耶鲁节是由古代日耳曼民族所庆祝的宗教节日，后来接受基督教化后改为庆祝更为著名的圣诞节，所以说耶鲁节是圣诞节的前身。“耶鲁”一词最早出现于日耳曼民族所用的月份名称，例如ÆrraJéola，或ÆfteraJéola等等。学者认为这节日是为了连庆祝野生狩猎节、北欧神奥丁和盎格鲁-撒克逊异教的夜间母神节。(维基百科)

solstice /'sɒlstɪs,'sɒlstəs,ˋsɑlstɪs/ 表示“至，至日”，英文解释为“the time when the sun is furthest north or south of the equator”，举个🌰：

the summer/winter solstice (= the longest or shortest day of the year)

夏至/冬至

那和“至”有关的就是“分”了，英文为“equinox” /ˈiːkwɪˌnɒks, ˈɛk-/，表示“昼夜平分日; 指春分或秋分”，英文解释为“An equinox is one of the two days in the year when day and night are of equal length. ”，举个🌰：

In the Chinese calendar, the Spring Equinox always occurs in the second month. 

在中国历法中，春分总是出现在二月份。

其他国家也有相应的叫法，如西班牙叫做Navidad，意大利叫做Natale，法国叫做Noël等，种种叫法都是为了纪念耶稣降生（all probably denote nativity. ）德语单词Weihnachten表示“神圣的夜晚”（“hallowed night.”）

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Since the early 20th century, Christmas has also been a secular family holiday, observed by Christians and non-Christians alike, devoid of Christian elements, and marked by an increasingly elaborate exchange of gifts. In this secular Christmas celebration, a mythical figure named Santa Claus plays the pivotal role.

进入20世纪不久，圣诞节就已成为世俗化的家庭节日，褪去了基督教色彩。基督教徒和非基督教徒都会庆祝这一节日，并进行日益精心计划的礼物交换活动。而在这世俗化的圣诞庆祝中，圣诞老人这一神话人物起到了举足轻重的作用。

be devoid of sth 表示“毫无某物，完全没有某物”，英文解释为“to be completely lacking in something”，举个🌰：

His face was devoid of any warmth or humour.

他的脸冷若冰霜，没有一丝幽默的表情。

熟词僻义，表示“庆祝”，英文解释为“If you observe an important day such as a holiday or anniversary, you do something special in order to honour or celebrate it.”举个🌰：

...where he will observe Thanksgiving with family members. 

…在那里他将与家人一起庆祝感恩节。

为什么把12月25日定为“耶稣诞生日”？

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The precise origin of assigning December 25 as the birth date of Jesus is unclear. The New Testament provides no clues in this regard. December 25 was first identified as the date of Jesus’ birth by Sextus Julius Africanus in 221 and later became the universally accepted date. One widespread explanation of the origin of this date is that December 25 was the Christianizing of the dies solis invicti nati(“day of the birth of the unconquered sun”), a popular holiday in the Roman Empire that celebrated the winter solstice as a symbol of the resurgence of the sun, the casting away of winter and the heralding of the rebirth of spring and summer.

The New Testament is the second part of the Christian biblical canon, the first part being the Old Testament, based on the Hebrew Bible. Christians regard both the Old and New Testaments together as sacred scripture.

《圣经》分为旧约和新约两大部分，新旧约以耶稣出生为界限的。《新约圣经》（New Testament）是基督教所认为的“《圣经》全书”里继《旧约圣经》之后的其余部分的常用称呼。（Wikipedia）

表示“复苏；再次出现，再起”，英文解释为“the reappearance and growth of something that was common in the past”，如：a resurgence in the popularity of 60s music 20世纪60年代音乐的再次流行；举个🌰：

There has been a resurgence of interest in religion over the last ten years.

最近10年以来宗教热情重燃。

/'hɛrəld/

两种意思：

1）表示“预示…的发生”，英文解释为“to be a sign of something that is going to come or happen soon”，举个🌰：

Flashing blue lights heralded the arrival of the police.

闪烁的蓝色灯光预示警察就要到达。

2）表示“公开称赞”，英文解释为“to say publicly that someone or something will be good or important ”，如：be heralded as sth，举个🌰：

When it opened, the hospital was heralded as a new way forward in nursing care.

该医院开业时被誉为护理业向前迈进的新的一步。

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Indeed, after December 25 had become widely accepted as the date of Jesus’ birth, Christian writers frequently made the connection between the rebirth of the sun and the birth of the Son. One of the difficulties with this view is that it suggests a nonchalant willingness on the part of the Christian church to appropriate a pagan festival when the early church was so intent on distinguishing itself categorically from pagan beliefs and practices.

/ˈnɒnʃələnt/

表示“若无其事的; 漠不关心的”，英文解释为“If you describe someone as nonchalant, you mean that they appear not to worry or care about things and that they seem very calm. ”举个🌰：

Her mother is nonchalant about her role in her son's latest work. 

她的母亲对她在儿子最新作品中的角色反应平淡。

表示“异教徒的”，英文解释为“Pagan beliefs and activities do not belong to any of the main religions of the world. They are older, or are believed to be older, than other religions.”举个🌰：

The Christian church has adapted many pagan ideas over the centuries. 

几个世纪以来，基督教会已经采用并改编许多异教思想。

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A second view suggests that December 25 became the date of Jesus’ birth by a priori reasoning that identified the spring equinox as the date of the creation of the world and the fourth day of creation, when the light was created, as the day of Jesus’ conception (i.e., March 25). December 25, nine months later, then became the date of Jesus’ birth. For a long time the celebration of Jesus’ birth was observed in conjunction with his baptism, celebrated January 6.

这个短语很有意思，是固定组合用作形容词，表示“先验的/地，由因及果的/地，演绎的/地”，英文解释为“Using previous experiences or facts to decide what the likely result or effect of something will be.”An a priori argument, reason, or probability is based on an assumed principle or fact, rather than on actual observed facts. 如：

a ruling made on a priori grounds

由推论作出的裁决

相关短语有“a posteriori”，表示“后验的/地，由事实/结果推断出原因的/地，归纳的/地”，英文解释为“using facts that you know now to form a judgment about what must have happened before”。

熟词僻义，表示“受孕”，英文解释为“Conception is the process in which the egg in a woman is fertilized and she becomes pregnant.”举个🌰：

Six weeks after conception, your baby is the size of your little fingernail. 

受孕六周后你的孩子有你小手指甲那么大。

「彩蛋」中国版“圣诞老人”了解一下

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这两天，全网都在等待那位“红帽子、白胡子的老头儿”的祝福。然而，撞脸圣诞老人（Santa Claus）的“鳌拜（Oboi）”本尊香港演员徐锦江（英文名：Elvis Tsui）倒是先火了一把。

Born in 1961, Hong Kong veteran actor Elvis Tsui has become the latest internet icon thanks to the classic character he played in the 1992 comedy movie Royal Tramp, where he looked a bit similar to Santa Claus, with a red hat and white beard.

表示“老手，(在某方面)经验丰富的人”，英文解释为“someone who has had a lot of experience of a particular activity”，如：veteran leader/veteran journalist/actor/goalkeeper etc 资深领袖/资深记者/资深演员/经验丰富的守门员等。

The movie Tsui starred in was adapted from The Deer and the Cauldron, a novel by late Hong Kong novelist Louis Cha. Tsui played the role of Oboi, a malicious and greedy military officer who conspires to fight for the throne.

表示“密谋；共谋；搞阴谋”，英文解释为“to secretly plan with someone else to do something illegal”，举个🌰：

All six men admitted conspiring to steal cars.

这六个人全都承认一起密谋偷车。

The Deer and the Cauldron 《鹿鼎记》

Oboi 鳌拜

Also, the character's name Oboi is pronounced similar to "all buy" in English, which encourages people to buy some gifts for loved ones. And the coincidence further increases the popularity of Tsui.

徐老师本人在微博进行了回应：

于是，今天，微博也以这一形象特别上线了“圣诞老人”表情包。

而实际上，徐老师的“脸”是很忙的。无论什么国外大片，网友都能从荧幕上找到他的影子。

比如，最近正在热映的电影《海王(Aquaman)》，相似度简直99.999999999%，哈哈哈哈哈哈。

《海王》

《雷神》

Chinese internet users have been using photoshop to have fun with the huge popularity of the new "Aquaman" film, turning veteran Chinese actor Xu Jinjiang into the DC Comics superhero.

“玩得开心，玩得高兴”，在此处是不是可以译为“恶搞”？哈哈哈哈哈哈。

Warner Bros. released "Aquaman" in China on December 7th, two weeks before the action adventure's premiere in North America. As of December 16, the cumulative box office across the Chinese mainland has exceeded 1.2 billion yuan (about 174 million U.S. dollars), reports Sina News.

这个词昨天「BBC」看《延禧攻略》登顶谷歌2018年度电视剧搜索榜刚提到：

表示“首映，首演”（the first public performance of a play or any other type of entertainment），这里要注意的是这个词去掉末尾的 e 就变成了 premier“首相，总理”；另外，它作为形容词则表示“首位的，首要的”（best or most important），举个🌰：

He's one of the nation's premier scientists.

他是该国最重要的科学家之一。

另一个词debut可以作动词也可以当名词，表示“首演，首次公演，首次亮相”（the occasion when someone performs or presents something to the public for the first time.）

参考来源：Britannica、ChinaPlus (CRI)、China Daily

「彩蛋二」

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圣诞快乐呀！