圣诞节起源 1

Origins of Christmas 1

翻译

Christmas is the most widely celebrated holiday in the world today.

圣诞节是当今世界上庆祝最广泛的节日。

But how long has Christmas been around? And has it always been celebrated the same way?

然而圣诞节存在多久了？人们一直以同样的方式庆祝圣诞节吗？

For hundreds of years, many different cultures across Europe celebrated a yearly festival on December 21.

几百年来，欧洲各地不同的文化都在12月21日庆祝一年一度的节日。

This day is known as the Winter `Solstice`.

这一天被称为冬至。

This is a `significant` day because it is the shortest day of the year, meaning that this day has the least amount of time between sunup and sundown.

这是很有意义的一天，因为这是一年中最短的一天，意味着这一天的日出和日落之间的时间是最短的。

In ancient Rome, there were multiple celebrations `associated` with the solstice.

在古罗马，很多庆祝活动都与冬至有关。

One of those celebrations was known as `Saturnalia`.

其中一个节日就是农神节。

Saturnalia was a holiday honoring Saturn, the Roman god of agriculture.

农神节是几年罗马农业之神萨杜恩的节日。

The holiday began on December 17 and continued through December 23.

这个节日从12月17日开始一直持续到12月23日。

Saturnalia was a festive time when food and drink were plentiful.

农神节期间，人们的饮食都很丰富。

在这个有趣的季节里，正常的社会秩序将会颠倒过来，富人们会把城市的控制权交给穷人。

Businesses and schools would even close during the celebration, so that everyone could `indulge` in the `frivolity`.

庆祝活动期间，企业和学校甚至会歇业听课，让每个人都可以尽情的放纵自己。

In Germany and regions further north, the Winter Solstice celebration was known as Yule.

在德国和更北部的地区，冬至庆祝活动被称为Yule（圣诞节过时叫法）。

During the Yule celebration, families would find the biggest log they could and bring it inside.

在Yule节庆祝期间，家家户户都会找到他们能找到的最大的木柴，把它带回家。

They would burn the log on their fireplace and attempt to keep the fire going for 12 days.

他们把木头放进壁炉里燃烧，并试图让火持续烧12天。

During the time the Yule log burned, there would be many days of festivities and `revelry`.

在柴火燃烧期间，会有很多天的欢庆和狂欢。

Yule wasn't an important holiday, because this was the time of years when animails were `slaughtered`.

Yule节并不是一个重要的节日，因为这是一年中动物被屠杀的时候。

And this was the only time of year when most people had fresh meat.

也是一年中唯一一个大部分人都能迟到新鲜的肉的时候。

As part of the celebration, families would bring an evergreen tree into the home and decorate it.

作为庆祝活动的一部分，家家户户都会把一颗常青树带回家装饰。

The evergreen tree was the only type of tree that would stay green throughout the winter.

常青树是唯一一种能在整个冬天保持绿色的树。

Therefore they viewed it as a symbol of continued life.

因此它们被视为生命延续的象征。

They also told stories of a mythical being, Odin, who flew through the sky during Yule to leave presents and sweets for children.

他们还会讲述神话人物————奥丁的故事，他会在Yule节期间飞过天空，给孩子们留下礼物和糖果。

They also believed Odin would determine who would prosper and who would fail in the coming year.

他们还相信奥丁会决定谁会在未来的一年里成功，谁会失败。

These Winter Solstice traditions and many others helped lay the foundations for what would some day become Christmas.

这些冬至传统和许多其他习俗为圣诞节的到来奠定了基础。

生词统计

单词	音标	翻译
solstice	ˈsɑːlstɪs	n. 至、至日、至点
significant	sɪɡˈnɪfɪkənt	adj. 重大的、有效的、有意义的、意味深长的； n. 象征、有意义的事物
associate	əˈsoʊsieɪt	v. 联想、联系、关联、交往； n. 伙伴、准会员、联想； adj. 联合的、副的
saturnalia	sætə'neiliə	n. （古罗马）农神节（十二月中旬）、狂欢喧闹
indulge	ɪnˈdʌldʒ	v. 满足、纵容、沉溺、使沉迷于...
frivolity	frɪˈvɑːləti	n. 轻浮、轻薄、轻率
revelry	ˈrevlri	n. 狂欢、欢宴
slaughter	ˈslɔːtər	v. 屠宰、屠杀

原文阅读

Christmas is the most widely celebrated holiday in the world today.

But how long has Christmas been around? And has it always been celebrated the same way?

For hundreds of years, many different cultures across Europe celebrated a yearly festival on December 21.

This day is known as the Winter Solstice.

This is a significant day because it is the shortest day of the year, meaning that this day has the least amount of time between sunup and sundown.

In ancient Rome, there were multiple celebrations associated with the solstice.

One of those celebrations was known as Saturnalia.

Saturnalia was a holiday honoring Saturn, the Roman god of agriculture.

The holiday began on December 17 and continued through December 23.

Saturnalia was a festive time when food and drink were plentiful.

During this reason of fun, the normal social order would reverse, and the wealthy would turn control of the city over to the poor.

Businesses and schools would even close during the celebration, so that everyone could indulge in the frivolity.

In Germany and regions further north, the Winter Solstice celebration was knwon as Yule.

During the Yule celebration, families would find the biggest log they could and bring it inside.

They would burn the log on their fireplace and attempt to keep the fire going for 12 days.

During the time the Yule log burned, there would be many days of festivities and revelry.

Yule wasn't an important holiday, because this was the time of years when animals were slaughtered.

And this was the only time of year when most people had fresh meat.

As part of the celebration, families would bring an evergreen tree into the home and decorate it.

The evergreen tree was the only type of tree that would stay green throughout the winter.

Therefore they viewed it as a symbol of continued life.

They also told stories of a mythical being, Odin, who flew through the sky during Yule to leave presents and sweets for children.

They also believed Odin would determine who would prosper and who would fail in the coming year.

These Winter Solstice traditions and many others helped lay the foundations for what would some day become Christmas.

# 圣诞节起源 1

# Origins of Christmas 1

# 翻译

# Christmas is the most widely celebrated holiday in the world today.

# But how long has Christmas been around? And has it always been celebrated the same way?

# For hundreds of years, many different cultures across Europe celebrated a yearly festival on December 21.

# This day is known as the Winter Solstice.

# This is a significant day because it is the shortest day of the year, meaning that this day has the least amount of time between sunup and sundown.

# In ancient Rome, there were multiple celebrations associated with the solstice.

# One of those celebrations was known as Saturnalia.

# Saturnalia was a holiday honoring Saturn, the Roman god of agriculture.

# The holiday began on December 17 and continued through December 23.

# Saturnalia was a festive time when food and drink were plentiful.

# During this season of fun, the normal social order would reverse, and the wealthy would turn control of the city over to the poor.

# Businesses and schools would even close during the celebration, so that everyone could indulge in the frivolity.

# In Germany and regions further north, the Winter Solstice celebration was known as Yule.

# During the Yule celebration, families would find the biggest log they could and bring it inside.

# They would burn the log on their fireplace and attempt to keep the fire going for 12 days.

# During the time the Yule log burned, there would be many days of festivities and revelry.

# Yule wasn't an important holiday, because this was the time of years when animails were slaughtered.

# And this was the only time of year when most people had fresh meat.

# As part of the celebration, families would bring an evergreen tree into the home and decorate it.

# The evergreen tree was the only type of tree that would stay green throughout the winter.

# Therefore they viewed it as a symbol of continued life.

# They also told stories of a mythical being, Odin, who flew through the sky during Yule to leave presents and sweets for children.

# They also believed Odin would determine who would prosper and who would fail in the coming year.

# These Winter Solstice traditions and many others helped lay the foundations for what would some day become Christmas.

# 生词统计

# 原文阅读

圣诞节起源 1

Origins of Christmas 1

翻译

Christmas is the most widely celebrated holiday in the world today.

But how long has Christmas been around? And has it always been celebrated the same way?

For hundreds of years, many different cultures across Europe celebrated a yearly festival on December 21.

This day is known as the Winter `Solstice`.

This is a `significant` day because it is the shortest day of the year, meaning that this day has the least amount of time between sunup and sundown.

In ancient Rome, there were multiple celebrations `associated` with the solstice.

One of those celebrations was known as `Saturnalia`.

Saturnalia was a holiday honoring Saturn, the Roman god of agriculture.

The holiday began on December 17 and continued through December 23.

Saturnalia was a festive time when food and drink were plentiful.

During this season of fun, the normal social order would reverse, and the wealthy would turn control of the city over to the poor.

Businesses and schools would even close during the celebration, so that everyone could `indulge` in the `frivolity`.

In Germany and regions further north, the Winter Solstice celebration was known as Yule.

During the Yule celebration, families would find the biggest log they could and bring it inside.

They would burn the log on their fireplace and attempt to keep the fire going for 12 days.

During the time the Yule log burned, there would be many days of festivities and `revelry`.

Yule wasn't an important holiday, because this was the time of years when animails were `slaughtered`.

And this was the only time of year when most people had fresh meat.

As part of the celebration, families would bring an evergreen tree into the home and decorate it.

The evergreen tree was the only type of tree that would stay green throughout the winter.

Therefore they viewed it as a symbol of continued life.

They also told stories of a mythical being, Odin, who flew through the sky during Yule to leave presents and sweets for children.

They also believed Odin would determine who would prosper and who would fail in the coming year.

These Winter Solstice traditions and many others helped lay the foundations for what would some day become Christmas.

生词统计

原文阅读