Name: 12個聖誕詞彙和傳統背後的故事｜BBC創意網 (The story behind 12 Christmas words and traditions | BBC Ideas)
Uploaded: 2020-12-24T19:15:42.000Z
Duration: 4 min 4 s

We've all heard of the 12 days of Christmas.

下面就給大家講講其中幾個背後的故事。

Xmas has been contentious over the years, 

多年來，聖誕節一直存在爭議， 。

有人認為，這是一個專有名詞。

to remove the religious importance of Christmas.

 In fact, X is the symbol for “chi” -

其實， X是 "氣 "的象徵----------。

the first letter in the Greek word for Christ, 

希臘語中基督的第一個字母， 。

and that is why Christmas, or Christ's Mass, became Xmas.

這就是為什麼聖誕節，或者說基督的彌撒，變成了Xmas。

Santa Claus comes from the Dutch, Sinterklass,

聖誕老人來自荷蘭語，Sinterklass。

which literally translates as Saint Nicholas.

Before Saint Nicholas was even born though,

was believed to lead a hunting party through the sky during Yule,

據信，在尤利期間會帶領一支狩獵隊在天空中穿梭。

and he even delivered presents to children.

Coming from the Latin "carula", meaning circular dance,

來自拉丁語 "carula"，意為圓舞曲。

carols used to be pagan songs, sung all throughout the year.

頌歌過去是異教歌曲，一年四季都在唱。

They were swiftly adopted by the Romans, and then by the church,

它們迅速被羅馬人採用，然後被教會採用。

This used to be the term for a baton carried by court jesters,

以前是指宮廷小丑所攜帶的指揮棒。

或者說是小飾物持有者， 在都鐸王朝的英格蘭。

to give the bauble to someone actually meant to make fun of them.

把小飾品送給某人，其實是想取笑他們。

Coming from France, étincelle, meaning “sparkle” or “spark”,

來自法國，étincelle，意為 "火花 "或 "火花"。

it became part of our Christmas tree decorations

它成為我們聖誕樹裝飾的一部分

all about a generous spider who took pity on a poor family,

都是關於一隻慷慨的蜘蛛可憐了一個貧窮的家庭。

choosing to spend the night decorating their tree

Originating from an old English word, stocc,

源於一個古老的英語單詞，stocc。

our Christmas stockings also have their own Christmas tale behind them.

我們的聖誕襪背後也有自己的聖誕故事。

In it, St Nicholas wanted to help a poor man and his daughters.

其中，聖尼古拉斯想幫助一個窮人和他的女兒。

he threw three golden balls through their window at night,

他在晚上從他們的窗口扔了三個金球。

each one landing in a different stocking.

The balls were sometimes represented as oranges,

which is why we get oranges in our stockings today.

這就是為什麼我們今天的襪子裡會有橘子。

We can trace the word “chestnut” back to "kastaneia",

我們可以把 "栗子 "一詞追溯到 "kastaneia"。

which means "nut from Castana" – a town in Greece.

意思是 "來自卡斯塔納的堅果"--希臘的一個小鎮。

From here, our chestnuts trees were imported to the rest of Europe.

從這裡開始，我們的栗子樹被進口到歐洲其他國家。

Roman soldiers used to roast them over an open fire,

羅馬阿兵哥曾經用明火烤過它們。

or eat porridge out of them before they went into battle.

或在他們上戰場前，從他們身上吃粥。

The word “Nativity” comes from the Latin word “nativus”,

"誕辰 "一詞來自拉丁語 "nativus"。

人們認為第一個耶穌誕生的場景

was created by Saint Francis of Assisi in 1223.

Mary and Joseph are usually placed on either side of the manger.

馬利亞和約瑟通常被放在馬槽的兩邊。

And don't forget the three kings. They're traditionally added last.

別忘了三王。他們傳統上是最後加的。

Santa's reindeer technically come from New York,

聖誕老人的馴鹿技術上來自紐約。

and a poem called A Visit from St Nicholas.

和一首名為《聖尼古拉斯來訪》的詩。

first appearing in a series of colouring books

promoting the Christmas goods of a department store.

推銷一家百貨公司的聖誕商品。

as the store manager was concerned there'd be links drawn

The latter half of mistletoe evolved out of “tan” meaning “twig”.

槲寄生的後半部分由 "tan "演變而來，意為 "樹枝"。

The mistle part was another word for…

named as it is because mistletoe sprouted out of trees

doesn't really sound as romantic, does it?

mince pies were originally a mixture of suet, fruit, cinnamon,

餡餅原本是由羊脂、水果、桂皮混合而成。

the mince pie evolved throughout the Victorian era,

碎肉派在維多利亞時代不斷髮展。

when they'd heat wine to defend their bodies against the cold winter,

當他們把酒加熱，以抵禦寒冷的冬天。

Its popularity continued throughout the Middle Ages,

當我們把加熱的酒和香料混合在一起時。

believing it would promote health and prevent sickness.

認為可以促進健康，預防疾病。

And what better drink to sit back and toast

還有什麼比這更好的酒可以坐下來幹呢？

to this world of culture and history we've surrounded ourselves with.

到我們所包圍的這個文化和歷史的世界。