But what about 12 words of Christmas?

但聖誕節的12個字呢？

Here's the story behind a few of them.

下面就給大家講講其中幾個背後的故事。

One… Xmas.

一個...

Xmas has been contentious over the years, 

多年來，聖誕節一直存在爭議， 。

with some arguing it's a term designed

有人認為，這是一個專有名詞。

to remove the religious importance of Christmas.

以消除聖誕節的宗教重要性。

 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。

Two… Santa.

二...

Santa Claus comes from the Dutch, Sinterklass,

聖誕老人來自荷蘭語，Sinterklass。

which literally translates as Saint Nicholas.

字面翻譯為聖尼古拉斯。

Before Saint Nicholas was even born though,

雖然在聖尼古拉斯出生之前。

the Norse god, Odin,

北歐之神，奧丁。

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.

他甚至給孩子們送禮物。

Three… carol.

三... 卡羅爾。

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。

as they were so popular.

因為它們是如此受歡迎。

Four… bauble.

四... 小玩意

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。

or bauble bearers, in Tudor England.

或者說是小飾物持有者， 在都鐸王朝的英格蘭。

Back in the 17th Century,

早在17世紀。

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。

Five… tinsel.

五... 錦上添花。

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

thanks to a Ukrainian fairytale

感謝烏克蘭的童話故事

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

選擇在晚上裝飾他們的樹

with a web of gold and silver.

與金銀網。

Six… stockings.

六... 絲襪。

Originating from an old English word, stocc,

源於一個古老的英語單詞，stocc。

meaning trunk of a tree,

意思是樹幹。

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。

Knowing they wouldn't accept charity,

知道他們不會接受施捨。

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.

每個人都落在不同的襪子裡。

The balls were sometimes represented as oranges,

球有時被代表為橘子。

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。

Seven… chestnuts.

七個... 栗子

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。

Eight… Nativity.

八...

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

"誕辰 "一詞來自拉丁語 "nativus"。

meaning 'born'.

意為'出生'。

It's thought the first Nativity scene

人們認為第一個耶穌誕生的場景

was created by Saint Francis of Assisi in 1223.

是由聖方濟各於1223年創建的。

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。

Then you have the shepherds.

然後你有牧羊人。

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。

Nine… reindeer.

九隻... 馴鹿

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。

Rudolph is also American,

魯道夫也是美國人。

first appearing in a series of colouring books

繪本系列

promoting the Christmas goods of a department store.

推銷一家百貨公司的聖誕商品。

His red nose was nearly removed,

他的紅鼻子幾乎被摘掉了。

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

因為店長擔心會被牽扯進來

between it and heavy drinking.

它和大量飲酒之間。

10… mistletoe.

10... 槲寄生

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…

霧的部分是另一個詞... ...

dung. Bird dung to be exact,

糞便。確切地說，是鳥糞。

named as it is because mistletoe sprouted out of trees

槲寄生

wherever birds congregated.

凡是鳥類聚集的地方。

Kissing under the bird poo twig

吻在鳥糞樹枝下

doesn't really sound as romantic, does it?

聽起來並不浪漫，不是嗎？

11… mince pies.

11... 餡餅。

Starting out as a large oblong,

開始是一個大長方形。

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。

cloves, nutmeg and…

丁香，肉豆蔻和... ...

meat.

肉。

Served around Christmas,

聖誕節前後食用。

the mince pie evolved throughout the Victorian era,

碎肉派在維多利亞時代不斷髮展。

with the meat eventually being removed.

而肉最終會被去除。

12… mulled wine.

12... 熱酒

Created by the Romans

由羅馬人創建

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。

mulled wine spread across their empire

杯酒釋兵權

and the regions they traded with.

以及與他們進行貿易的地區。

Its popularity continued throughout the Middle Ages,

它的流行一直持續到中世紀。

as we mixed heated wine with spices,

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。

Merry Christmas, one and all!

祝大家聖誕快樂