每年的12月25日是西方国家最盛大隆重的节日----圣诞节！
Christmas day
Christmas day is on December 25, people around the world celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Some people celebrate by giving gifts. Children may be thanking Santa Claus for new toys. They may also be going to church with their families. All the people always decorate a Christmas tree and sing and dance at home on Christmas day.
In the west, if there is one holiday that is almost universal. It’s Christmas. Christmas for westerners is like spring festival for Chinese. It is a big day that all the family members will sit together and have a nice meal. Some people are going to celebrate it in one of their friends' family. There is a traditional Christmas game called "secrets anta "which is good to families and friends. Everyone needs to buy a gift, write his or her name on a small card and put all the cards in a box, take out a card one by one and give his or her gift to the person whose name is on the card, give him or her a big hug and say merry Christmas, have fun!
In this day, children are the happiest. On the twenty-fourth of December, all children are very excited. Usually they are sent to bed early so that their parents can get the presents ready. The younger children think that Father Christmas will come down the chimney or fireplace, so they hang up a sock for him to put presents in. the greedy ones even hang up a pillow-case or a sack to try to get more presents. Later that night, father or mother will put presents in the sock, and leave others at the side of the bed. On Christmas morning, the children wake up very early. Some even turn on the light at two o’clock and most of them are awake by six o'clock although it is not light in England for another hour or two at this time of the year.
In china, On Christmas Eve in Beijing, more than 15-hundred people packed into the 407-year old Church of the Immaculate Conception in Beijing to celebrate midnight mass - while many more stood outside watching services on two big TV monitors. It is not exaggerated to say that Christmas has become a popular festival in China.
However, some people argue that Christmas is overshadowing traditional festivals like the Spring Festival and it signals the destructive process of westernization among the Chinese and thus it should be condemned. However, I take a more optimistic stand on this phenomenon as it signifies China's opening up to the world and its preparation for appreciate other cultures.
Moreover, we have our distinctive way of celebrating Christmas. Instead of going to the church like the Americans, we regard Christmas as an opportune time to shop and to enjoy ourselves, as many shopping centers offer discounts to attract customers in Christmas season. As such, our values are not deeply altered by our celebration of Christmas.
Today is Christmas Eve; it’s time for me to say “Happy Christmas”.
That’s all. Thank you.
圣诞快乐！
Christmas day
Christmas day is on December 25, people around the world celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Some people celebrate by giving gifts. Children may be thanking Santa Claus for new toys. They may also be going to church with their families. All the people always decorate a Christmas tree and sing and dance at home on Christmas day.
In the west, if there is one holiday that is almost universal. It’s Christmas. Christmas for westerners is like spring festival for Chinese. It is a big day that all the family members will sit together and have a nice meal. Some people are going to celebrate it in one of their friends' family. There is a traditional Christmas game called "secrets anta "which is good to families and friends. Everyone needs to buy a gift, write his or her name on a small card and put all the cards in a box, take out a card one by one and give his or her gift to the person whose name is on the card, give him or her a big hug and say merry Christmas, have fun!
In this day, children are the happiest. On the twenty-fourth of December, all children are very excited. Usually they are sent to bed early so that their parents can get the presents ready. The younger children think that Father Christmas will come down the chimney or fireplace, so they hang up a sock for him to put presents in. the greedy ones even hang up a pillow-case or a sack to try to get more presents. Later that night, father or mother will put presents in the sock, and leave others at the side of the bed. On Christmas morning, the children wake up very early. Some even turn on the light at two o’clock and most of them are awake by six o'clock although it is not light in England for another hour or two at this time of the year.
In china, On Christmas Eve in Beijing, more than 15-hundred people packed into the 407-year old Church of the Immaculate Conception in Beijing to celebrate midnight mass - while many more stood outside watching services on two big TV monitors. It is not exaggerated to say that Christmas has become a popular festival in China.
However, some people argue that Christmas is overshadowing traditional festivals like the Spring Festival and it signals the destructive process of westernization among the Chinese and thus it should be condemned. However, I take a more optimistic stand on this phenomenon as it signifies China's opening up to the world and its preparation for appreciate other cultures.
Moreover, we have our distinctive way of celebrating Christmas. Instead of going to the church like the Americans, we regard Christmas as an opportune time to shop and to enjoy ourselves, as many shopping centers offer discounts to attract customers in Christmas season. As such, our values are not deeply altered by our celebration of Christmas.
Today is Christmas Eve; it’s time for me to say “Happy Christmas”。
That’s all. Thank you.
《The origins of Christmas》
Christmas Day-December 25-which celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, the founder of the Christian religion, is the biggest and best-loved holiday in the United States.
According to the Bible, the holy book of Christians, God decided to allow his only son, Jesus Christ, to be born to a human mother and live on earth so that people could understand God better and learn to love God and each other more. "Christmas"- meaning "celebration of Christ "- honors the time when Jesus was born to a young Jewish woman Mary.
Mary was engaged to be married to Joseph, a carpenter, but before they came together, she was found to be with child. Because Joseph, her husband, was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."
Although the exact date of the birth of Jesus nearly 2,000 years ago is not known, the calendar on the supposed date divides all time into B.C. (Before Christ )and A.D. ( a Latin phrase, Anno Domini, "in the year of our Lord.")For the first 300 years, Jesus' birthday was celebrated on different dates. Finally, in the year 354, church leaders chose December 25 as his birthday.
《圣诞节的来历》
12月25日的圣诞节是庆祝基督教创始人耶稣基督生日的日子， 是西方最大、人们最喜爱的节日。据基督教徒的圣书《圣经》说，上帝决定让他的独生子耶稣基 督投生人间，找个母亲，然后就在人间生活，以便人们能更好地了解上帝、学习热爱上帝和更好地相互热爱。“圣诞节”的意思是“ 庆祝基督”，庆祝一个年轻的犹太妇女玛丽娅生下耶稣的时刻。
玛丽娅已和木匠约瑟夫订婚。可是，在他们同居之前，约瑟夫发现玛丽娅已怀孕。因为约瑟夫是个正派的人，又不想把这件事说出去让她丢脸，所以他想悄悄地和她分手。他正在考虑这事时，上帝的天使出现在他的梦中，对他说，“不要嘀咕了，把玛丽娅娶回家。她怀的孩子来自圣灵。她将生下个男孩子，你们给孩子起名叫耶稣，因为他将从罪恶中拯救人们。”
尽管耶稣的确切生日并不清楚，大约是在2019年前，但是日历按着假定日期把时间分为公元前(耶稣基督诞生前)和公元后(A. D. 是拉丁文缩写，意思是“有了我们主--耶稣的年代”)。在公元后的头三百年间，耶稣的生日是在不同的日子庆祝的。最后，在公元354年，教堂的领导人把12月25日定为耶稣基督的生日。