圣诞节来历

圣诞节的来历(中英文版)

knowstheexactdateofChrist'sbirth,butmostChristiansobrveChristmason

day,manygotochurch,wheretheytakepartinspecialreligious

theChristmasason,theyalsoexchangegiftsanddecoratetheir

homeswithholly,mistletoe,dChristmascomesfrom

Cristesmaes,ryof

ChristmascomeschieflyfromtheGospelsofSaintLukeandSaintMatthewintheNew

Testament.

ourChristmastraditions

12daysofChristmas,

thebrightfires,theyulelog,thegivingofgifts,carnivals(parades)withfloats,

carolerswhosingwhilegoingfromhoutohou,theholidayfeasts,andthechurch

processionscanallbetracedbacktotheearlyMesopotamians.

Man

Mesopotamiansbelievedinmanygods,aras

winterarriveditwasbelievedthatMardukwoulddobattlewiththemonstersofchaos.

ToassistMardukinhisstruggletheMesopotamiansheldafestivalfortheNewYear.

ThiswasZagmuk,theNewYear'sfestivalthatlastedfor12days.

ThePersiansandtheBabylonianscelebratedasimilarfestivalcalledtheSacaea.

Partofthatcelebrationincludedtheexchangingofplaces,theslaveswouldbecome

ientGreeksheldafestivalsimilar

tothatoftheZagmuk/SacaeafestivalstoassisttheirgodKronoswhowouldbattle

thegodZeusandhisTitans.

TheRoman'estivalwascalledSaturnaliawhich

iesof"JoSaturnalia!"

thecelebrationwouldincludemasqueradesinthestreets,bigfestivemeals,visiting

friends,andtheexchangeofgood-luckgiftscalledStrenae(luckyfruits).TheRomans

themastersandslaveswouldexchangeplaces.

"JoSaturnalia!"wasafunandfestivetimefortheRomans,buttheChristiansthought

lyChristianswantedtokeepthe

birthdayoftheirChristchildasolemnandreligiousholiday,notoneofcheerand

merrimentaswasthepaganSaturnalia.

SomelegendsclaimthattheChristian"Christmas"celebrationwasinventedtocompete

25thwasnotonlysacredtotheRomans

butalsothePersianswhoreligionMithraismwasoneofChristianity'smainrivals

rcheventuallywassuccessfulintakingthemerriment,lights,

andgiftsfromtheSaturaniliafestivalandbringingthemtothecelebrationof

Christmas.

TheexactdayoftheChristchild'ionssay

137ADtheBishopofRomeordered

350ADanotherBishop

ofRome,JuliusI,chooDecember25thastheobrvanceofChristmas.

ThebirthofJesushadastory:InNazareth,gin'sname

theycametogether,shewasfoundwithchild

hethoughtaboutthethings,Gabriel,anangeloftheLordappearedtohimina

ywillbringforth

aSon,andheshallcallhisname,Jesus,forhewillsavehispeoplefromtheirsins.

BeforeJesusbirths,

wenttoberegistered,alsowentupoutofGalilee,

outofthecityofNazareth,intoJudea,tothecityofDavid,whichiscalledBethlehem,

becauhewasofthehouandofthelineageofDavid,toberegisteredwithMary,

hisbetrothedwife,sthatwhiletheywerethere,the

broughtforthherfirstbornSon,

andwrappedhiminswaddlingcloths,andlaidhiminamanger,becautherewasno

roomforthemintheinn.

Andthat,ChristmasisthefeastofthenativityofJesus,ison25th,Decemberevery

Christmashasbecome

popularwhenChristmascardsappearedin1846andtheconceptofajollySantaClaus

wasfirstmadepopularinnineteenthCentury.

Thecustomofgivinggiftstorelativesandfriendsonaspecialdayinwinterprobably

eregions,peoplegaveeachother

smallprentsaspartoftheiryear-endcelebrations.

Inthe1800's,twomoreChristmascustomsbecamepopular--decoratingChristmastrees

ll-knownChristmas

carols,including``SilentNight"and``Hark!TheHeraldAngelsSing,"werecompod

nitedStatesandothercountries,SantaClausreplaced

SaintNicholasasthesymbolofgiftgiving.

aditionbeganinthe

k,XisthefirstletterofChrist'

frequentlyudasaholysymbol.

“圣诞节”这个名称是“基督弥撒”的缩写。弥撒是教会的一种礼拜仪式。耶诞节是一个宗

教节。我们把它当作耶稣的诞辰来庆祝，因而又名耶诞节。这一天，世界所有的基督教会都

举行特别的礼拜仪式。但是有很多圣诞节的欢庆活动和宗教并无半点关联。交换礼物，寄圣

诞卡，这都使圣诞节成为一个普天同庆的日子。

圣诞节是基督教世界最大的节日。4世纪初，1月6日是罗马帝国东部各教会纪念耶稣降生和

受洗的双重节日、称为“主显节”Epiphany，亦称“显现节”即上帝通过耶稣向世人显示自

己。当时只有耶路撒冷的教会例外，那里只纪念耶稣的诞生而不纪念耶稣的受洗。

后来历史学家们在罗马基督徒习用的日历中发现公元354年12月25日页内记录着：“基督

降生在犹大的伯利恒。”经过研究，一般认为12月25日作为圣诞节可能开始于公元336年的

罗马教会。12月25日原来是波斯太阳神（即光明之神）密特拉（Mithra）的诞辰，是一个

异教徒节日，同时太阳神也是罗马国教众神之一。这一天又是罗马历书的冬至节，崇拜太阳

神的异教徒都把这一天当作春天的希望，万物复苏的开始。可能由于这个原因，罗马教会才

选择这一天作为圣诞节。这是教会初期力图把异教徒的风俗习惯基督教化的措施之一。后来，

虽然大多数教会都接受12月25日为圣诞节，但又因为各地教会使用的历书不同，具体日期

不能统一，于是就把12月24日到第二年的1月6日定为圣诞节节期（ChristmasTide），各

地教会可以根据当地具体情况在这段节期之内庆祝圣诞节。