一年一度又圣诞

从普及程度看，新年无疑是全世界最流行的节假日。所有国家都过西元元旦。此外，许多国家和民族还有自己的新年，比如中国的农历新年。但新年纯粹根据纪年法或季节交替，没有任何其他宗教或文化内涵。

若论商业影响力和仪式感，西方最重要的节日非圣诞节莫属。本来是个纯宗教节日，非基督徒也过得不亦乐乎--从室内外装饰，购买礼物，到圣诞大餐，一样都不缺。有人甚至去教堂，为的是体验一下宗教仪式感；至于宗教含义，并不想要搞那么清楚。

能把一个纯宗教节日搞成这样，真是佩服。这些天读了一些关于圣诞节的历史和故事，加深了对这个节日的了解。我们现在庆祝的圣诞节，传到美国也不过上百年的历史。把圣诞节商业化，一代接一代的美国商人功不可没。圣诞节的来源和习俗涉及许多国家和民族，可以说是西方文化的大杂烩。圣诞前夕乘着雪橇到处送礼物的圣诞老人，其原型是一位名叫 St. Nicolas 的修道士，出生在土耳其，为行善而散尽家财。

把圣诞树搬至室内的做法，是从德国人那里学来的。圣诞树的装饰物之一，腌黄瓜（pickle），也是德国人的传统。据说，圣诞早晨，哪位小孩子最先发现隐藏在圣诞树上的那根腌黄瓜，谁就最有福气。

最有名的圣诞诗歌是 Twas the night before Christmas，作者是美国人 Clement Clarke Moore，大约两百年前发表。诗歌提到了八头拉雪橇的鹿，个个都有名字。不过，我们现在只记住第九头鹿的名字---对啦，就是下面这个 Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer。当然这是一百多年后才加上去的。

最著名的圣诞小说，首推英国著名作家狄更斯写的 Christmas Carol。小说描述了一位名叫 Scrooge 的怪癖老头儿，对人对己都极为吝啬、苛刻，生活中没有任何欢乐，不招人待见不说，连狗见了他都绕道。后来，在各种圣诞幽灵的刺激和感召下，Scrooge 彻底蜕变，成一位善良、和蔼的基督徒。小说结尾皆大欢喜，充满了圣诞喜乐。

我在圣诞树上挂上了一些来自中国的吉祥物，还准备在圣诞节期间吃顿饺子，也算是在自家的圣诞节里加进一些中国元素吧。

正是:

一年一度又圣诞，

喜气洋洋盼佳宴。

树下礼物散满地，

管它这是啥节日。

 

附：A Visit from St. Nicholas

Clement Clarke Moore - 1779-1863

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;
And mamma in her ’kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap,
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,
With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;
"Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! on, Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"
As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky;
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of Toys, and St. Nicholas too.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of Toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a pedler just opening his pack.
His eyes—how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly.
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle,
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night."

About This Poem

On December 23, 1823, a poem called "A Visit from Saint Nicholas" was published anonymously in the Sentinel, the local newspaper of Troy, New York. This piece offered a different take on Santa Claus, a figure who was, until that time, traditionally depicted as a thinner, less jolly, horse-riding disciplinarian, a combination of mythologies about the British Father Christmas, the Dutch Sinterklaas, and the fourth-century bishop Saint Nicholas of Myra. But the poem in the newspaper painted a different picture: it gave Santa eight reindeer, and even named them; it described a Santa who could magically sneak in and out of homes via chimneys; and it created the venerated, cheerful, chubby icon that is everpresent in holiday cards, movies, television shows, and malls everywhere. The poem, of course, is now known as "'Twas the Night Before Christmas," after its famous first line. Thirteen years after it was published, Clement Clark Moore took credit for its authorship, though his claim to the poem is now in question. Many believe the poem was actually penned by New York writer Henry Livingston.