圣诞老人.doc

It is said that in the year of 300 AD, there was a kind old man and his name was Saint Nicholas. He was always ready to help the poor and often gave presents to them.Today, Father Christmas is an imaginary figure, but nearly all young children believe in him. They think he is a happy old man with a long white beard and a long red robe. On the night of the twenty-fourth of December every year, Father Christmas from some cold northern land comes down the chimney of the fireplace to put presents by the beds of children or to fill their stockings. So when children go to bed that night, they hang up their stockings, and on Christmas morning they wake to find them full of presents. Of course, its really their parents who fill the stockings. Another name for Father Christmas is Santa Claus. In many countries Christmas is one of the most important festival of the year Father Christmas brings presents to all good children on Christmas Father Christmas is called Saint Nichols too He always wearing a warm red coat He puts the presents in our shoes,but no children have seen him,Its very strange Father Christmas is an old fat man with long and white beard and wears a red suit.He then fills the stockings with Christmas presents. But who is Father Christmas? Can a man really climb down the chimney of every house in the world in a single night? Of course not. 然后他往长统袜里装圣诞礼物。但是谁是圣诞老人呢？一个人真的能在一个晚上爬下世界上每户人家的烟囱吗？当然不能。The excitement begins for children on Christmas Eve, when they hang up their stockings( an old sock, or more ambitiously, pillowcases) around the fireplace or at the foot of the bed for Father Christmas to fill with presents. 对儿童来说，欢乐始于圣诞前夕，届时他们把袜子（只旧袜子，或者更热切的，一个枕头套）在壁炉周围或床脚给圣诞老人装礼物。 Host: Good morning. Today, I am going to interview someone who knows a lot about Father Christmas. Steve Smith is the owner of a toy shop. Now, Steve, I wonder if you could quickly summarize who Father Christmas is and what he does. Steve: Well, the character Father Christmas has been around for hundreds of years, and he is known to many children around the world as the person who brings them Christmas presents. He is often described as a happy, fat man with long white hair and a long white beard and moustache, dressed in a red suit with a black belt and black boots. However, he hasnt always dressed like that. A famous advertisement used a picture of him wearing red in nineteen thirty-one, but before that, he was usually drawn wearing green. Host: Father Christmas comes to visit us at Christmas time, but where does he spend the rest of the years? Steve: Well, he is said to live near the North Pole with his wife and lots of little creatures called elves. The elves are his friends. They help make toys. He also has twelve reindeer that help him deliver the presents on Christmas Eve. Host: When I was a child, I used to write to Father Christmas, so that he would know what I wanted. Steve: Many children do that several months before Christmas. They write to tell what presents they would like for Christmas. One of the traditions in the UK is for children to take the list of presents they want and put it in the chimney. Host: What happens after that, on Christmas Eve? Steve: According to stories, on Christmas Eve, Father Christmas puts all of the presents onto his sled and flies across the sky with his twelve reindeer. Once Father Christmas arrives at a house, he goes down the chimney and places presents for the children in stockings or in front of the family Christmas tree. Some people hang the stockings by their beds, but most people hang them by the fireplace. Many people say that Father Christmas likes to eat mince pies, so they always leave some out for him to eat. Many people also leave a carrot out for the reindeer. Host: I didnt know that! Ill have to remember that in the future. Now we have time for one more question. Do you know where the idea for Father Christmas came from? Steve: There is a connection between Father Christmas and ST Nicholas, who was a saint from hundreds of years ago. You can find more about ST Nicholas on the Internet. Host: Steve, thanks for talking to us today. I suggest that anyone who wants to find out more about Father Christmas should look on the Internet. There are many sites and there is much information about The legend of Saint NicholasHistory tells us that the origin of Santa Claus begins in the 4th century with Saint Nicholas, Bishop of Myra (an area in present day Turkey). One of the legends tells about that he acquired a fortune when his parents died while he was still in his teens. By nature St.Nicholas was a generous and honest man, particularly devoted to children. He also cared deeply for the poor. He brought various gifts, money and other useful items to the houses of the poor. He did this at night, and in secrecy, so that no one knew, as he wanted no glory, he just wanted to help people. He became widely known for his generosity.There is one famous legend about Saint Nicholas. The story tells of Nicholas hearing one day of three beautiful sisters who lived in a miserable hut on the edge of Myra. The three sisters were very poor. They could barely earn enough to keep themselves and their old mother from starving to death. When Nicholas heard of their plight, he was very concerned. He decided to do something to help them.One night, when everyone was asleep, Nicholas crept through the streets to the edge of town. Quietly, he tiptoed up to the hut where the three sisters lived. He climbed onto the roof and dropped three bags of gold through the hole in the roof where the smoke from the fire came out. Now it so happened that the three sisters has washed their stockings before they went to bed. The stockings has been hung by the fire to dry. When Nicholas dropped the gold through the smoke hole, each bag of gold fell into a stocking.The three sisters were overjoyed to find three bags of gold in their stockings when they woke up the next morning. Soon, the story began to spread. Other people began to hang up stockings in the hope of finding bags of gold when they woke up in the morning. From this legend sprang the custom of hanging stockings up by the chimney on Christmas Eve. Over the years, Saint Nicholas became associated with Christmas.After his death around 350 A.D. he was buried in Myra, but in 1087 Italian sailors purportedly stole his remains and removed them to Bari, Italy, greatly increasing St. Nicholas popularity throughout Europe. His kindness and reputation for generosity and love for children gave rise to claims that he could perform miracles and devotion to him increased. St. Nicholas became the patron saint of Russia, where he was famous for his red cape, flowing white beard, and bishops mitre. In Greece, he is the patron saint of sailors; in France he was the patron of lawyers, and in Belgium the patron of children and travelers. The Dutch kept the legend of St. Nicholas alive. In 16th century Holland, Dutch children would place their wooden shoes by the hearth in hopes that they would be filled with a treat and goodies.Santa Claus mythChildren in countries around the world await a visit from a mysterious bringer of gifts at Christmas time. He is Santa Claus.Conventionally, Santa Claus is portrayed as a kindly, round-bellied, merry, bespectacled old man in a red suit trimmed with white fur, with a long white beard.On Christmas Eve, he rides in his flying sleigh lifted by reindeers from house to house to give presents to children. In most countries, it is said that he lives near the North Pole. He comes into houses down the chimney at midnight and places presents for the children in socks or bags by their beds or in front of the family Christmas tree.圣尼古拉的传说据史料记载，圣诞老人的原型是公元4世纪的圣尼古拉，他是米拉（位于今土耳其境内）的主教。有一种传说认为在他十多岁的时候父母双亡，给他留下一大笔财产。圣尼古拉生来就是个慷慨正直的人，尤其喜爱孩子，还很关心穷苦人，给穷人家里送去各种礼物、钱以及其他有用的物品。他一般都是在夜里秘密地做这些事，这样就没人知道，因为他并不想获得什么赞颂，只是想帮助别人