The Story of Santa Claus

The Story of Santa Claus

圣诞老人的故事

【听力音频】

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　　By Hai Do

　　18 December 2023

　　Santa Claus is someone who will remain in the hearts of children forever. He is the make-believe person who brings toys and other gifts to children at Christmas. To grown-ups, he is a special symbol of good will and selfless giving.

　　Santa Claus also has some other names, like Saint Nicholas, Kris Kringle and Pelznickel.

　　The Santa Claus we talk about in the United States flies from his home at the North Pole on Christmas Eve to bring toys and gifts to children. The happy, white-bearded man is dressed in red. He usually flies on a sleigh led by his reindeer. Santa enters each home through the chimney and fills children's stockings with toys and gifts.

　　This modern image of Santa Claus largely comes from Clement Clark Moore's famous poem, A Visit from St. Nicholas.

　　‘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;...

　　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;

　　Santa Claus is believed to have come from the story of St. Nicholas. He was a 4th-century clergy in the Mediterranean port city of Myra, part of modern-day Turkey. It is said that St. Nicholas gave away all his wealth to help the poor and the sick. History.com says St. Nicholas became known as the protector of children and sailors. It adds that he was the most popular saint in Europe.

　　In the 18th century, Dutch immigrants brought the story of Saint Nikolaas and the tradition of gift-giving to New York City. The Dutch said his name very quickly. It sounded like "Sinterklaas." When English speakers said this word, it sounded like Santa Claus.

　　German immigrants working as farmers in the American state of Pennsylvania also knew of Saint Nikolaas. But they called him Pelznickel. This word came from "pelz," meaning fur in German, and "nickel" for Nicholas. Saint Nikolaasor became a man dressed in fur who came once a year with gifts for good children.

　　Pelznickel became part of a celebration honoring the Christkindl, as the Germans called the child of Christ. After some time, Christkindl became "Kris Kringle." That is another name you will hear for Santa Claus.

　　A Santa-liked figure is known as Father Christmas in Britain and Père Noel in France. In Scandinavia, an elf named Jultomten was thought to deliver gifts in a sleigh drawn by goats. In Italy, a woman called La Befana rides a broomstick down the chimneys of homes to bring toys for lucky children.

　　The image of Santa Claus as we now see him came from Thomas Nast. He was an American painter born in Bavaria, Germany.

　　Nast remembered that, when he was a little boy, a kind old man would give toys and cakes to the children on Christmas. So, when Nast painted Santa Claus, he looked like the old man from his childhood.

　　Nast painted Santa as a short, fat, jolly old man with a long beard. He wore a red suit with white fur. He also gave Santa a North Pole workshop, elves, and a wife, Mrs. Claus. Through the years, Nast's painting has remained the most popular picture of Santa Claus.

　　American children write letters to Santa hoping to be on his "nice list" for Christmas gifts. On Christmas Eve, they leave cookies and milk for Santa and carrots for his reindeer: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and "the most famous reindeer of all," Rudolph.

　　I'm Ashley Thompson.

　　Hai Do wrote this story with additional material from VOA Learning English and History.com.

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　　作者：Hai Do

　　日期：2023年12月18日

　　圣诞老人是一个永远留在孩子们心中的人物。他是一个虚构的人物，每年圣诞节为孩子们带来玩具和其他礼物。对于成年人来说，他是善意和无私奉献的特殊象征。

　　圣诞老人还有一些其他的名字，如圣尼古拉斯、克里斯·克林格和佩尔茨尼克尔。

　　我们在美国谈论的圣诞老人在圣诞前夜从他在北极的家中飞出，为孩子们带来玩具和礼物。这位快乐的、有着白胡子的男人身穿红色服装。他通常乘坐由他的驯鹿拉着的雪橇。圣诞老人通过烟囱进入每个家庭，将玩具和礼物填满孩子们的袜子。

　　这个现代形象的圣诞老人主要来自克莱门特·克拉克·摩尔的著名诗歌《圣尼古拉斯的来访》。

　　那是圣诞节前的夜晚，整个房子里静悄悄的，没有一丝动静，连老鼠都没有；袜子被小心翼翼地挂在烟囱旁，期待着圣尼古拉斯的早日到来；...

　　他一言不发，直接开始他的工作，填满了所有的袜子；然后突然转身，把手指放在鼻子旁边，点了点头，他就从烟囱里飞了出去；

　　人们相信圣诞老人源自圣尼古拉斯的故事。他是4世纪在地中海港口城市米拉（现在的土耳其）的一位神职人员。据说圣尼古拉斯把他所有的财富都捐赠给了穷人和病人。History.com说圣尼古拉斯被誉为儿童和船员的保护者。它还补充说他是欧洲最受欢迎的圣人。

　　在18世纪，荷兰移民将圣尼古拉斯的故事和送礼的传统带到了纽约市。荷兰人快速地说出他的名字，听起来像"Sinterklaas"。当英语使用者说这个词时，听起来就像Santa Claus。

　　在美国宾夕法尼亚州做农民的德国移民也知道圣尼古拉斯。但他们称他为Pelznickel。这个词来自德语中的"pelz"，意为毛皮，和"nickel"，意为尼古拉斯。圣尼古拉斯变成了一个穿着毛皮的人，每年带着礼物来给好孩子。

　　Pelznickel成为了庆祝Christkindl的一部分，德国人称基督的孩子为Christkindl。经过一段时间，Christkindl变成了"Kris Kringle"。这是你会听到的Santa Claus的另一个名字。

　　在英国，一个类似圣诞老人的人物被称为Father Christmas，在法国被称为Père Noel。在斯堪的纳维亚，一个名叫Jultomten的精灵被认为是驾着由山羊拉着的雪橇送礼物。在意大利，一个名叫La Befana的女人骑着扫帚从家里的烟囱下来，给幸运的孩子带来玩具。

　　我们现在看到的圣诞老人的形象来自于托马斯·纳斯特。他是一位出生在德国巴伐利亚的美国画家。

　　纳斯特记得，当他还是个小男孩的时候，一个善良的老人会在圣诞节给孩子们送玩具和蛋糕。所以，当纳斯特画圣诞老人时，他看起来就像他童年时的那个老人。

　　纳斯特把圣诞老人画成一个矮胖、快乐的老人，有着长胡子。他穿着红色的衣服，配有白色的毛皮。他还给圣诞老人一个北极的工作室，精灵，和一个妻子，克劳斯夫人。多年来，纳斯特的画一直是最受欢迎的圣诞老人的画像。

　　美国的孩子们会写信给圣诞老人，希望能在他的"好孩子名单"上得到圣诞礼物。在圣诞节前夜，他们会为圣诞老人留下饼干和牛奶，为他的驯鹿留下胡萝卜：Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen 和"最有名的驯鹿" Rudolph。

　　我是阿什利·汤普森。

　　Hai Do写了这个故事，还有一些额外的材料来自于VOA学习英语和History.com。

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　　这个故事中的词汇

　　sleigh - n. 通常由马（或驯鹿）在雪地或冰面上拉动的大型开放式车辆。

　　chimney - n. 建筑物的一部分，烟通过它升入空气

　　figure - n. 一个人

　　jolly - adj. 快乐和欢快的