A History of Christmas in America 美国的圣诞节历史

A History of Christmas in America

美国的圣诞节历史

【听力音频】

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　　By VOA

　　22 December 2023

　　From VOA Learning English, I'm Caty Weaver.

　　Today, Steve Ember and Shirley Griffith present a special program on Christmas traditions in the United States during the first half of the 19th century.

　　During this period, there was no set way of celebrating the day, which was not yet an official holiday. Communities around the country honored the day in different ways. Some observed Christmas as an important Christian religious day honoring the birth of Jesus. Others celebrated the day with parties, music, drinking and eating. And, some communities did not celebrate the day at all.

　　But, it was during this period that Americans began to reinvent the holiday. They combined ancient Christmas traditions from different cultures with modern American influences.

　　Here are Steve Ember and Shirley Griffith.

　　In 1819, the popular American writer Washington Irving wrote a series of five essays published in a book called The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.

　　The essays describe a wealthy British landowner who invites his farm workers into his home to celebrate Christmas. The landowner recreates a traditional Christmas as it would have been celebrated in the distant past. Irving praised this looking back to ancient traditions. He liked the idea of different levels of society coming together to enjoy a festive and peaceful holiday. Washington Irving seemed to express concern about the lack of such unifying Christmas traditions in modern America.

　　Immigrants shape Christmas traditions

　　Penne Restad wrote a book Christmas in America: A History. It shows how Americans began to slowly shape Christmas into a unifying national holiday during the first half of the 19th century. She describes how Christmas had different meanings for Americans who came from different cultural and religious backgrounds. Many immigrants brought Christmas traditions from their own countries.

　　Religion played a big role in how an American might celebrate the holiday. Calvinist Christians banned the celebration of Christmas. But groups such as Episcopalians and Moravians honored the day with religious services and seasonal decorations.

　　By mid-century, Christian groups began to ignore their religious differences over the meaning of Christmas and honored the day in special ways.

　　Christmas became an important time for families to celebrate at home. More and more Christian Americans also began to follow the European traditions of Christmas trees and giving gifts. Christians believed that the tree represented Jesus and was also a sign of new beginnings. German immigrants brought their tradition of putting lights, sweets and toys on the branches of evergreen trees placed in their homes.

　　This tradition of setting up a Christmas tree soon spread to many American homes. So did the practice of giving people presents. As these traditions increased in popularity, the modern trade and business linked to Christmas also grew.

　　Christmas as a holiday

　　As Christmas became more popular, some states declared the day a state holiday. Louisiana was the first state to make the move in 1837. By 1860, 14 other states had followed. It was not until 1870 that President Ulysses Grant made Christmas a federal holiday.

　　Americans already knew old Christmas songs that came from England and other areas of Europe. But many new American Christmas songs started to become popular. For example, in eighteen forty-nine, a religious leader from Massachusetts wrote the words to It Came Upon a Midnight Clear.The song Jingle Bells appeared seven years later. And, a year later, a religious leader in Williamsport, Pennsylvania wrote the song We Three Kings of Orient Are.

　　And of course, no discussion of Christmas would be complete without talking about of one of the holiday's most famous representations, Santa Claus.

　　This character is based on the story of Saint Nicholas, a Christian holy person believed to have lived in the third century. Saint Nicholas became known as a protector of children. Different cultures have given him different names. These include Sinterklaas, Kris Kringle and Father Christmas. But for most Americans his most popular name would become Santa Claus.

　　In the 19th century, many Dutch immigrants living in the United States celebrated the feast of Saint Nicholas on December 6. Saint Nicholas was especially important to New Yorkers because of their history as a Dutch colony. In 1809, Washington Irving published his History of New York. It lists Saint Nicholas as the patron saint of New Yorkers. He describes the saint wearing a low hat, large pants, and smoking a pipe. Does this description sound familiar?

　　Write to us in the Comments Section or on 51VOA.COM.

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　　由美国之音

　　2023年12月22日

　　我是美国之音学习英语的Caty Weaver。

　　今天，Steve Ember和Shirley Griffith将为大家带来一个特别的节目，介绍19世纪上半叶美国的圣诞节传统。

　　在这个时期，没有固定的庆祝方式，因为圣诞节还不是官方假日。全国各地的社区以不同的方式纪念这一天。有些人把圣诞节视为纪念耶稣诞生的重要基督教宗教日。其他人则通过聚会、音乐、饮酒和进食来庆祝这一天。还有一些社区根本不庆祝这一天。

　　但是，就在这个时期，美国人开始重新塑造这个节日。他们将来自不同文化的古老圣诞传统与现代美国影响相结合。

　　以下是Steve Ember和Shirley Griffith的介绍。

　　1819年，受欢迎的美国作家华盛顿·欧文写了一系列的五篇文章，发表在一本名为《杰弗里·克雷恩先生的素描本》的书中。

　　这些文章描述了一个富有的英国地主，他邀请他的农场工人到他的家中庆祝圣诞节。这位地主重现了在遥远的过去如何庆祝传统圣诞节。欧文赞扬了这种回溯到古老传统的做法。他喜欢社会各阶层聚在一起享受节日和平的想法。华盛顿·欧文似乎对现代美国缺乏这样的统一圣诞传统表示了担忧。

　　移民塑造圣诞传统

　　Penne Restad写了一本名为《美国的圣诞节：一部历史》的书。书中展示了美国人如何在19世纪上半叶慢慢地将圣诞节塑造成一个统一的全国性节日。她描述了对于来自不同文化和宗教背景的美国人，圣诞节有着不同的含义。许多移民带来了他们自己国家的圣诞传统。

　　宗教在美国人如何庆祝这个节日中起着重要的作用。加尔文主义基督徒禁止庆祝圣诞节。但是像圣公会和摩拉维亚教派这样的团体通过宗教服务和季节性装饰来纪念这一天。

　　到了世纪中叶，基督教团体开始忽视他们对圣诞节意义的宗教分歧，以特殊的方式纪念这一天。

　　圣诞节成为家庭在家庆祝的重要时刻。越来越多的基督教美国人也开始遵循欧洲的圣诞树和送礼物的传统。基督徒认为树代表耶稣，也是新开始的象征。德国移民带来了他们在家里放置的常绿树枝上挂上灯光、糖果和玩具的传统。

　　这种设立圣诞树的传统很快在许多美国家庭中传播开来。送人礼物的做法也是如此。随着这些传统越来越受欢迎，与圣诞节相关的现代贸易和商业也在增长。

　　圣诞节作为一个节日

　　随着圣诞节越来越受欢迎，一些州宣布这一天为州假日。路易斯安那州是第一个在1837年采取行动的州。到1860年，另外14个州已经跟随。直到1870年，总统尤利西斯·格兰特才将圣诞节定为联邦假日。

　　美国人已经知道来自英格兰和欧洲其他地区的旧圣诞歌曲。但是许多新的美国圣诞歌曲开始变得流行。例如，1849年，马萨诸塞州的一位宗教领袖写了《午夜清晰到来》的歌词。七年后，《铃儿响叮当》这首歌出现了。一年后，宾夕法尼亚州威廉斯波特的一位宗教领袖写了《东方三博士》这首歌。

　　当然，没有讨论圣诞节最著名的象征之一——圣诞老人，任何关于圣诞节的讨论都是不完整的。

　　这个角色是基于圣尼古拉斯的故事，他是一位据信生活在三世纪的基督教圣人。圣尼古拉斯被誉为儿童的保护者。不同的文化给他起了不同的名字。这些包括Sinterklaas、Kris Kringle和Father Christmas。但对于大多数美国人来说，他最受欢迎的名字将成为圣诞老人。

　　在19世纪，许多居住在美国的荷兰移民在12月6日庆祝圣尼古拉斯节。圣尼古拉斯对纽约人尤其重要，因为他们曾是荷兰殖民地。1809年，华盛顿·欧文出版了他的《纽约历史》。书中列出圣尼古拉斯是纽约人的守护神。他描述了这位圣人戴着低帽子，穿着大裤子，抽着烟斗。这个描述听起来熟悉吗？

　　请在评论区或51VOA.COM上给我们写信。

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　　本故事中的词汇

　　society - n.通常被认为是在有共享法律、传统和价值观的组织社区中生活在一起的人们

　　festive - adj. 快乐和令人兴奋的：适合庆祝或假日

　　unifying - v. 使（人或事物）联合或聚集在一起

　　decoration - n. 添加到其他东西上以使其更具吸引力的东西

　　practice - n.经常或定期做的事情