圣诞老人的由来(英文版)大纲
"american origins: (as sent to me by brian dodd)quote from encarta 95
the american version of the santa claus figure received its inspiration and its name from the dutch legend of sinter klaas, brought by settlers to new york in the 17th century.
as early as 1773 the name appeared in the american press as "st. a claus," but it was the popular author washington irving who gave americans their first detailed information about the dutch version of saint nicholas. in his history of new york, published in 1809 under the pseudonym diedrich knickerbocker, irving described the arrival of the saint on horseback (unaccompanied by black peter) each eve of saint nicholas.
this dutch-american saint nick achieved his fully americanized form in 1823 in the poem a visit from saint nicholas more commonly known as the night before christmas by writer clement clarke moore. moore included such details as the names of the reindeer; santa claus's laughs, winks, and nods; and the method by which saint nicholas, referred to as an elf, returns up the chimney. (moore's phrase "lays his finger aside of his nose" was drawn directly from irving's 1809 description.)
the american image of santa claus was further elaborated by illustrator thomas nast, who depicted a rotund santa for christmas issues of harper's magazine from the 1860s to the 1880s. nast added such details as santa's workshop at the north pole and santa's list of the good and bad children of the world. a human-sized version of santa claus, rather than the elf of moore's poem, was depicted in a series of illustrations for coca-cola advertisements introduced in 1931 that introduced and made the red santa suits an icon. in modern versions of the santa claus legend, only his toy-shop workers are elves. rudolph, the ninth reindeer, with a red and shiny nose, was invented in 1939 by an advertising writer for the montgomery ward company.
in looking for the historical roots of santa claus, one must go very deep in the past. one discovers that santa claus as we know him is a combination of many different legends and mythical creatures.
the basis for the christian-era santa claus is bishop nicholas of smyrna (izmir), in what is now turkey. nicholas lived in the 4th century a.d. he was very rich, generous, and loving toward children. often he gave joy to poor children by throwing gifts in through their windows.
the orthodox church later raised st. nicholas, miracle worker, to a position of great esteem. it was in his honor that russia's oldest church, for example, was built. for its part, the roman catholic church honored nicholas as one who helped children and the poor. st. nicholas became the patron saint of children and seafarers. his name day is december 6th.
in the protestant areas of central and northern germany, st. nicholas later became known as der weinachtsmann. in england he came to be called father christmas. st. nicholas made his way to the united states with dutch immigrants, and began to be referred to as santa claus.
in north american poetry and illustrations, santa claus, in his white beard, red jacket and pompom-topped cap, would sally forth on the night before christmas in his sleigh, pulled by eight reindeer, and climb down chimneys to leave his gifts in stockings children set out on the fireplace's mantelpiece.
children naturally wanted to know where santa claus actually came from. where did he live when he wasn't delivering presents? those questions gave rise to the legend that santa claus lived at the north pole, where his christmas-gift workshop was also located.
in 1925, since grazing reindeer would not be possible at the north pole, newspapers revealed that santa claus in fact lived in finnish lapland. "uncle markus", markus rautio, who compared the popular "children's hour" on finnish public radio, revealed the great secret for the first time in 1927: santa claus lives on lapland's korvatunturi - "ear fell"
the fell, which is situated directly on finland's eastern frontier, somewhat resembles a hare's ears - which are in fact santa claus's ears, with which he listens to hear if the world's children are being nice. santa has the assistance of a busy group of elves, who have quite their own history in scandinanvian legend.
over the centuries, customs from different parts of the northern hemisphere thus came together and created the whole world's santa claus - the ageless, timeless, deathless white-bearded and red suited man who gives out gifts on christmas and always returns to korvatunturi in finnish lapland.
since the 1950s, santa has happily sojourned at napapiiri, near rovaniemi, at times other than christmas, to meet children and the young at heart. by 1985 his visits to napapiiri had become so regular that he established his own santa claus office there. he comes there every day of the year to hear what children want for christmas and to talk with children who have arrived from around the world. santa claus village is also the location of santa's main post office, which receives children's letters from the four corners of the world.
-
2022学校圣诞节主题活动方案(精选15篇)
2022学校圣诞节主题活动方案篇1*活动目的:1、让幼儿感受圣诞节节日的气氛2、通过分区的游园活动和亲子游戏,提高幼儿学习英语的兴趣,另一方面也做为一学期学习成果的小汇报。*活动模式:主要通过游园的形式,区域可分为:展览区、活动区(大班活动区、中班活动区、小班活...
-
小学生欢度圣诞节的作文700字(通用15篇)
小学生欢度圣诞节的作文700字篇1圣诞节是一个美好的节日,是许多小孩子心中梦寐以求的美好愿望,虽然在我们国家没有,但是在我的内心深处,依然对圣诞节憧憬着,传说在平安夜那天晚上,会有一个圣诞老人,送他们想要的礼物,孩子们就把一只袜子放在床前,期待着圣诞老人把礼物放...
-
圣诞节给员工的贺卡祝福短信(精选5篇)
圣诞节给员工的贺卡祝福短信篇11.元旦寄语:爱情,要敢于去追;工作,要敢于去拼;事业,要敢于去闯;八戒,要敢于去当;傻子,要敢于去装;一三年,愿你万事勇往直前,幸福当仁不让!2.元旦前夕,在个黑暗的角落里,划燃一根火柴,不顾那压抑着感情和焦油的胸腔,我愿为你再抽上一支烟,狠命...
-
2022年圣诞节小学生日记(精选18篇)
2022年圣诞节小学生日记篇1这个星期三是圣诞节。每年的圣诞节,妈妈都会把家里的圣诞树拿出来,装饰得美美的。今年,我告诉妈妈,圣诞节的那一天,要等我放学回来。因为,我要亲自装饰圣诞树啦!下午放学回来,我赶紧把作业写完。写完作业以后,妈妈已经把圣诞树的彩带、彩灯、...