圣诞节的英语介绍

短一些。就是大致介绍一下圣诞节，全面一点。并附中文翻译
要超级短的！！！！！要有翻译！

Christmas

Christmas is a holiday on the Christian calendar, celebrating the birth of Jesus. Among those using the Gregorian calendar, it is observed on December 25. Eastern Orthodox Churches, celebrate on December 25 on the Julian calendar, which currently is January 7 on the Gregorian calendar. Both dates are merely traditional and neither is thought to be the actual birthdate of Jesus.

The word Christmas is derived from Middle English Christemasse and from Old English Cristes mæsse.[1] It is a contraction meaning "Christ's mass". The name of the holiday is often shortened to Xmas because Roman letter "X" resembles the Greek letter Χ (chi), an abbreviation for Christ (Χριστός).

In Western countries, Christmas has become the most economically significant holiday of the year, celebrated also by non-Christians. The popularity of Christmas can be traced in part to its status as a winter festival. Many cultures have their most important holiday in winter because there is less agricultural work to do at this time. Examples of winter festivals that are believed by some to have influenced Christmas include the pre-Christian festivals of Yule and Saturnalia, and many of the traditions associated with the holiday have origins in these pagan winter celebrations.

In Western culture, the holiday is characterized by the exchange of gifts among friends and family members, some of the gifts being attributed to Santa Claus (also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Basil and Father Frost). However, various local and regional Christmas traditions are still practiced, despite the widespread influence of American, British and Australian Christmas motifs disseminated by film, popular literature, television, and other media.

Christmas Day December 25th, the day when Christians celebrate the birth of Christ

During the Christmas week people are very happy.On on Christmas Eve,December 24th, children put stockings at the end of their beds before they go to sleep. They also buy a Christmas tree and decorate it. 在圣诞节的那个星期人们都非常高兴。在圣诞节前夕，12月24日，孩子们在睡觉前把长统袜放在他们的床尾。他们还会买一棵圣诞树并装饰它。

12月25日的圣诞节是庆祝基督教创始人耶稣基督生日的日子， 是美国最大、人们最喜爱的节日。 据基督教徒的圣书《圣经》说，上帝决定让他的独生子耶稣基 督投生人间，找个母亲，然后就在人间生活，以便人们能更好地了 解上帝、学习热爱上帝和更好地相互热爱。“圣诞节”的意思是“ 庆祝基督”，庆祝一个年轻的犹太妇女玛丽娅生下耶稣的时刻。 玛丽娅已和木匠约瑟夫订婚。可是，在他们同居之前，约瑟夫 发现玛丽娅已怀孕。因为约瑟夫是个正派的人，又不想把这件事说 出去让她丢脸，所以他想悄悄地和她分手。他正在考虑这事时，上 帝的天使出现在他的梦中，对他说，“不要嘀咕了，把玛丽娅娶回 家。她怀的孩子来自圣灵。她将生下个男孩子，你们给孩子起名叫 耶稣，因为他将从罪恶中拯救人们。” 尽管耶稣的确切生日并不清楚，大约是在2000年前，但是日历 按着假定日期把时间分为公元前（耶稣基督诞生前）和公元后（A. D. 是拉丁文缩写，意思是“有了我们主--耶稣的年代”）。在公 元后的头三百年间，耶稣的生日是在不同的日子庆祝的。最后，在 公元354年，教堂的领导人把12月25日定为耶稣基督的生日。 The Origin of Christmas Christmas Day-December 25-which celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, the founder of the Christian religion, is the biggest and best-loved holiday in the United States. According to the Bible, the holy book of Christians, God decided to allow his only son, Jesus Christ, to be born to a human mother and live on earth so that people could understand God better and learn to love God and each other more. "Christmas"- meaning "celebration of Christ "- honors the time when Jesus was born to a young Jewish woman Mary. Mary was engaged to be married to Joseph, a carpenter, but before they came together, she was found to be with child. Because Joseph, her husband, was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." Although the exact date of the birth of Jesus nearly 2,000 years ago is not known, the calendar on the supposed date divides all time into B.C. (Before Christ )and A.D. ( a Latin phrase, Anno Domini, "in the year of our Lord.")For the first 300 years, Jesus' birthday was celebrated on different dates. Finally, in the year 354, church leaders chose December 25 as his birthday.