世界各地都有哪些圣誕習(xí)俗

Most of you are familiar with American, Canadian and English Christmas customs, which are largely the same, including Santa bringing presents that sit below a lit up tree. But have you ever wondered just how Christmas is celebrated in China, or in Finland? Whether you’re just interested in learning more about other cultures or want to incorporate some new traditions into your holiday celebrations, this article is filled with all you need to know about international Christmases.

大多數(shù)人對(duì)英美加這些國家如何過圣誕都很熟悉。它們的圣誕習(xí)俗大同小異，包括圣誕老人在點(diǎn)亮的圣誕樹下放上禮物。但是你曾想過中國、芬蘭這些國家是如何慶祝圣誕的嗎?不管你是有興趣了解其他文化，還是想為自己的圣誕慶祝添點(diǎn)新花樣，這篇文章將給你所有“必知”的不同國家的圣誕知識(shí)。

Poland

波蘭

For Poles, Christmas Eve is a night of magic when animals are said to talk and people have the power to predict the future. It’s a time for families to gather and reconcile any differences, and to remember loved ones who have gone before them.

對(duì)于波蘭人來說，平安夜是充滿魔力的一夜。據(jù)說動(dòng)物在這一夜可以與人說話，而人有預(yù)測未來的能力。家人們會(huì)在平安夜團(tuán)聚一堂，調(diào)和矛盾，并懷念過世的親人。

Wigilia (vee-GEEL-yah), which literally means "vigil," or waiting for the birth of Baby Jesus, is considered more important than Christmas Day itself.

對(duì)波蘭人來說，“守夜”或“等待嬰孩耶穌的誕生”(Wigilia)比圣誕節(jié)那一天更重要。

Wigilia is a meatless meal because, years ago, Roman Catholics fasted for the four weeks of Advent, including Christmas Eve. In the past there were thirteen main dishes (representing the Apostles and Christ), but, these days, many families have replaced this tradition with a twelve-fruit compote for dessert.

“守夜”晚餐是素食，因?yàn)槎嗄昵?，羅馬天主教徒在降臨節(jié)四周一直到平安夜都齋戒。過去晚餐有13道主菜(代表耶穌和他的使徒)。但是如今許多家庭轉(zhuǎn)而選擇12樣水果的果盤甜點(diǎn)。

The foods are to represent the four corners of the earth -- mushrooms from the forest, grain from the fields, fruit from the orchards, and fish from the lakes and sea.

食物代表地球的天涯海角——蘑菇來自于森林，谷物來自于田地，水果來自于果園，而魚來自于湖海。

Meals vary from family to family but usually include a special soup followed by many elegant fish preparations, vegetables, and pierogi.

每家的飯菜都不同，但通常都包括一種特制的湯，還有許多精致的魚肉餐、蔬菜和半圓形小酥餅。

Czech Republic

捷克共和國

The Czech version of Saint Nick is known as Svaty Mikulas, who is said to climb down to Earth from the heavens using a golden rope. Mikulas is accompanied by an angel and a devil who help him decide which girls and boys deserve treats and toys, and which ones deserve a swatch.

捷克人稱圣誕老人為“米庫拉斯”(Svaty Mikulas)。據(jù)說他用一根金繩從天堂爬到了大地。陪在他身邊的是一位天使和一位惡魔。他們倆決定哪些男孩女孩值得得到美食和玩具而哪些孩子該被鞭打一頓。

There are a lot of fortune-telling traditions that are associated with Christmas as well. One involves a family member cutting a branch from a cherry tree and putting it inside in water. If it blooms in time for Christmas it is good luck. It also may represent that the winter will be short, or if a single woman picked the branch, it could mean she will get married in the next year.

圣誕節(jié)也有一些算命的習(xí)俗。其中有一個(gè)是家庭成員從櫻桃樹上砍下一根樹枝并把它放入水中。如果它在圣誕節(jié)開了花，就表示好運(yùn)。它也代表冬季會(huì)很短。倘若一位單身女子撿到了這根樹枝，這表示她在明年將會(huì)結(jié)婚。

On Christmas Eve, single woman also try to see if they will get married in the next year by standing outside with their back to their front door, removing one of their shoes and throwing it over their shoulder. If the shoe lands with the toe facing the door, then she will marry in the next year. If not, she will have to wait at least another 12 months.

在平安夜，單身女子還會(huì)通過“扔鞋子”來測試自己明年是否會(huì)結(jié)婚。她們在屋外背對(duì)前門站著，脫下一只鞋，把它從肩上向后扔。如果鞋子落地時(shí)鞋頭朝門，這就表示她們明年將會(huì)結(jié)婚。如果鞋子鞋尾朝門，她們就得再等個(gè)一年了。

Austria

奧地利

Austrian children still get to celebrate the arrival of Ol’ Saint Nick, but they also have to brace themselves for the arrival of his evil counterpart, Krampus. Where Saint Nicholas rewards good behavior with treats and toys on December 6, the demonic Krampus arrives on December 5, looking to punish all the bad children. His weapons of choice are birch switches to beat children with and burlap sacks to kidnap them and throw them into the river. The worst part is that local men actually dress up like Krampus (just like many men dress up as Santa in America) and terrorize the streets. In some villages, kids are even made to run what is known as a Krampus-gauntlet, in an attempt to outrun the switches.

地利的孩子們慶祝圣誕老人的到來，但同時(shí)他們也得迎來邪惡的克拉普斯(Krampus)。圣誕老人在12月6號(hào)給表現(xiàn)好的孩子送美食、發(fā)玩具。而惡魔般的克拉普斯5號(hào)就到了，意在懲罰所有的壞孩子。他把樺樹枝做的鞭子當(dāng)武器，還用粗麻袋綁架他們，把他們?nèi)拥胶永?。最糟糕的是，?dāng)?shù)氐哪惺繒?huì)打扮的像克拉普斯(就像許多美國人打扮的像圣誕老人一樣)，在街上嚇唬小孩子。在很多村莊里，很多小孩子甚至必須接受“克拉普斯大挑戰(zhàn)”，他們努力比克拉普斯的鞭子跑得更快。

France

法國

Children of East France have an evil visitor to keep them behaving all year long. Le Pere Fouettard, which translates into “The Whipping Father,” accompanies Saint Nicolas in on December 6. While St. Nick gives good children presents, Le Pere Fouettard gives coal and whippings to the naughty children.

法國東部的孩子們有個(gè)邪惡的造訪者，他叫“鞭子老爹”(Le Pere Fouettard)，確保孩子們一整年都表現(xiàn)乖巧。圣誕老人12月6號(hào)給孩子分發(fā)禮物時(shí)，他也陪伴左右。“鞭子老爹”會(huì)給淘氣的孩子煤塊和一頓鞭子。

One of the most popular origin stories of the character say that he was a greedy inn keeper who killed three rich boys on their way to boarding school. In many versions of the story, he even eats the children. Whether or not he cannibalizes the boys, the story ends when Saint Nick finds out and resurrects the children and forces Le Pere Fouettard to act as his servant throughout time.

關(guān)于“鞭子老爹”這個(gè)人物的起源，最流行的一個(gè)版本是說，他是一個(gè)貪婪的旅館老板，在三個(gè)富男孩上學(xué)路上把他們殺了。很多其他版本甚至流傳他吃小孩。故事的結(jié)局是圣誕老人找到并救出了孩子們，還迫使“鞭子老爹”永世做他的仆人。

Aside from The Whipping Father, another popular French tradition involves making a cake that looks like a traditional Yule log, known as buche de Noel. Christmas trees never really caught on in the country and while most people don’t have any use for an actual Yule log, the cake is a fun and festive substitute. Some of the buche de Nol can get fairly elaborate and even involve meringue mushrooms and edible flower decorations.

除了“鞭子老爹”的故事，法國圣誕還有一個(gè)傳統(tǒng)是做“圣誕柴蛋糕”。其實(shí)圣誕樹從未風(fēng)靡全法國。雖然圣誕柴對(duì)法國人來說沒什么實(shí)際用途，但這個(gè)蛋糕代表了人們的愉快和節(jié)日的喜慶。有些“圣誕柴蛋糕”做得相當(dāng)精致，甚至有蛋白酥皮小蘑菇和能吃的花朵裝飾品。

Germany

德國

Belsnickel is the German Santa’s dark enforcer, but he’s not nearly as evil as Krumpus or The Whipping Father. Instead he just wears fur from head to toe and gives good girls and boys candy and bad children coal and switches.

貝爾森克(Belsnickel)是德國圣誕老人的懲罰執(zhí)行者，但他沒克拉普斯或鞭子老爹那么邪惡。他從頭到腳穿著毛皮，給好孩子們發(fā)糖果，給壞孩子們煤塊和一頓鞭子。

Many are decorated with a wreath known as an “Adventskranz.” These wreaths have four candles which serve as a sort of weekly advent calendar, as each Sunday marks the opportunity to light a new candle.

許多地方都裝飾有“降臨節(jié)花環(huán)”(Adventskranz)。花環(huán)上有四只蠟燭，代表著降臨節(jié)周歷。每周日都點(diǎn)燃一只蠟燭。四只都被點(diǎn)燃時(shí)就意味著圣誕節(jié)到了。

On December 21, St. Thomas Day is believed to be the shortest day of the year and anyone who arrives late to work is called a “Thomas Donkey.” They are also given a cardboard donkey and made fun of throughout the rest of the day.

12月21日是“圣·托馬斯日”(St. Thomas Day)，據(jù)說是一年中最短的一天。任何在這一天上班遲到的人都被叫做“托馬斯驢子”，他們還會(huì)收到一個(gè)紙板做的驢子，并且被嘲笑一整天。

Like many places in Europe, the Christmas tree is kept secret from the children until Christmas Eve. The parents bring the tree in, decorate it with candies, tinsel, lights and toys, put presents and plates of candy treats under the tree and then ring a bell signaling that the children can enter. The children then get to eat snacks and the whole family opens presents.

跟歐洲許多地方一樣，在德國，圣誕樹直到平安夜才能讓孩子們看到。父母們把圣誕樹拉出來，裝飾上蠟燭、金屬亮片、彩燈和玩具，把禮物和一碟碟的糖果放在樹下，然后搖一下鈴，表示孩子們可以進(jìn)來了。小孩子們便可以吃小吃，全家一起打開禮物。

Greece

希臘

Residents will fill a shallow bowl with water and then tie wire with a wooden cross and a sprig of basil over the bowl. Once a day the cross and basil are dipped into holy water, which is then sprinkled through the house. This ceremony is used to keep out goblins, known as Killikantzaroi out of the house.

希臘人會(huì)將一只淺碗灌滿水，然后用金屬絲把一個(gè)木制十字架和羅勒小枝系在碗上。每天都要把十字架和羅勒枝浸到圣水中，然后滿屋撒圣水。這個(gè)禮節(jié)是用來防止小妖精(Killikantzaroi)進(jìn)屋。

These mischievous goblins that come from the center of the earth only appear during the twelve days of Christmas. While bratty, they’re not really evil and tend to do bratty things like souring milk and extinguishing fires. Because they are said to enter the house through the fireplace, fires are left burning all day and night during this time of year.

這些愛惡作劇的小妖精來自地球的中心，只在圣誕這十二天出現(xiàn)。它們雖然討厭，但不是真正的惡魔，只是會(huì)做討厭的事情，例如撒出牛奶和熄滅爐火。據(jù)說它們是從房子的壁爐進(jìn)來的，因此希臘人在圣誕期間白天和夜晚都會(huì)燃著爐火。

Iceland

冰島

Icelandic children were once told to behave or they would be eaten by a pair of ogres that lived up in the hills. The characters were considered to be so terrifying that a public decree banned the use of these stories to scare children into behaving.

冰島的孩子們曾經(jīng)被告知，如果表現(xiàn)不好就會(huì)被住在山上的食人魔夫婦吃掉。由于“食人魔”形象太過恐怖，冰島頒布了一項(xiàng)公開法令，禁止用這個(gè)故事來嚇唬不聽話的小孩子。

Instead of talking about the ogre couple, parents instead started telling stories of the ogre’s children, the Jolasveinar, who are bad, but not nearly as evil as their parents. Jolasveinars were originally said to play tricks on people and steal food, but now they are responsible for giving gifts to children. Bad children don’t get presents though, they get potatoes or other items that remind them that they weren’t forgotten, but don’t deserve real presents.

父母們不再講食人魔夫婦，轉(zhuǎn)而講他們倆的孩子(Jolasveinar)。食人魔小孩很壞，但不像他的爸媽那樣邪惡。據(jù)說食人魔小孩經(jīng)常捉弄人們，還偷食物。但他們現(xiàn)在負(fù)責(zé)給孩子們發(fā)禮物。壞孩子們雖然得不到禮物，但他們得到土豆或者其他物品，這是用來告訴他們，他們沒被遺忘，但不值得得到真正的禮物。

Italy

意大利

In Italy, there is no Santa, but instead there a woman called a Befana that performs the general duties of Saint Nick. The story is that the three wise men stopped during their travels and asked a woman for food and shelter. She said no, but later realized her mistake when it was too late. She now travels the earth looking for the baby Jesus and on January 6th, she leaves kids a sock filled with candy or a lump of coal.

意大利沒有圣誕老人，但有一個(gè)叫貝法娜(Befana)的女巫，她履行圣誕老人一般的職責(zé)。據(jù)說從前有三位智者在旅行中請求一位女士給些吃的，并能讓他們留宿，但女士拒絕了。她接著意識(shí)到了自己的錯(cuò)誤，但這已經(jīng)太晚了。如今她環(huán)游全球，尋找嬰孩時(shí)的耶穌，并會(huì)在1月6號(hào)給孩子們留下裝滿糖果或煤塊的襪子。

Japan

日本

While most Japanese residents are not Christian, the majority of people still celebrate Christmas just for the fun of it. Unsurprisingly, the rituals are slightly different than those we are used to. Because KFC has marketed the idea that fried chicken is the traditional meal for the holidays, the restaurants are so busy on Christmas Day that reservations are required.

盡管大多數(shù)日本人都不是基督徒，但絕大多數(shù)人都圖個(gè)好玩兒來慶祝圣誕節(jié)。儀式跟我們所熟知的稍有不同，這不足為奇。由于肯德基已經(jīng)推廣了“炸雞是圣誕傳統(tǒng)小吃”這一概念，節(jié)日當(dāng)天肯德基餐館業(yè)務(wù)太繁忙，顧客需要預(yù)訂才能買到炸雞。

Most of the holiday celebrations revolve around romantic love more than family relationships and bakeries even sell cakes for sweethearts.

節(jié)日慶祝活動(dòng)大多以浪漫愛情為主題，而非家庭親情。面包店甚至?xí)o甜食控們提供蛋糕。

Children still have a Santa figure though, only in this case, he is a traditional Japanese god who is known for his generosity. Hoteiosho is a heavy-set Buddhist priest who carries a large sack of presents. Children know they have to be good because Hoteiosho has eyes in the back of his head.

但是孩子們還是有一個(gè)圣誕老人形象(Hoteiosho)的。他是傳統(tǒng)的日本神，以慷慨著稱。他的形象是一個(gè)身材魁梧的佛教徒，背著一大麻袋禮物。孩子們都知道自己得好好表現(xiàn)，因?yàn)槭フQ老人后腦勺上長了眼睛。

Ukraine

烏克蘭

While the story about German families hiding a pickle ornament on their tree is false, Ukrainians actually do hide a spider web ornament on their tree and it is supposed to be good luck for the person who finds it. The story behind the tradition is that an old widow had no money to decorate her tree and went to bed upset that her children would have an undecorated tree the next day. While she was asleep, a spider decorated the tree with a beautiful web. When the first light of day hit the webs, they turned to silver and gold and the widow and her children never went longing again.

盡管德國家庭在樹上藏泡菜裝飾物的故事是假的，但烏克蘭人事實(shí)上的確會(huì)在樹上藏一個(gè)蜘蛛網(wǎng)裝飾物，據(jù)說這可以為找到它的人帶來好運(yùn)。這個(gè)傳統(tǒng)背后的故事是，有一個(gè)老寡婦沒有錢來裝飾圣誕樹，她沮喪地上床睡覺，因?yàn)樗暮⒆拥诙熘荒艿玫揭活w沒有任何裝飾的樹。然而，當(dāng)她醒來時(shí)，一只蜘蛛用一張漂亮的網(wǎng)裝飾了圣誕樹。當(dāng)?shù)谝豢|晨光照到網(wǎng)上時(shí)，網(wǎng)變成了銀子和金子，老婦人和她的孩子從此再也不愁錢花了。