【功夫汉语】圣诞树，圣诞袜，还有那圣诞卡，你知道这些习俗怎么来的吗？[中英双语] 要价|放到|价值|街头

圣诞节又到了，又是一个天上飞着驯鹿、家里摆着圣诞树、树下还有礼物的日子。
不过，小伙伴们虽然对西方庆祝圣诞的方式已经不再陌生，但你知道这些习俗都是如何起源的吗？英国《每日电讯报》总结了10种庆祝圣诞节的习俗以及它们的来历。我们为大家做了一个梳理，小伙伴们不妨一边玩耍，一边涨涨知识。

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编辑?圣诞卡片Christmas Card
Having helped set up the Public Records Office (now the Post Office), Sir Henry Cole and artist John Horsley created the first Christmas card in 1843 as a way of encouraging people to use its services.在协助成立了公共档案室（后发展成现代邮局）之后，亨利·科尔爵士和艺术家约翰·霍斯利在1843年一起制作了世界上第一张圣诞卡片，以此来鼓励人们使用公共档案室的服务。
Cards cost a shilling (equivalent to almost ￡5.75 now) and stamps a penny (about 40p at modern prices). Advances in printing brought prices down, making cards hugely popular by the 1860s. By 1900 the custom of sending Christmas cards had spread throughout Europe.当时一张圣诞卡值一先令（大致相当于现在的5.75镑），一张邮票一便士（大概相当于今天的40便士）。印刷术的进步使得卡片和邮票更加便宜，也让圣诞卡片在19世纪60年代变得极为流行。到1900年时，赠送圣诞卡片的习俗已经传遍欧洲。

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编辑?圣诞树The Christmas Tree
While Christmas trees have been around for a millennium in northern Europe, the first one did not appear in the UK until the 1830s. When Prince Albert put up a Christmas tree at Windsor Castle in 1841, he started what became an evergreen trend.尽管圣诞树已经在北欧流行了近千年，但英国直到19世纪30年代才有了第一棵真正意义上的圣诞树。1841年，当阿尔伯特亲王在温莎城堡上第一次竖起圣诞树的时候，他开启了这一长青不衰的传统。
百果馅饼Mince Pies
Early mince pies were made of meat, fruit and spice and inspired by Middle Eastern cuisine brought back by the Crusaders.受十字军东征带回的中东饮食启发，早期的百果馅饼包含了肉馅、水果和香料。
They commonly had 13 ingredients representing Christ and the Apostles, and were formed in a large oval shape to represent the manger. Meat had disappeared from the recipe by Victorian times, although beef suet is often still included.通常来说，百果馅饼包含13种原料，分别代表着耶稣和十二使徒。而馅饼的椭圆形状则代表着耶稣降生的马槽。自维多利亚时期起，配料就不再包含肉馅了，但牛油仍然是常用原料。

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编辑?圣诞长袜Stockings
Leaving stockings out at Christmas goes back to the legend of St Nicholas. Known as the gift giver, on one occasion he sent bags of gold down a chimney at the home of a poor man who had no dowry for his unmarried daughters. The gold fell into stockings left hanging to dry. St Nicholas was later referred to by the Dutch as Sinterklaas and eventually, by English-speakers, as Santa Claus.在圣诞节摆放圣诞长袜的传统，要追溯到圣·尼古拉斯的事迹。他是一个乐善好施的人。曾经有个穷人付不起女儿的嫁妆，他就顺着那家人的烟囱，往他家里扔了几包黄金。黄金正好掉进了挂在壁炉烘干的袜子里。圣·尼古拉斯后来被荷兰人称作“Sinterklaas”，最终被英语国家的人称作“圣诞老人”。