圣诞老人的来历
As winter rolls around again this year and the days become chillier, millions of people around the world will break out their winter coats and look forward with anticipation to the approaching holiday season. That's right, Christmas is upon us again. For some, that means digging out those old lights and ornaments out of the closet to hang on the Christmas tree. For others, it means frantic days of gift-shopping at the mall. For many children, Christmas is the season of Santa Claus, that mysterious and jolly invader of chimneys, soaring through the sky on his magical sled, bearing gifts for the nice and coal for the naughty. Most people who celebrate Christmas are familiar with the figure of Santa Claus. However, few know the details of his origins or the fairly complex history of his development. The figure of Santa Claus actually has many different origins and is derived from a variety of traditions. Elements from these different traditions became incorporated together with time and produced the Santa Claus that we know today. The primary inspiration for Santa Claus is the 4th century Christian bishop Saint Nicholas of Myra. Nicholas resided in the ancient Lycian town of Myra, located in Byzantine Anatolia. Having devoted his entire life to Christianity at a young age, Nicholas became known for his generous gifts to the poor. One famous story tells of how he presented three impoverished daughters of a faithful Christian with dowries so that they would not have to become prostitutes. Today, we continue to use Saint Nicholas (or Saint Nick) as a pseudonym for Santa Claus. Elements of Santa Claus folklore are also derived from Germanic traditions. In Proto-Germanic mythology, the god Odin would host a great hunting party for the gods and fallen warriors each year at Yule. It was an old tradition for children to fill their boots with carrots, straw, or sugar and place them near the chimney for Odin's flying horse, Sleipnir, to eat. Odin would then replace Sleipnir's food with gifts or candy to reward those children for their kindness. These practices survived after Germany's Christianization (also Belgium and the Netherlands) and the practice became associated with Saint Nicholas. Today, children continue to place stockings or socks near the chimney for Santa to place gifts in. In the Netherlands, Saint Nicholas is also known by the shortened form of his name Sinterklass. The popular North American form Santa Claus is actually a mispronunciation of the Dutch form. Parallels in the lore of Santa's helpers can also be traced to stories told in the Netherlands about a young Ethiopian slave boy named Peter. According to the story, Saint Nicholas freed Peter from a Myra market, and the boy was so thankful he decided to stay with Nicholas as a helper. In Dutch, Nicholas's helper is known as Zwarte Piet (black Peter). Many have felt the name to contain racial connotations. Today, Zwarte Piet has become a modern servant who has a black face because he climbs through chimneys and gets soot all over him. |