My Chinese father in law sent me a WeChat message on Christmas Day addressing his grandkids saying something to the effect of “when you get gifts today, remember to ask your dad and mom the origin of Santa Claus, Christmas trees, why it occurs on December 25, etc and have them tell us.”
我的中国岳父在圣诞节当天给我发了一条微信转给他的两个孙女儿大意是“今天收到礼物的时候，记得问爸爸妈妈圣诞老人、圣诞树的由来，为什么在十二月 25 庆祝等，让他们告诉我们。”
I responded with my understanding of things and a caveat that I didn’t look it up, but that’s how I see it. Waking up early this morning, this of course encouraged me to look it up a bit afterward. I did see a few interesting things. I thought Christmas trees came from Germany or Finland and weren’t necessarily Christian in origin. I was partially right.
我以我对事物的理解作为回应，并说我没有查过，核实过，只是这样理解。后来，今天起得早，就想查阅一下。 我确实看到了一些有趣的信息。 我原来认为圣诞树来自德国或芬兰，不一定起源于基督教。 我是部分正确的。有趣的如下：
Interesting what I saw here:
https://www.history.com/topics/christmas/history-of-christmas-trees
“Germany is credited with starting the Christmas tree tradition as we now know it in the 16th century when devout Christians brought decorated trees into their homes. Some built Christmas pyramids of wood and decorated them with evergreens and candles if wood was scarce. It is a widely held belief that Martin Luther, the 16th-century Protestant reformer, first added lighted candles to a tree. Walking toward his home one winter evening, composing a sermon, he was awed by the brilliance of stars twinkling amidst evergreens. To recapture the scene for his family, he erected a tree in the main room and wired its branches with lighted candles.”
“德国被誉为圣诞树传统的开创者，正如我们现在所知道的那样，在 16 世纪，虔诚的基督徒将装饰过的圣诞树带进了他们的家中。 有些人用木头建造圣诞金字塔，如果木头稀缺，就用常青树和蜡烛装饰它们。 人们普遍认为，16 世纪的新教改革者马丁路德首先在树上点上了蜡烛。 一个冬天的晚上，他在回家的路上，正在写一篇布道文，他被常青树中闪烁的星星所震撼。 为了让他的家人重现这一场景，他在主房间里竖起了一棵树，并在树枝上点上了蜡烛。”
I also thought it was interesting to reflect on the meaning of “Merry Christmas” in Chinese, which effectively is “Happy Holy Birth”, a much more direct treatment than many communicate. Chinese are known for “high context” communication, but this one is fairly direct.
我也认为中文“圣诞快乐”的含义很有趣，实际上是“Happy Holy Birthday”，很直接。 中国人以“高语境”交流着称，但这个 名称相当直接。
Granted, most in China seem to recognize Christmas by its consumerist traditions e.g. spending money, giving gifts, having parties and being with family. But, it’s recognized as a largely western religious holiday as well.
很显然，大多数中国人似乎通过其消费主义传统来认识圣诞节，例如 花钱，送礼物，开派对，和家人在一起。 但是，圣诞节也被公认为主要是西方的宗教节日。
And, what I find interesting is that Xmas is a Christian tradition of sorts as well. Here is an interesting article highlighting that since Christianity endured persecution in the early church and was illegal, X was a symbol (‘Chi’ in the Greek alphabet) that believers used to distinguish themselves and location.
而且，我觉得有趣的是，Xmas这样缩写Christmas也是某种基督教传统。 这里有一篇有趣的文章强调，由于基督教在早期教会遭受迫害并且是非法的，因此X是信徒用来区分自己和位置的符号（希腊字母中的’Chi’）
I found the Chi-Ro symbol (X and P in the Greek alphabet, representing ‘Christ’) particularly compelling. A symbol that Christians used to distinguish themselves under a persecutive culture. And, inevitably used by emperor Constantine on his battle standard.
我发现 Chi-Ro 符号（希腊字母中的 X 和 P，代表“基督”）特别引人注目。 基督徒在迫害文化下用来区分自己的象征。 并且，君士坦丁大帝决定使用在他的盾牌上。
This piece is brief and doesn’t really delve into larger issues. But, it’s clear from a cursory look that Christmas is a compelling tradition overall. And, that no matter which angle or at which point in time one looks, Jesus Christ is central to Christmas. And, it looks like, always has been.
这篇文章很简短，并没有真正深入探讨更大的问题。 但是，粗略地看一下，圣诞节总体上是一个引人注目的传统。 而且，无论从哪个角度或在哪个时间点看，耶稣基督都是圣诞节的中心。 而且，看起来，一直都是。
So, Happy Holy Birth to all!
那么，圣诞节快乐！🎄
Stark Discussion 