The Origin of Christmas 圣诞节的起源
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 porce 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 pides 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.
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。
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Christmas Day 圣诞节
Christmas Day falls on the twenty-fifth of December.It is a very happy day for many boys and girls .Before the term ends in some schools ,the children act a nativity or birth play,showing how Jesus was born in a stable.
On the twenty-fourth of December,all children are very excited.Usually they are sent to bed early so that their parents can get the presents ready.The younger children think that Father Christmas will come down the chimney or fireplace ,so they hang up a sock for him to put presents in.The greedy ones even hang up a pillow-case or a sack to try to get more presents.Later that night,Father or Mother will put presents in the sock,and leave others at the side of the bed.
On Christmas morning,the children wake up very early.Some even turn on the light at two oclock,and most of them are awake by six oclock although it is not light in England for another hour or two at this time of the year.Children look for their presents ,and the young ones play while the dinner is prepared.At about one oclock in the afternoon,the Christmas dinner is brought in .The turkey or chicken is quickly eaten .Children search in their Christmas pudding for new coins which are hidden in it .The rest of the day is full of games and eating until the happiest of all Christmas hollidays comes to an end.
圣诞节在12月25日,它对男孩女孩们来说是快乐的一天.在一些学校学期结束前,孩子们会扮演些,耶稣怎样降生的.
在12月24日,所有的孩子都非常兴奋.通常他们会很早的就去睡了这样他们的父母就可以准备礼物.一些小孩认为圣诞老人会从烟囱或火炉中来,因此他们会悬挂袜子让(圣诞老人)放礼物.一些贪心的会挂枕垫或大袋,来拿