八個最奇特的圣誕節(jié)習俗

　　8 truly strange christmas customs

　　the holiday called christmas is an amalgam of many winter holidays from around the world. the name is designated as a celebration of the birth of jesus, although the date is not recorded in the bible, and people at that time did not place particular important on birth dates. scientists say the actual date was june 17th, 2bc because of the appearance of the star that beckoned the magi. december 25th was set as the date for christmas in the 4th century by pope julius i as an attempt to christianize midwinter pagan holidays such as solstice and saturnalia. customs such as bringing evergreens inside, eating fat-laden foods, and hanging lights are universal responses to the cold, dark winter season. some of the stranger christmas traditions are remnants of those older pagan holidays, and some have been changed over the centuries until their origins are hard to discern. others were just made up to boost business!

　　krampus

　　st. nicholas, father christmas, or santa claus is the weirdest christmas tradition ever, but he is so well known and so well documented that his origins are beyond the scope of this particular post. as a tool to encourage good behavior in children, santa serves as the carrot, and krampus is the stick. krampus is the evil demon anti-santa, or maybe his evil twin. krampus night is celebrated on december 5th, the eve of st. nicholas day in austria and other parts of europe. people dress as krampus and roam the streets looking for someone to beat with a stick. since it is also a night for drinking, the beatings probably don’t hurt much. (image by flickr user salendron.)

　　圣誕節(jié)是全世界冬季節(jié)日的集合。之所以取名為圣誕節(jié)，是為著紀念耶穌的誕生，盡管《圣經(jīng)中》并未記載耶穌誕生的具體日期，那個時期的人對出生日期也不甚重視�？茖W家說，具體日期實為公元前2年6月17日，因為在那一天，昭示東方三博士的星星出現(xiàn)了。公元前4世紀，為了把一些冬至時期的異教徒節(jié)日（如冬至日和農(nóng)神節(jié)）基督教化，教皇尤利西斯一世把12月25日定為基督誕生日。而一些傳統(tǒng)，如在屋內(nèi)擺置常綠樹，吃油脂豐富的食物，掛小燈，則是在寒冷陰暗的冬季之時，人們的普遍做法。還有一些更為奇特習俗，是古老異教節(jié)日的遺留物；一些歷經(jīng)幾個世紀后，變化頗大，已難以溯及其源頭；另外一些則是受商業(yè)利益驅使而生。

　　(“krampus游行””是巴伐利亞地區(qū)和阿爾卑斯山其他一些地區(qū)的傳統(tǒng)活動，每年12月前后舉行。krampus是圣誕老人的原型——圣人尼古拉斯的助手，在當?shù)氐膫髡f中，他肩背一個裝著禮物的大袋子，手拿一根棍子，好孩子可以收到他的禮物，頑皮的孩子則會被棍子敲打。)

　　2. caga tió

　　in english, caga tió is “the pooping log”. really. the catalan custom is still celebrated in spain, where you can buy your own el caga tió. the log is hollowed out, with legs and a face added. you must “feed” him every day beginning on december 8th. on christmas eve or christmas day, put him in the fireplace and beat him with sticks until he poops out small candies, fruits, and nuts. when he is through, the final object dropped is a salt herring, a garlic bulb, or an onion. oh yeah, there is a traditional song the family can sing to encourage the process.

　　poop log,

　　poop turrón,

　　hazelnuts and cottage cheese,

　　if you don’t poop well,

　　i’ll hit you with a stick,

　　poop log!

　　2 caga tió

　　翻成英語，caga tió是指“拉屎的木頭”。是真的。這一習俗源自加泰羅尼亞，西班牙仍然保留著這一傳統(tǒng)，在那里，你可以買到自己的cago tió。木頭是真空的，添了手和腳。從12月8日起，你必須每日“喂養(yǎng)”它，到了圣誕前夕或者圣誕節(jié)當天，再把它放到壁爐里，用棍子打它，直到它拉出小糖果、水果和堅果。拉完后，最后出來的是一條咸魚，一根大蒜或者一段洋蔥。哦，對了，還有一首傳統(tǒng)的歌曲，一家人唱著，鼓勵木頭“拉屎”。

　　拉屎木

　　快拉杏仁

　　拉榛果，拉松軟干酪

　　你要是不好好拉

　　我就拿棍子打你

　　拉屎木

　　3. caganer

　　another catalonian tradition is the caganer, a christmas statue found in nativity scenes in andorra and parts of spain, italy, and portugal. the scenes depict the entire town of bethlehem, and the caganer is usually tucked away in a corner, far from mary and joseph. the caganer needs privacy, because he is defecating. there are quite a few explanations for this custom, but none have been confirmed as the original source. caganers have been used for at least a couple hundred years. you can even buy caganers that resemble modern-day celebrities. (image by flickr users clare_and_ben.)

　　3 caganer

　　另一個加泰羅傳統(tǒng)為caganer的圣誕雕塑，在安道爾、西班牙的部分地區(qū)、意大利以及葡萄牙，人們可以在耶穌誕生布景上看到它。這個場景刻畫了整個伯利恒，而gaganer通常被置于小角落里，遠離圣母瑪利和約瑟夫。它在大便，所以需要私人場所。關于這一習俗有甚多解釋，但是沒有一個被確認為是最初的版本。caganers至少已經(jīng)出現(xiàn)2xx年了。你可以買到仿現(xiàn)代名人的caganers.

　　4. the pickle ornament

　　the story goes that when german families decorate the christmas tree, the last ornament to be hung is the christmas pickle -usually a blown glass ornament that may have been passed down through generations. it is tucked away in a hard-to-see spot (it is green, after all). the first child who finds the pickle on christmas morning gets a special gift and good luck all the next year. the trouble with this legend is that people in germany were unfamiliar with it. glass tree ornaments were indeed made in germany, in the shape of fruits and vegetables and other objects. these ornaments became very popular in america when f.w. woolworth began importing them in the 1880s. an old german legend no doubt helped to sell more glass ornaments! (image by flickr user the queen of subtle.)

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　　4 腌菜裝飾

　　故事是這樣的：德國人在裝飾圣誕樹時，最后掛上去的是一卦圣誕腌菜——通常為吹制的玻璃裝飾物，也許已經(jīng)傳了好幾代了。人們把它藏在隱蔽的地方（它是綠色的）。在圣誕節(jié)的早上，第一個發(fā)現(xiàn)它的孩子可以得到一份特殊的禮物，且來年會有好運氣。問題在于德國人對它并不熟悉。玻璃圣誕樹裝飾品原來是確是產(chǎn)于德國，形似水果、蔬菜或者其他東西。19世紀80年代，f.w.伍爾沃思把它們引進到美國后，這些裝飾便在美國流行開來。古老的德國傳說無疑有助于這些產(chǎn)品的銷售。

　　5. kentucky fried chicken

　　the celebration of christmas in asia usually involves imported western traditions, but in japan those traditions have been shaped by commercial interests. the holiday places special emphasis on romantic love, so it’s a day to spend with a sweetheart or spouse. bakeries sell christmas cakes as traditional sweetheart treats. and you might have to make reservations to get a table at kfc. yes, kentucky fried chicken. the fast food franchise let it be known that fried chicken is traditional for the christmas feast. and so it is -in japan. (image by flickr user sleepytako.)

　　5 肯德基炸雞

　　在亞洲，慶祝圣誕節(jié)通常會涉及到一些泊進的西方傳統(tǒng)，然而，在日本，這些傳統(tǒng)卻被打上了商業(yè)利益的烙印。一到假日，浪漫愛情就顯得分外重要，因此，這一天應該和心愛的人或者配偶一起度過。面包店會推出圣誕蛋糕作為傳統(tǒng)的情人餐。要想在肯德基就餐，你也許還得訂餐。是的，肯德基炸雞。這位快餐界的大哥讓人們以為炸雞是傳統(tǒng)的圣誕大餐。在日本就是這樣。

　　6. zwarte piet

　　zwarte piet, or black peter is santa’s helper in the netherlands. sinterklass arrives on the eve of st. nicholas day in a steamship with his slave zwarte piet, portrayed in public processions in several cities. since about 1850, children who don’t behave during the year were told that black peter might take them back to spain, where sinterklaas lives. the racist aspects of the custom have been downplayed in recent decades, and the tale of black peter now describes him as a chimney sweep instead of a slave, which explains the blackface. but charges of racism still follow black peter, as he is often portrayed with an afro and exaggerated features.

　　6 zwarte piet

　　zwarte piet（德語），意為黑皮特，在荷蘭，人們認為他是圣誕老人的助手。在幾個城市的公眾游行中，描繪了圣誕老人在圣人尼古拉斯日前夕，和奴隸zwarte piet 一起，乘著汽船一起出現(xiàn)的情景。大約從1850年始，若有小孩在這一年中不聽話，大人就會告訴他，黑皮特會把他們帶到圣誕老人居住的西班牙去。在最近幾十年，這一傳統(tǒng)的種族主義成分被淡化，黑皮特也從奴隸變成了掃煙囪的人，這樣也說明了他臉黑的原因。但是由于他經(jīng)常被刻畫成一個有著非洲發(fā)型的夸張形象，對其有關種族主義的控訴仍然不斷。

　　7. tv yule log

　　the yule log is a tradition that dates back hundreds of years. the yule log on tv is a relatively new tradition for those who have no fireplace to burn their own log. wpix in new york has broadcast 24 hours of a burning fireplace on christmas eve and christmas day since 1966. the original film was shot at gracie mansion, but a carpet fire during the first filming made the mayor wary of a reshoot a few years later, so the loop seen now was filmed in california.

　　7 電視圣誕柴

　　圣誕柴這一傳統(tǒng)有幾百年的歷史。而電視圣誕柴則是個相對較新的傳統(tǒng)，主要是為那些沒有燒柴壁爐的人家而設的。從1966年開始，紐約wpix頻道就開始在圣誕節(jié)前夕24小時播放壁爐燃燒的情況。第一次節(jié)目是在市長府邸格雷西公寓拍攝的，但是那一次拍攝引起了地毯起火，幾年之后，市長對重拍警覺起來，因此，現(xiàn)在大家看到的場景是在加利福尼亞拍攝的。

　　8. mari lwyd

　　mari lwyd, an old midwinter custom in wales, is a holdover from pagan celebrations before christmas was introduced. mari lwyd means “gray mare” in english.

　　in its purest form (still to be seen at llangynwyd, near maesteg, every new year’s day) the tradition involves the arrival of the horse and its party at the door of the house or pub, where they sing several introductory verses. then comes a battle of wits (known as pwnco) in which the people inside the door and the mari party outside exchange challenges and insults in rhyme. at the end of the battle, which can be as long as the creativity of the two parties holds out, the mari party enters with another song.

　　the horse in the above scenario is made of a horse’s skull attached to a pole. the person operating the horse is concealed by sheets, and sometimes has a contraption to work the horses jaw! (image by flickr user arosmae.)

　　8 mari lwyd

　　mari lwyd是冬至時威爾士的古老習俗，是在圣誕節(jié)出現(xiàn)之前，異教節(jié)日的變相延續(xù)。mari lwyd在英語中意為“灰色的母驢”

　　這一傳統(tǒng)的最初形式是這樣的：一匹馬和它的派對來到一戶人家或者酒吧前，唱幾首引見的詩歌，接下來是一場斗智賽，屋內(nèi)的人和屋外的mari派對唱著歌互相挑戰(zhàn)對方，辱罵對方。直到雙方詞窮才盡，戰(zhàn)爭進入收尾階段，mari派對再唱著另外一首歌走進屋去。

　　在上一場景中，馬的造型是由系在一根木棒上馬頭顱組成，馬的操控著被布遮蓋住，有時，還有特殊的裝置，可以移動馬的下巴。