VOA慢速英語:Is His Name Santa Claus, Saint Nicholas, Kris Kringle or Pelznickel? Who Cares, So Long As He Brings Gifts!

Now, the Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.

這里是美國之音慢速英語詞匯掌故節(jié)目。

Santa Claus is someone who will remain in the hearts of children forever. He is the make-believe person who brings toys and other gifts to children at Christmas.

圣誕老人(Santa Claus)會一直留在孩子們的記憶中。他是虛構出來在圣誕節(jié)會給孩子們帶來玩具和禮物的人物。

To grown-ups, he is a special symbol of goodwill and selfless giving. Santa Claus also has some other names: Saint Nicholas, St. Nick, Kris Kringle, Pelznickel.

對成年人來說，他是善意和無私付出的特殊象征。圣誕老人還有其它一些名字：圣·尼古拉斯(Saint Nicholas)、圣·尼克(St. Nick)、里斯·柯林格勒(Kris Kringle)、佩爾茲尼克(Pelznickel)。

Two of his names -- Santa Claus and Saint Nicholas -- both come from the Dutch who settled in New York long ago. The Dutch believed Saint Nikolas gave gifts to children. They honored this kindly saint with a yearly festival on December sixth.

Santa Claus和Saint Nicholas這兩個名字都來自許多年前來紐約定居的荷蘭人。荷蘭人認為，圣·尼古拉斯送給了孩子們禮物。他們在每年12月6日紀念這位和善的圣徒。

The English-speaking people who lived nearby greatly enjoyed Dutch festivals. And they brought the saint and the custom of giving gifts into their own celebration at Christmas time. The Dutch spoke the name "Saint Nikolaas" very fast. It sounded like "sinterklaas." And so, when the English said this word, it sounded like Santa Claus.

住在附近的講英語的人非常喜歡這個荷蘭人的節(jié)日。他們把這位圣徒和送禮物的習俗帶到了自己的圣誕節(jié)慶?；顒又?。荷蘭人念“Saint Nikolaas”這個名字時語速非?？?，聽起來就像是“sinterklaas”。因此用英語念這個詞時聽起來就像是Santa Claus。

West of New York, in Pennsylvania, many German farmers had also heard of Saint Nikolas. But they called him Pelznickel. This word came from "pelz," meaning fur, and "nickel" for Nicholas. And so, to the Germans of Pennsylvania, Saint Nicholas or Pelznickel was a man dressed in fur who came once a year with gifts for good children.

在紐約西部的賓夕法尼亞州，許多德國農民也聽說過Saint Nikolas。但他們稱其為Pelznickel。這個詞來自“Pelz”，意思是皮衣，而“nickel”的意思是Nicholas。所以，對賓夕法尼亞州的德國人來說，Saint Nicholas或Pelznickel就是一位穿著皮衣，一年一次來給好孩子分發(fā)禮物的人。

Soon, people began to feel that the love and kindness Pelznickel brought should be part of a celebration honoring the Christkindl, as the Germans called the Christ child. After a time, this became Kris Kringle. Later, Kris Kringle became another name for Santa Claus himself.

很快，人們開始覺得，Pelznickel帶來的仁愛和善良應該成為紀念Christkindl活動的一部分，德國人稱Christkindl為基督圣嬰(Christ child)。過了一段時間，這演變成了Kris Kringle。Kris Kringle成為了圣誕老人的又一個名字。

Whatever he is called, he is still the same short, fat, jolly old man with a long beard, wearing a red suit with white fur.

無論圣誕老人被稱作什么，他一直是那位留著長胡子，穿著帶有白色皮毛的紅外套的矮胖、快活的老人。

The picture of Santa Claus as we see him came from Thomas Nast. He was an American painter born in Bavaria. He painted pictures for Christmas poems. Someone asked him to paint a picture of Santa Claus. Nast remembered when he was a little boy in southern Germany. Every Christmas, a fat old man gave toys and cakes to the children. So, when Nast painted the picture, his Santa Claus looked like the kindly old man of his childhood.

我們看到的這張圣誕老人畫像出自托馬斯·納斯特(Thomas Nast)，他是一名出生在德國巴伐利亞州的美國畫家。他為圣誕詩歌配圖，有人便讓他畫一副圣誕老人的畫像。納斯特還記得居住在德國南部時的孩提時代，每年圣誕節(jié)都有一位胖胖的老人送給孩子們玩具和禮物。所以，當納斯特畫這幅畫時，他畫的圣誕老人看起來就像他孩提時代的那位善良的老人。

And through the years, Nast’s painting has remained as the most popular picture of Santa Claus.

這么多年來，納斯特畫的圣誕老人一直最受歡迎。

Santa can be seen almost everywhere in large American cities during the Christmas season. Some stand on street corners asking for money to buy food and gifts for the needy. Others are found in stores and shopping centers. It is easy to find them by the long lines of children waiting to tell Santa what they want for Christmas. If one took a vote among children to learn who their favorite person was, there is no question who would win -- Santa Claus.

圣誕節(jié)期間，圣誕老人在美國大城市里隨處可見。有些圣誕老人站在街角募集善款為有需要的人購買食物和禮物，還有些圣誕老人在商店或購物中心。要找到他們很容易，因為孩子們都排著長隊等著告訴圣誕老人他們想要什么樣的圣誕禮物。如果在孩子們中間一人一票選出他們最喜歡的人，毫無疑問圣誕老人會當選。