双语新闻：圣诞老人的故事

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. To grown-ups, he is a special symbol of good will and selfless giving.

圣诞老人是一个永远留在孩子们心中的人。他是一个虚构的人，在圣诞节给孩子们带来玩具和其他礼物。对成年人来说，他是善意和无私奉献的特殊象征。

Santa Claus also has some other names, like Saint Nicholas, Kris Kringle and Pelznickel.

圣诞老人还有其他一些名字，比如圣尼古拉斯、克里斯·克林格和佩尔兹尼克尔。

The Santa Claus we talk about in the United States flies from his home at the North Pole on Christmas Eve to bring toys and gifts to children. The happy, white-bearded man is dressed in red. He usually flies on a sleigh led by his reindeer. Santa enters each home through the chimney and fills children's stockings with toys and gifts.

我们在美国谈论的圣诞老人在平安夜从他在北极的家飞出来，给孩子们带来玩具和礼物。这个快乐的白胡子男人穿着红色的衣服。他通常乘驯鹿拉的雪橇飞行。圣诞老人通过烟囱进入每家每户，在孩子们的袜子里装满玩具和礼物。

This modern image of Santa Claus largely comes from Clement Clark Moore's famous poem, A Visit from St. Nicholas.

圣诞老人的现代形象主要来自克莱门特·克拉克·摩尔的著名诗歌《圣尼古拉斯的来访》。

‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

那是圣诞节的前一晚，房子里到处都是

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;

没有一个动物在走动，甚至连一只老鼠也没有;

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

袜子被小心地挂在烟囱旁，

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there...

希望圣尼古拉斯很快就会出现……

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,

他一句话也没说，直接去工作了，

And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,

装满了所有的袜子;然后猛地转过身来，

And laying his finger aside of his nose,

他把手指从鼻子上挪开，

And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;

他点了点头，爬上了烟囱;

Santa Claus is believed to have come from the story of St. Nicholas. He was a 4th-century clergy in the Mediterranean port city of Myra, part of modern-day Turkey. It is said that St. Nicholas gave away all his wealth to help the poor and the sick. History.com says St. Nicholas became known as the protector of children and sailors. It adds that he was the most popular saint in Europe.

圣诞老人被认为是来自圣尼古拉斯的故事。公元4世纪，他是地中海港口城市米拉(现土耳其的一部分)的一名神职人员。据说圣尼古拉斯捐出了他所有的财富来帮助穷人和病人。History.com网站称，圣尼古拉斯以儿童和水手的保护者而闻名。它补充说，他是欧洲最受欢迎的圣人。

In the 18th century, Dutch immigrants brought the story of Saint Nikolaas and the tradition of gift-giving to New York City. The Dutch said his name very quickly. It sounded like "Sinterklaas." When English speakers said this word, it sounded like Santa Claus.

18世纪，荷兰移民把圣尼古拉的故事和送礼物的传统带到了纽约市。荷兰人很快地说出了他的名字。听起来像“Sinterklaas”。当说英语的人说这个词的时候，听起来像圣诞老人。

German immigrants working as farmers in the American state of Pennsylvania also knew of Saint Nikolaas. But they called him Pelznickel. This word came from "pelz," meaning fur in German, and "nickel" for Nicholas. Saint Nikolaasor became a man dressed in fur who came once a year with gifts for good children.

在美国宾夕法尼亚州务农的德国移民也知道圣尼古拉。但他们叫他佩尔兹尼克尔。这个词来自“pelz”，在德语中是皮毛的意思，“nickel”是尼古拉斯的意思。圣尼古拉变成了一个穿着皮草的人，每年来一次，带着礼物送给好孩子。

Pelznickel became part of a celebration honoring the Christkindl, as the Germans called the child of Christ. After some time, Christkindl became "Kris Kringle." That is another name you will hear for Santa Claus.

Pelznickel成为纪念Christkindl(德国人称之为基督之子)的庆祝活动的一部分。过了一段时间，克里斯金德变成了“克里斯·克林格”。这是你会听到的圣诞老人的另一个名字。

A Santa-liked figure is known as Father Christmas in Britain and Père Noel in France. In Scandinavia, an elf named Jultomten was thought to deliver gifts in a sleigh drawn by goats. In Italy, a woman called La Befana rides a broomstick down the chimneys of homes to bring toys for lucky children.

喜欢圣诞老人的人在英国被称为Father Christmas，在法国被称为Père Noel。在斯堪的纳维亚半岛，一个名叫Jultomten的精灵被认为坐在山羊拉的雪橇上送礼物。在意大利，一位名叫La Befana的妇女骑着扫帚沿着烟囱往下走，给幸运的孩子们带来玩具。

The image of Santa Claus as we now see him came from Thomas Nast. He was an American painter born in Bavaria, Germany.

我们现在看到的圣诞老人形象来自托马斯·纳斯特。他是一位出生于德国巴伐利亚的美国画家。

Nast remembered that, when he was a little boy, a kind old man would give toys and cakes to the children on Christmas. So, when Nast painted Santa Claus, he looked like the old man from his childhood.

纳斯特记得，当他还是个小男孩的时候，一位善良的老人会在圣诞节给孩子们分发玩具和蛋糕。所以，当纳斯特画圣诞老人时，他看起来就像他童年时的那个老人。

Nast painted Santa as a short, fat, jolly old man with a long beard. He wore a red suit with white fur. He also gave Santa a North Pole workshop, elves, and a wife, Mrs. Claus. Through the years, Nast's painting has remained the most popular picture of Santa Claus.

纳斯特把圣诞老人描绘成一个又矮又胖，留着长胡子的快乐老人。他穿了一件镶着白毛的红衣服。他还送给圣诞老人一个北极工作间、小精灵和一位妻子——圣诞老人夫人。多年来，纳斯特的这幅画一直是最受欢迎的圣诞老人画像。

American children write letters to Santa hoping to be on his "nice list" for Christmas gifts. On Christmas Eve, they leave cookies and milk for Santa and carrots for his reindeer: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and "the most famous reindeer of all," Rudolph.

美国孩子写信给圣诞老人，希望能在他的圣诞礼物“好清单”上。在平安夜，他们给圣诞老人留下饼干和牛奶，给他的驯鹿留下胡萝卜:Dasher、Dancer、Prancer、Vixen、Comet、Cupid、Donner、Blitzen和“最著名的驯鹿”Rudolph。