Essay A history of Christmas By Kip Cates	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
クリスマスの歴史 クリスマスがイエス・キリストの誕生日だということは広く知られているが、その詳しい歴史についてご存知だろうか？実はさまざまな文化が融合して今のクリスマスになっているのだ。

Christmas is a special time of year filled with food, music, decorations and gifts. Yet, few people know much about its unique history or its multicultural background. Let's take a look!

Christmas is a Christian festival that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. However, no one really knows when Jesus was born or why December 25th was chosen as Christmas Day. The most widespread theory is that early Christian leaders in Rome wanted to attract sun-worshippers to Christianity. To do this, they chose December 25th, which was already celebrated as a winter festival.

Nowadays, Christmas is a happy event. This wasn't always the case. In 17th-century England, when the Puritans came to power, Christmas was banned as being anti-religious! Strict laws were passed against celebrating Christmas and against staying home from work on Christmas Day. The Puritans brought their disapproval of Christmas to America, where Christmas didn't become a legal holiday until 1870.

The Christmas tree is the symbol of Christmas in many homes. This custom comes from Germany, where people believed that the evergreen tree was a symbol of eternal life.

Santa Claus is an important part of Christmas. Did you know that he was a real person? It's true! The popular image of Santa as a fat, jolly, bearded old man comes from Saint Nicholas, a 4th-century Christian priest who lived in Turkey. This image of Santa spread to Europe and was later brought to the United States from Holland by the Dutch.

Santa Claus is known by different names in different countries. In England, he's called Father Christmas. In Holland, he's called Sinter Klaas. In France, he's known as Pere Noel.

When I was a child, my family had a special way of celebrating Christmas. First, my father, brother and I would go into the forest, cut down a nice tree and bring it home. Next, my sisters would decorate it with lights and decorations. On Christmas Eve, we gathered around the piano and sang Christmas carols. Then, when it was time for bed, my mother told us: "Tonight, Santa Claus and his reindeer will visit our house to bring your Christmas presents. Santa will probably be very thirsty. And his reindeer will be hungry from pulling his sled. Why don't we put out a glass of milk for Santa and some carrots for his reindeer? Then, they can have a snack when they visit our house!"

The next morning, there were Christmas presents for everyone under the tree. When we children looked at the table, the glass of milk was empty and the carrots were gone. Santa and his reindeer had really come. We had proof!

Christmas is a unique multicultural holiday with roots in places such as Rome, Turkey, Holland and Germany. How do you celebrate this event in your family?

Shukan ST: DECEMBER 28, 2012

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