在本栏目我们回顾历史上本周发生的 历史事件—圣诞节 ，听听下面的短文，做做下面的练习，学习一些相关的英语表达形式。
本周是12月12日至12月18日历史上发生的事件。 | | Although the Christians have made the midwinter festival their own there was a much older pagan celebration that preceded it. Both holly and mistletoe were gathered and seen as especially important as they were green plants alive and bearing fruit in the dead of winter. Mistletoe is usually banned from churches but everyone knows the tradition of kissing under the mistletoe. Most private houses hang up a sprig of the plant in their doorway and if you are lucky enough to catch a pretty girl or boy underneath it you can request a kiss!
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| The idea of holding a festival at the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, to celebrate the rebirth of the Sun was so universal in the ancient world, that the Christians adapted it. No one really knows for sure when Christ was born, but by holding this feast at midwinter, Christ was mystically identified with the Sun.
Saturnalia is one of the best known ancient celebrations of the Winter Solstice. The name comes from the Roman God Saturn, who ruled over agriculture. His name is given to the ringedplanet Saturn and of course we get Saturday from him. Saturnlia was the biggest festival of the Roman year and was marked with great feasting, gift-giving, dancing, playing and relaxing. Homes were decorated, work was suspended and there was general merry-making done by all. Other traditions which have lived on such as tree decorating and the Yule log also date back to the Saturnalia.
Evergreen trees symbolised everlasting life and the Yule log was meant to hurry the return of the sun. Yule comes from an old word for wheel. As the year turns like the great wheel we call the wheel of life, the winter solstice, with its celebration of the rebirth of the Sun, is a particularly important turning point.
Today when we decorate Christmas trees and eat chocolate logs we are, in a way, carrying on these traditions. Merry Christmas!
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