一年一度又聖誕

從普及程度看，新年無疑是全世界最流行的節假日。所有國家都過西元元旦。此外，許多國家和民族還有自己的新年，比如中國的農曆新年。但新年純粹根據紀年法或季節交替，沒有任何其他宗教或文化內涵。

若論商業影響力和儀式感，西方最重要的節日非聖誕節莫屬。本來是個純宗教節日，非基督徒也過得不亦樂乎--從室內外裝飾，購買禮物，到聖誕大餐，一樣都不缺。有人甚至去教堂，為的是體驗一下宗教儀式感；至於宗教含義，並不想要搞那麽清楚。

能把一個純宗教節日搞成這樣，真是佩服。這些天讀了一些關於聖誕節的曆史和故事，加深了對這個節日的了解。我們現在慶祝的聖誕節，傳到美國也不過上百年的曆史。把聖誕節商業化，一代接一代的美國商人功不可沒。聖誕節的來源和習俗涉及許多國家和民族，可以說是西方文化的大雜燴。聖誕前夕乘著雪橇到處送禮物的聖誕老人，其原型是一位名叫 St. Nicolas 的修道士，出生在土耳其，為行善而散盡家財。

把聖誕樹搬至室內的做法，是從德國人那裏學來的。聖誕樹的裝飾物之一，醃黃瓜（pickle），也是德國人的傳統。據說，聖誕早晨，哪位小孩子最先發現隱藏在聖誕樹上的那根醃黃瓜，誰就最有福氣。

最有名的聖誕詩歌是 Twas the night before Christmas，作者是美國人 Clement Clarke Moore，大約兩百年前發表。詩歌提到了八頭拉雪橇的鹿，個個都有名字。不過，我們現在隻記住第九頭鹿的名字---對啦，就是下麵這個 Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer。當然這是一百多年後才加上去的。

最著名的聖誕小說，首推英國著名作家狄更斯寫的 Christmas Carol。小說描述了一位名叫 Scrooge 的怪癖老頭兒，對人對己都極為吝嗇、苛刻，生活中沒有任何歡樂，不招人待見不說，連狗見了他都繞道。後來，在各種聖誕幽靈的刺激和感召下，Scrooge 徹底蛻變，成一位善良、和藹的基督徒。小說結尾皆大歡喜，充滿了聖誕喜樂。

我在聖誕樹上掛上了一些來自中國的吉祥物，還準備在聖誕節期間吃頓餃子，也算是在自家的聖誕節裏加進一些中國元素吧。

正是:

一年一度又聖誕，

喜氣洋洋盼佳宴。

樹下禮物散滿地，

管它這是啥節日。

 

附：A Visit from St. Nicholas

Clement Clarke Moore - 1779-1863

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;
And mamma in her ’kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap,
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,
With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;
"Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! on, Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"
As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky;
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of Toys, and St. Nicholas too.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of Toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a pedler just opening his pack.
His eyes—how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly.
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle,
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night."

About This Poem

On December 23, 1823, a poem called "A Visit from Saint Nicholas" was published anonymously in the Sentinel, the local newspaper of Troy, New York. This piece offered a different take on Santa Claus, a figure who was, until that time, traditionally depicted as a thinner, less jolly, horse-riding disciplinarian, a combination of mythologies about the British Father Christmas, the Dutch Sinterklaas, and the fourth-century bishop Saint Nicholas of Myra. But the poem in the newspaper painted a different picture: it gave Santa eight reindeer, and even named them; it described a Santa who could magically sneak in and out of homes via chimneys; and it created the venerated, cheerful, chubby icon that is everpresent in holiday cards, movies, television shows, and malls everywhere. The poem, of course, is now known as "'Twas the Night Before Christmas," after its famous first line. Thirteen years after it was published, Clement Clark Moore took credit for its authorship, though his claim to the poem is now in question. Many believe the poem was actually penned by New York writer Henry Livingston.