中国的年轻人们很喜欢圣诞节，圣诞节是西方国家的一个重要的节日，下面是小编整理的圣诞节的简短英文介绍，有兴趣的朋友可以阅读了解一下哦!
【圣诞树】
a christmas tree, yule tree or tannenbaum (german: fir tree) is one of the most popular traditions associated with the celebration of christmas. it is normally an evergreen coniferous tree that is brought into a home or used in the open, and is decorated with christmas lights and colourful ornaments during the days around christmas. an angel or star is often placed at the top of the tree, representing the host of angels or the star of bethlehem from the nativity story.
【圣诞卡片】
although it could not compete with the speed of email today， the 1800's nevertheless experienced a revolution in communication that played an important role in creating the tradition of the christmas greeting card. helped by the new railway system， the public postal service made corresponding a popular past time. in england， sir henry cole recognized the advantage of a more efficient mail service and initiated the practice of sending christmas greeting cards to friends.
the first card was designed by j.c.horsley as a commercial endeavor. one thousand copies were sold in london， and soon others followed suit. an english artist， william egley， produced a popular card in 1849. louis prang， a german born printer， working from his shop in roxbury， massachusetts， printed his first american cards in 1875. even more important than his printing was the fact that he did more than anyone else to popularize the cards by instituting nationwide contests for the best christmas designs， which were awarded cash prizes.
adding to the popularity of christmas cards was the "penny post，" created by the british postal system. this resulted in an inexpensive way to correspond with large numbers of friends， and as printing methods improved， christmas card production increased.
from the beginning the themes have been as varied as the christmas customs worldwide. traditionally， christmas cards showed religious pictures - mary， joseph and baby jesus， or other parts of the christmas story. today， pictures are often jokes， winter pictures， father christmas， or romantic scenes of life in past times.
【圣诞老人】
santa claus has been called by several different names throughout the years. traditions and legends of santa claus for the evolution of the modern-day santa may have been based on the early dutch legend of sinterklaas， originating in the 1600's.
santa claus really started to get famous when american author washington irving published stories about santa claus， referring to him as saint nicholas who arrived on christmas eve bringing presents for children.
santa claus changed and became more famous when writer clement clarke moore wrote a poem in 1823 about a christmas eve visit from saint nicholas， better known as "the night before christmas". millions of children now could have a consistent description of santa claus and his eight flying reindeer.
american magazines picked up on the popularity of santa claus， and many different versions of santa claus were published over the next 50 years. santa claus even began to appear in advertisements for popular the most famous reindeer， red nosed rudolph started to appear in the late 1930's.
【圣诞节7大传统习俗】
【1】Preparation of the Christmas cake
This was an English tradition which started centuries ago. On Christmas eve, plum porridge was served to the people. As years passed, various other things like dry fruits, honey and spices were used. Soon this porridge got replaced with the Christmas cake. Christmas cakes are made using eggs, butter, confections, fruits, etc. Today a Christmas cake is an integral part of a Christmas menu.
【2】Sending gifts to loved ones
This tradition comes from the story of the three wise men who got gifts for baby Jesus on Christmas. Every Christmas, gifts are exchanged among loved ones, especially children. The story of Santa Claus also comes from this tradition.
【3】Decorating the Christmas tree
This refers to the tradition of decorating a pine tree using lights, tinsels, garlands, ornaments, candy canes, etc. Today, a Christmas tree is an indispensable part of Christmas celebration.
【4】Lighting up the Christmas candle
This refers to the tradition of placing a lighted candle outside houses during the Christmas season. A candle signifies hope as it brings light even to the darkest room. In the earlier times, when Christians were persecuted, they were not allowed to practice prayers. Hence, a single candle used to be placed outside the house as a sign that Christian prayers were being conducted inside.
【5】Singing Christmas carols
It refers to the age-old custom of enchanting a number of traditional Christmas songs during the Christmas season. It adds to the joy and fun to the atmosphere. Different Christmas hymns or carols like The First Noel, Jingle Bells, Joy to the world, etc are sung every Christmas as a part of the Christmas celebration.
【6】Making of Cribs
This is yet another age-old tradition of Christmas. A crib refers to the Nativity Scene that is prepared using small statues. The first crib ever was made outside a church of St. Francis of Assisi for children to show them how the Nativity scene was like. Since then, this tradition became very popular.
【7】Distributing Christmas candies
This is one of the most wonderful traditions of all. Christmas candies are distributed to neighbors during the Yuletide season. On the day of Christmas, all misunderstandings and grudges are forgotten and the community comes together to celebrate the birth of Christ.
These traditions have been carried out for decades, yet they are celebrated with more and more exuberance each year. The level of excitement has never gone down. It just keeps getting better and better with time.