欢快的圣诞节即将来临，在圣诞节来临之际，小编跟大家分享一些关于圣诞节的故事，希望大家喜欢!
the legend of saint nicholas(圣尼古拉的传说)
history tells us that the origin of santa claus begins in the 4th century with saint nicholas, bishop of myra (an area in present day turkey). one of the legends tells about that he acquired a fortune when his parents died while he was still in his teens. by nature st.nicholas was a generous and honest man, particularly devoted to children. he also cared deeply for the poor. he brought various gifts, money and other useful items to the houses of the poor. he did this at night, and in secrecy, so that no one knew, as he wanted no glory, he just wanted to help people. he became widely known for his generosity.
there is one famous legend about saint nicholas. the story tells of nicholas hearing one day of three beautiful sisters who lived in a miserable hut on the edge of myra. the three sisters were very poor. they could barely earn enough to keep themselves and their old mother from starving to death. when nicholas heard of their plight, he was very concerned. he decided to do something to help them.
one night, when everyone was asleep, nicholas crept through the streets to the edge of town. quietly, he tiptoed up to the hut where the three sisters lived. he climbed onto the roof and dropped three bags of gold through the hole in the roof where the smoke from the fire came out. now it so happened that the three sisters has washed their stockings before they went to bed. the stockings has been hung by the fire to dry. when nicholas dropped the gold through the smoke hole, each bag of gold fell into a stocking.
the three sisters were overjoyed to find three bags of gold in their stockings when they woke up the next morning. soon, the story began to spread. other people began to hang up stockings in the hope of finding bags of gold when they woke up in the morning. from this legend sprang the custom of hanging stockings up by the chimney on christmas eve. over the years, saint nicholas became associated with christmas.
after his death around 350 a.d. he was buried in myra, but in 1087 italian sailors purportedly stole his remains and removed them to bari, italy, greatly increasing st. nicholas' popularity throughout europe. his kindness and reputation for generosity and love for children gave rise to claims that he could perform miracles and devotion to him increased. st. nicholas became the patron saint of russia, where he was famous for his red cape, flowing white beard, and bishop's mitre. in greece, he is the patron saint of sailors; in france he was the patron of lawyers, and in belgium the patron of children and travelers. the dutch kept the legend of st. nicholas alive. in 16th century holland, dutch children would place their wooden shoes by the hearth in hopes that they would be filled with a treat and goodies.
santa claus myth(圣诞老人的神话)
children in countries around the world await a visit from a mysterious bringer of gifts at christmas time. he is santa claus.
conventionally, santa claus is portrayed as a kindly, round-bellied, merry, bespectacled old man in a red suit trimmed with white fur, with a long white beard.
on christmas eve, he rides in his flying sleigh lifted by reindeers from house to house to give presents to children. in most countries, it is said that he lives near the north pole. he comes into houses down the chimney at midnight and places presents for the children in socks or bags by their beds or in front of the family christmas tree.
(圣诞节的传说)
christmas day-december 25-which celebrates the birth of jesus christ， the founder of the christian religion， is the biggest and best-loved holiday in the christian world.
according to the bible， the holy book of christians， god decided to allow his only son， jesus christ， to be born to a human mother and live on earth so that people could understand god better and learn to love god and each other more. "christmas"- meaning "celebration of christ "- honors the time when jesus was born to a young jewish woman mary.
mary was engaged to be married to joseph， a carpenter， but before they came together， she was found to be with child. because joseph， her husband， was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace， he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
but after he had considered this， an angel of the lord appeared to him in a dream and said， "do not be afraid to take mary home as your wife， because what is conceived in her is from the holy spirit. she will give birth to a son， and you are to give him the name jesus， because he will save his people from their sins."
although the exact date of the birth of jesus nearly 2，000 years ago is not known， the calendar on the supposed date divides all time into b.c. (before christ )and a.d. ( a latin phrase， anno domini， "in the year of our lord.") for the first 300 years， jesus' birthday was celebrated on different dates. finally， in the year 354， church leaders chose december 25 as his birthday.
(圣诞老人的故乡)
rovaniemi， located near the arctic circle， is santa claus'hometown.around the arctic circle wrap up warm in this winter wonderland for the freezing weather with air still and blue make cheeks redden and noses run.
santa claus， is not afraid of chilly weather – under his thick， red coat he is snug and very warm， as he commutes from korvatunturi in eastern finish lapland to rovaniemi every day.
in santa claus office within the arctic circle it is far from freezing. the cheerful "pre-christmas" hustle and bustle makes all of santa's helpers hot and bothered as they dash about seeming never to catch up.
the office is full of excitement with a symphony of different languages， spoken by the thousands of international guests in rovaniemi to meet with santa claus. this atmosphere of christmas is present in lapland and rovaniemi all the year around.
incorporated in 1929， it became the administrative centre of lappi in 1939， when the government of lapland was reorganized. road building between 1920 and 1940 spurred its development， but near the end of world war ii the retreating germans virtually destroyed it. the new town， designed by the finnish architect alvar aalto， is a striking contrast to the other settlements in northern finland.