Ｃｈｒｉｓｔｍａｓ　Ｄａｙ

Christmas or Christmas Day is a holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus, the central figure of Christianity. It is traditionally celebrated on December 25 by most Western Christian churches. Although dating to probably as early as A.D. 200, the feast of Christmas did not become widespread until the Middle Ages. Aspects of celebration may include gift-giving, Christmas trees, display of Nativity sets, church attendance, the Father Christmas Santa Claus myth, and family gatherings. The word Christmas is derived from Middle English Christemasse. It is a contraction meaning “Christs mass”. The name of the holiday is often shortened to Xmas because Roman letter “X” resembles the Greek letter X, an abbreviation for Christ.

圣誕節(jié)是慶祝天主教中心人物耶穌誕生的節(jié)日，通常西方天主教堂在12月25日慶祝。圣誕節(jié)最早可追溯到公元200年，但直到中世紀(jì)才開(kāi)始廣泛流傳。圣誕節(jié)慶祝活動(dòng)包括贈(zèng)送禮物、圣誕樹(shù)、擺耶穌系列雕像、參加教堂活動(dòng)、圣誕老人傳說(shuō)、家庭聚會(huì)等。Christmas一詞來(lái)源于中世紀(jì)英語(yǔ)Christemasse，大概的意思是耶穌的彌撒。有時(shí)候圣誕節(jié)被寫(xiě)成Xmas，因?yàn)榱_馬字母X和希臘文Chirst的縮寫(xiě)X很相似。

Todays Highlight in History:

Issac Newton

Thought for Today:

I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.

——Issac Newton

在我自己看來(lái)，我不過(guò)就像是一個(gè)在海濱玩耍的小孩，為不時(shí)發(fā)現(xiàn)比尋常更為光滑的一塊卵石或比尋常更為美麗的一片貝殼而沾沾自喜，而對(duì)于展現(xiàn)在我面前的浩瀚的真理的海洋，卻全然沒(méi)有發(fā)現(xiàn)。

——艾薩克?牛頓

Issac Newtea:

1642: English mathematician and scientist Issac Newton was born on December 25th. He invented differential calculus and formulated the theory of universal gravitation, a theory about the nature of light, and three laws of motion. His great treatise on gravitation, presented in Principia Mathematica (1687), was supposedly inspired by the sight of a falling apple. His discoveries were so numerous and varied that many consider him to be the father of modern science.

1642年12月25日，英國(guó)數(shù)學(xué)家和自然科學(xué)家艾薩克?牛頓誕生。他是微積分的發(fā)明者和萬(wàn)有引力定律理論奠基人，他還發(fā)現(xiàn)了光的性質(zhì)理論以及牛頓運(yùn)動(dòng)三定律。他受一顆掉落的蘋(píng)果啟發(fā)于1687年出版有關(guān)重力學(xué)偉大著作《自然哲學(xué)的數(shù)學(xué)原理》。他的發(fā)現(xiàn)涉及眾多領(lǐng)域，數(shù)不勝數(shù)，因此很多人認(rèn)為他是現(xiàn)代科學(xué)之父。

Charlie Chaplin:

1977: Charlie Chaplin, a British-born superstar of silent comedies and one of the great icons of 20th-century film, died on December 25 at the age of 88. Chaplin was one of the most creative and influential personalities in the silent film era: he acted in, directed, scripted, produced, and eventually even scored his own films. His working life in entertainment spanned over 70 years, from the British Victorian stage and music hall in England as a child performer, almost until his death at the age of 88. He led one of the most remarkable and colorful lives of the 20th century, from a Dickens-like London childhood to the pinnacle of world fame in the film industry and as a cultural icon. His productions include The Kid (1921), The Gold Rush (1925), and City Lights (1931).

1977年12月25日， 英裔無(wú)聲片喜劇大師、二十世紀(jì)標(biāo)志性人物之一查理?卓別林逝世，享年88歲。卓別林是無(wú)聲片時(shí)代最具創(chuàng)造力和影響力的人物：他自演、自導(dǎo)、自編、自制，甚至還自己為影片譜曲。他的演藝生涯持續(xù)了大約七十多年，幼年時(shí)便開(kāi)始在英國(guó)維多利亞舞臺(tái)和音樂(lè)劇團(tuán)表演，直到88歲臨終前。他的一生充滿傳奇色彩，從狄更斯式的倫敦童年時(shí)代到電影界文化標(biāo)志。他的作品有《孩子》（1921），《淘金記》（1925）和《城市之光》（1931）等。