圣誕的來歷

鄒少雄

編者注

孩子們平安夜里在床頭掛著圣誕襪，等著圣誕老人來給他們發送禮物。同學們，你們知道圣誕襪的來歷嗎？我們來看看下面的故事吧！

There was a kindly nobleman whose wife had died of an illness， leaving the nobleman and his three daughters in despair.

很久很久以前有一個心地善良的貴族，他的妻子因病去逝，留下他和他的三個女兒。

After losing all his money in useless and bad inventions， the family had to move into a peasants cottage， where the daughters did their own cooking， sewing and cleaning. 這個貴族喜歡嘗試創造發明，但是都失敗了，也因此耗盡了家里的錢財，所以他和女兒們不得不搬到一家農舍里生活，三個女兒也只得自己做飯、縫衣服、打掃屋子。

When time came for the daughters to marry， the father became even more depressed as his daughters could not marry without dowries.

一晃幾年過去，女兒們陸續到了出嫁的年齡，父親卻變得更加沮喪，因為他沒錢給女兒們買嫁妝。

One night after the daughters had washed their clothing， they hung their stockings over the fireplace to dry.

一天晚上，女兒們洗完衣服后將長統襪掛在壁爐前烘干。

That night， Saint Nicholas， knowing the despair of the father， stopped by the noblemans house.

圣人尼古拉斯知道了他們的境遇，于是，那天晚上他駕著雪橇來到他們的家門前。

Looking into the window， Saint Nicholas saw that the family had gone to bed. He also noticed the daughters stockings.

他從窗口看到一家人都睡著了，同時也注意到了女孩們的長統襪。

Inspiration struck Saint Nicholas and he took three small bags of gold from his pouch and threw them one by one down the chimney and they landed in the stockings.

于是，他從口袋里掏出三小包黃金從煙囪上一個個投下去，剛好掉在女孩們的長統襪里。

The next morning， the daughters found their stockings full of gold， enough for them to buy dowries. Their father was glad to see the daughters marriage. From then on， the whole family lived a happy life together.

第二天早上，女兒們醒來發現她們的長統襪里裝滿了金子，足夠供她們買嫁妝了。父親也因此能親眼看到女兒們出嫁了。從此，一家人又過上了幸福快樂的生活。

鏈 接

后來，世界各地的孩子們都繼承了懸掛圣誕襪的傳統。圣誕節那天有些國家的孩子則有其它類似的風俗，如在法國，孩子們將鞋子放在壁爐旁等等。