圣诞节包含着美国矛盾的价值观。作为纪念耶稣诞生的宗教节日,圣诞节对美国人具有重要的精神意义,宣扬着对他人的解救,帮助,慷慨赠与等积极的道德价值。下面是小编带来的关于圣诞节的英文文章,欢迎阅读!
关于圣诞节的英文文章篇一
Christmas-Home-In the United States
对诞节-家里-在美国
Christmas is considered a major holiday in the United States.Shopping malls have big sales,every-body gets happier,and everywhere shows red and green.As early as one month before December 25th,houses in the residential areas would be dressed up with flashing lights,ornaments,and sculptures.Normally lifeless downtown streets would be illuminated by trees featuring dazzling lights,and skyscrapers would join in with decorations hanging down from top to bottom.
在美国,圣诞节(被认为)是个主要的节日。到那时候,购物中心会进行促销活动,每个人都变得比平常高兴,到处都是红红绿绿的。早在12月25号之前的一个月,在住宅区的那些房子就会被(人们以)闪烁的灯,装饰物和雕刻品装扮起来。平常没什么生气的市中心街道也都被树上令人眩目的灯饰照亮了起来。还有摩天大楼也用装饰品从楼顶垂下到地来加入此一(庆祝的)行列。
Stores aim at this"shopping season"for large sales as everyone is pruchasing gifts for everyone else.Santa Claus and reindeers come out to attract customers and perform at special events as entertainers.
商店都看准了这个“购物季节”来进行大型的促销活动,因为每个人都在买礼物给别人。圣诞老从和驯鹿们出来招揽顾客,并在特别的节目中充当演艺人员。
The Christmas spirit permeates throughout the country.Starting three or four days before Christmas,employees go home on their vacation,and students begin their winter break.All the major transportation systems like trains,buses,and airplanes are all full of people returing to their families.After two weeks,people return to work feeling refreshed to go about their regular activities.
这种圣诞节气氛遍布全国。从圣诞节之前的三四天开始,员工就回家过节了,学生们开始他们的寒假,所有的主要交通系统像火车,公共汽车和飞机都载满了回家团聚的人们。两星期之后,人们恢复了精神回到工作中,继续过他们平日过的生活。
关于圣诞节的英文文章篇二
节日≠假日:你要在圣诞节那天工作吗?
With just a few days to go until Christmas many of us are beginning to wind down at work, using a quieter period to catch up on admin, perhaps. But of course, next week doesn't mean a holiday for everyone.
没几天就到圣诞节了,我们中许多人也开始在工作中放松下来,用一段安静的时间赶上管理,也许。但当然,下周并不意味着是每个人的假日。
From ambulance drivers, care home workers and nurses to police, firefighters, people working in petrol stations, pub, bar and restaurant staff, coastguards, and, yes, journalists, many people will forego time with family to work over Christmas – whether they like it or not.
从救护车司机、家政和护士到警察、消防员、加油站工人、旅馆、酒吧和餐厅的员工、海岸警卫队,是的,记者,许多人会放弃与家人团聚的时间,在圣诞节那天工作——不论他们是否喜欢。
According to the TUC, the number of people who worked on 25 December rose by 78% between 2004 and 2010 (the most recent years for which figures are available). In 2010 almost 172,000 employees were in work on Christmas Day, compared to just over 96,000 in 2004 – both fell on a Saturday.
根据英国职工大会,在12月25日工作的人数在2004年和2010年之间上涨了78% (从最近几年的可用数据来看)。2010年近172000名员工在圣诞节那天要工作,相比2004年刚刚超过96000人——周六双双下跌。
NHS and social care workers are likely to make up the largest group of people working this Christmas, but two years ago more than 14,000 people also worked in hotels, pubs and restaurants on Christmas Day, and a similar number worked in local shops and garages.
英国国家医疗服务体系和社会保健工作者可能构成了在今年圣诞节最大的工作人群,但是两年前,超过14000人圣诞节那天还在酒店、酒吧和餐馆工作,在当地商店和车库工作的也是相似的人数。
With the rise of remote working, the TUC said there could be an increase in the number of people at home but "on call" during the Christmas period.
随着远程工作的兴起,英国职工大会说在家工作的人数会有增加但在圣诞节期间仍要“待命”。
Andy (not his real name) is a civil servant working in central London. He is expected to be on call, "the whole time". He says: "It's highly unlikely that I'll be called into action and it's more a case of just ticking the boxes to ensure that we're not seen to have left no one around in the event of a crisis, but you never know, something could happen. I will receive extra pay and I would much rather be at home with my family than in the office, so I'm happy with it. I had last Christmas off so it's only fair that I am on call this year."
安迪(化名)是在伦敦市中心工作的公务员。他预计将待命,“整个时间”。他说:“我将待命采取行动是极不可能的,它最多只是标记下箱子以确保我们不会被看到在危机事件的周围没有一个人,但你永远不会知道,有些事情会发生。我将获得额外报酬,我宁愿与家人待在家里而不是在办公室,所以我对此感到高兴。我去年圣诞节放假了,所以我今年待命才公平。”
There's also the rise of covert Christmas workers, those people who can't resist checking emails and doing the odd bit of work even when they are supposed to be off. A survey of 1,000 workers by DocuSign found that nearly a third of people will do some work at home during any additional time off they have in December, with 25-39-year-olds the most likely to log on to emails and work during the holidays.
还有那些隐秘的圣诞节工作者也在增加,那些人无法抗拒检查邮件和做点古怪的工作,甚至当他们应该休假时。DocuSign对1000名工人的一份调查发现近三分之一的人会在12月的任何额外休息时间在家做一些工作,25到39岁的人最容易在假期里登录邮件并工作。
Will you be working over Christmas? Were you effectively forced to work whether you liked it or not? And will you be receiving a bonus or increased pay for working during the festive season?
你会在圣诞节那天工作吗?不管你喜不喜欢你都会有效地被迫工作吗?在节日期间工作你会收到奖金或增加工资吗?
关于圣诞节的英文文章篇三
美国的圣诞节历史
In the first half of the 19th century, Christmas was a very different kind of holiday than it istoday. People did not have a set way of celebrating. Christmas was not even an official holidayyet.
So, communities around the country honored the day in different ways. Some observedChristmas as an important Christian religious day, honoring the birth of Jesus. Otherscelebrated the day with parties, music, drinking and eating. And, some communities did notcelebrate the day at all.
But, it was during the early 1800s that Americans began to reinvent the holiday. They startedcombining ancient Christmas traditions with modern American influences. Shirley Griffith andSteve Ember tell the story.
In 1819, the popular American writer Washington Irving wrote a series of five essays publishedin a book called "The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent."
The essays describe a wealthy British landowner who invites his farm workers into his home tocelebrate Christmas. The landowner recreates a traditional Christmas as it would have beencelebrated in the distant past.
Irving praised this looking back to ancient traditions. He liked the idea of different levels ofsociety coming together to enjoy a festive and peaceful holiday. Washington Irving seemed toexpress concern about the lack of such unifying Christmas traditions in modern America.
Penne Restad wrote a book "Christmas in America: A History." It shows how Americans beganto slowly shape Christmas into a unifying national holiday during the first half of the 19thcentury. She describes how Christmas had different meanings for Americans who came fromdifferent cultural and religious backgrounds. Many immigrants brought Christmas traditionsfrom their own countries.
Religion played a big role in how an American might celebrate the holiday. Calvinist Christiansbanned the celebration of Christmas. But groups such as Episcopalians and Moravians honoredthe day with religious services and seasonal decorations.
By mid-century, Christian groups began to ignore their religious differences over the meaningof Christmas and honored the day in special ways.
Christmas became an important time for families to celebrate at home. More and moreChristian Americans also began to follow the European traditions of Christmas trees and givinggifts. Christians believed that the tree represented Jesus and was also a sign of newbeginnings. German immigrants brought their tradition of putting lights, sweets and toys onthe branches of evergreen trees placed in their homes.
This tradition of setting up a Christmas tree soon spread to many American homes. So did thepractice of giving people presents. As these traditions increased in popularity, the moderntrade and business linked to Christmas also grew.
As Christmas became more popular, some states declared the day a state holiday. Louisianawas the first state to make the move in 1837. By 1860, 14 other states had followed. It wasnot until 1870 that President Ulysses Grant made Christmas a federal holiday.
Americans already knew old Christmas songs that came from England and other areas ofEurope. But many new American Christmas songs started to become popular. For example, in1849, a religious leader from Massachusetts wrote the words to "It Came Upon a MidnightClear." The song "Jingle Bells" appeared seven years later. And, a year later, a religious leader inWilliamsport, Pennsylvania wrote the song "We Three Kings of Orient Are."
And of course, no discussion of Christmas would be complete without talking about of one ofthe holiday's most famous representations: Santa Claus.
This character is based on the story of Saint Nicholas, a Christian holy person believed to havelived in the third century. Saint Nicholas became known as a protector of children. In his role asa Christmas hero, different cultures have given him different names. These include Sinterklaas,Kris Kringle and Father Christmas. But for most Americans his most popular name wouldbecome Santa Claus.
In the 19th century, many Dutch immigrants living in the United States celebrated the feast ofSaint Nicholas on December 6. Saint Nicholas was especially important to New Yorkers becauseof their history as a Dutch colony.
In 1809, Washington Irving published his "History of New York." It lists Saint Nicholas as thepatron saint of New Yorkers. He describes the saint wearing a low hat, large pants, andsmoking a pipe. Does this description sound familiar?