翻译研讨：2009．12.20 WORDS AND THEIR STORIES - Santa Claus

2009 ． 12.20 WORDS AND THEIR STORIES - Santa Claus

《词语典故》 圣诞老人

From:http://www.unsv.com/voanews/specialenglish/scripts/2009/12/20/0040/

Santa Claus is someone who will remain in the hearts of children forever.

圣诞老人是某个永远会存在于孩子们心中的人。

He is the make-believe person who brings toys and other gifts to children at Christmas.

他是一个在圣诞之时，给孩子们带来玩具和其他礼物的值得信赖的人。

To grown-ups, he is a special symbol of good will and selfless giving.

对于大人们来说，圣诞老人是善良与无私的一种专有象征。

Santa Claus also has some other names: Saint Nicholas, St. Nick, Kris Kringle, Pelznickel.

圣诞老人（森塔·克劳斯）还有一些其他的名字：圣·尼古拉斯， 圣·尼克，克里斯克林格，派兹尼克。

Two of his names -- Santa Claus and Saint Nicholas -- both come from the Dutch who settled in New York long ago.

其中，他的两个名字— Santa Claus 和 Saint Nicholas —都来自很久以前定居于纽约的荷兰人那里。

The Dutch believed Saint Nikolaas gave gifts to children. They honored this kindly saint with a yearly festival on December sixth. The English-speaking people who lived nearby greatly enjoyed Dutch festivals. And they brought the Saint and the custom of giving gifts into their own celebration at Christmas time.

荷兰人认为 Saint Nikolaas( 圣诞老人 ) 给孩子带来了礼物。于是，每年的 12 月 6 日，他们都通过节庆来纪念这位好心肠的圣人。而住在附近的那些讲英语的人们也热烈地欢庆着荷兰的传统佳节，他们把圣诞老人和送礼物的习俗引进了自己的圣诞庆典中。

The Dutch spoke the name "Saint Nikolaas" very fast. It sounded like "Sinterklaas." And so, when the English said this word, it sounded like Santa Claus.

荷兰人在说 " 森塔·尼古拉斯 " 这个名字时，语速非常快，听起来就像 " 森塔克劳斯 ." 因此，当英国人说到这个词时，听起来就如同 Santa Claus 一般。

West of New York, in Pennsylvania, many German farmers had also heard of Saint Nikolaas. But they called him Pelznickel. This word came from "pelz," meaning fur, and "nickel" for Nicholas. And so, to the Germans of Pennsylvania, Saint Nicholas or Pelznickel was a man dressed in fur who came once a year with gifts for good children.

在宾夕法尼亚州纽约西部，很多德国农民也听说过圣·尼古拉斯，但是他们称其为派兹尼克。这个单词来源于 "pelz" ，意思是毛皮、裘毛，而 "nickel" 源于 Nicholas 。因此，对于宾夕法尼亚州的德国人来说，圣·尼古拉斯或者派兹尼克是一个身着裘毛棉衣，每年一次送给乖孩子礼物的人。

Soon, people began to feel that the love and kindness Pelznickel brought should be part of a celebration honoring the Christkind ， as the Germans called the Christ child. After a time, this became Kris Kringle. Later, Kris Kringle became another name for Santa Claus himself.

不久，人们开始感觉到，由派兹尼克带来的爱心与善良应当作为人们向 “圣诞树” 表达敬意的节日庆典的组成部分，因为德国人将圣诞树称为“耶稣圣婴”。过了一段时间，这个名字变成了克里斯克林格。之后，克里斯克林格又成了圣诞老人自身的另外一个名字。

Whatever he is called, he is still the same short, fat, jolly old man with a long beard, wearing a red suit with white fur.

不管他叫什么，他仍旧一如既往地是一个身材矮小、体形肥胖，流着长胡子、穿着白毛红套装的快活老头儿。

The picture of Santa Claus, as we see him, came from Thomas Nast. He was an American painter born in Bavaria. He painted pictures for Christmas poems. Someone asked him to paint a picture of Santa Claus.

我们所看到的圣诞老人的画像，来自于托马斯·纳斯特，一个生于巴伐利亚州的美国画家。他为圣诞诗作画。为此，有人请他画一张圣诞老人的画像。

Nast remembered when he was a little boy in southern Germany. Every Christmas, a fat old man gave toys and cakes to the children. So, when Nast painted the picture, his Santa Claus looked like the kindly old man of his childhood. And through the years, Nast's painting has remained as the most popular picture Of Santa Claus.

纳斯特记得，当他在德国南部还是一个小男孩时，每个圣诞节，一个胖老头都送孩子们玩具和蛋糕。所以，当纳斯特作这幅时，他的圣诞老人看起来就像他童年时那位善良的老人。多年以来，纳斯塔画的圣诞老人一直是最受欢迎的。

Santa can be seen almost everywhere in large American cities during the Christmas season. Some stand on street corners asking for money to buy food and gifts for the needy. Others are found in stores and shopping centers.

在美国的发城市中，圣诞老人随处可见。有的站在街道角落筹集钱财，为贫困的人买食物和礼物。而在商店和购物中心则可看到其他的圣诞老人。

It is easy to find them by the long lines of children waiting to tell Santa what they want for Christmas.

对于排着长队，等待告诉圣诞老人他们想要什么礼物的孩子们来说，找到圣诞老人是件并不困难的事。

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 该帖于2009年12月31日被版主推荐为精华帖。