We understand that Macy’s Department Store in New York City introduced the annual Christmas or Santa Claus Parade during the 1880’s. Today, in late November, or early December, a Christmas Parade is held in almost every city and town in Europe and America.　　Early on the night before Christmas (Christmas Eve), children are encouraged to go to bed early if they expect Santa to come. They lay their heads on their pillows with visions of what the next day will bring. Santa is invisible to children since no one has actually seen him, his sleigh, or reindeer on Christmas Eve.　　On Christmas Day, families usually get together for a roast goose or turkey(火雞) dinner served with mashed(壓碎的) potatoes, gravy(肉汁), cranberry sauce, and pie or pudding(一種甜點心) for dessert. Grown-ups will pour a glass or two of wine or other spirits(烈酒). Together, families will openly exchange gifts and gratitude. Children, including cousins, nieces and nephews, often kneel on the floor in front of the tree, excitedly trying to find presents with their names on them. On that day, warm receptions are extended to everyone, friend or stranger.　　For many merchants, Christmas has become the economic boom season of the year. It is estimated that a major percentage of the annual yield of revenue from sales is generated during the month or more of intense Christmas shopping before Christmas. As a matter of fact, there has been some debate for years that Christmas has become too commercialized and that the true meaning of Christmas is gradually disappearing. An escalating(逐步上升的) tendency has been to buy more and more expensive gifts each year. Some people go into debt, sometimes owing more than they can easily pay back. Some people are personally beginning to rethink(反思) this commercial approach to Christmas. However, toy manufacturers and their contemporaries in advertising make a killing during this period. Christmas shopping hits a peak(最高點,頂峰) on Boxing Day, the day after Christmas, when stores offer great discounts to unload the unsold Christmas merchandise(商品). This is usually the busiest shopping day of the year.　　Christmas has spread far and wide across the globe. My wife and I lived in Beijing last year. During the Christmas season, we saw many Christmas decorations and heard a lot of western Christmas music in department stores. It seemed little different from Toronto, Canada. We celebrated Christmas much as we would have in Canada, except that we weren’t with our families in our homes during that very special family-oriented holiday season. We have great memories of Christmases of the past and look forward to many more great Christmas memories in the future.

　　圣誕節的歷史　　圣誕節是號稱有大約18億教徒里的基督教世界里最愉快、最神圣的節日。盡管這個節日的起因純粹是宗教性的，但它已演變成了每年的非常世俗化的慶祝活動。不守，純粹宗教性的部分每年還是在以各種方式進行著。二者在現代重商主義中，很自然地融合在一起。　　圣誕節時值每年的12月25日，是耶穌基督的誕生慶典，他是兩千多年前的一個木匠的兒子�；�督教，這場追隨基督教義的運動，在接下來的幾個世紀里影響了全世界。據說，圣誕節的第一次慶�；顒邮窃诠�元336年的古羅馬舉行的。好像沒有人能肯定12月25日就是基督的實際誕生日，而更有可能的是，古羅馬的基督教領導人想要以此取代幾乎同時舉行的異教徒的宗教節日�！　∈フQ節的很多世俗象征已經出現好幾個世紀了�，F在這種形象的圣誕老人，可以說是最近才出現的。然而，他的起源卻可以部分追溯到古羅馬時代。　　圣·尼古拉斯是公元4世紀時利西亞海港的帕塔拉(在現今的土耳其)的一個早期的基督教主教。迫害基督教徒的羅馬皇帝戴克里以非法宣揚基督教的罪名把他關進了監獄。后來，羅馬的第一位信仰基督教的皇帝康士坦丁釋放了他。尼古拉斯的慷慨、仁慈和圣跡為他贏得了廣泛的聲譽，最終被尊為圣徒。據說，他恢復了被他們那屠夫父親砍成碎片的孩子們的生命。還說他在三個可憐女孩掛起來用火烘烤的長襪子里放了一些金幣，希望這些女孩能用這些錢結婚，以免淪為妓女，而在那個時代，這種女孩的命運大多就是這樣。在圣誕節，把特大號的空長襪掛在壁爐上面讓圣誕老人放一些小禮物的傳統，就來自這個故事。根據這些傳說，現代的圣誕老人的形象似乎顯現出來�！　≡谝恍�歐洲國家，圣誕老人的形象更多的是與圣·尼古拉斯聯系在一起，而不是與Santa Claus聯系在一起。圣誕老人穿的紅白相間的服裝，據說是來自早期基督教主教的長袍的傳統顏色。在馴鹿拉的雪橇上飛翔、從煙囪里下來的圣誕老人，源自19世紀20年代克萊門特·摩爾寫的一首美國詩“圣誕節的前夜”。19世紀60年代，另一個美國人制作了一幅版畫，叫做“圣誕老人的作坊”，上面的圣誕老人被描繪成在美麗的落日余暉下，撓著下巴，讀著信，檢查一份清單(每年在圣誕節以音樂和故事的形式反復告訴孩子們的各種活動都列在這份清單上)。每年，孩子們在圣誕節之前給圣誕老人寫信，請他帶來他們最喜歡的玩具。　　根據傳說，圣誕老人在12月24日深夜，在寒冷的夜空飛翔，不用使用指南針或者地圖來計劃他的路線。他坐在由九頭馴鹿拉著的雪橇上，在通常很滑的斜屋頂上降落。他笨拙地扛著一個裝滿玩具的大口袋，從煙囪里跳下來，把玩具倒在圣誕樹下。禮品中常常有送給小女孩的一個洋娃娃，或送給小男孩的一輛小火車。他無聲無息地做著這一切，然后垂直向上從煙囪里爬回去，不留一點痕跡，飛走時大聲地說著那句人們熟知的話：“祝大家圣誕快樂，晚安”。在圣誕節清晨破曉之前，他回到在北極的家里。在全世界快速飛奔了一夜，很疲倦卻非常愉快。打了一個大呵欠后，圣誕老人就睡著了。