【虎虎日记】圣诞快乐：外教眼中的圣诞节(下)
“叮叮当,叮叮当, 铃儿响叮当……”又到了一年一度的圣诞节啦！大家走在街上有没有看到各种圣诞节装饰和圣诞树呢？每年的圣诞节虎虎都很开心呢！西方的圣诞节究和我们认为的有啥不同呢？虎虎特地请教了偶们的美女外教Alison（戳我去看美女外教的主页 >>）来谈谈美国人是咋过圣诞节的，下面拿来和大家一起分享！点我进入沪江外教Alison老师的口语节目>>
Santa Claus
Nearly every western country believes something different about Santa Claus, but in the US, Santa Clause is a jolly old man with a long, white beard and a huge belly. He wears a red and white fur suit because he lives in the North Pole, and on Christmas Eve, he delivers presents to every child in the world in a sleigh that flies through the sky as it’s pulled by reindeer. Rudolph the Reindeer lights the way, with a nose that glows in the night. The sleigh lands on the rooftops of every house, and Santa slides down the chimney to fill the stockings with presents. However, Santa has a list of all of the children in the world, and the list is divided into “naughty” and “nice”. If your name is on the “naughty” list, you get nothing but a lump of coal in your Christmas stocking. Parents use this to inspire good behavior in their children.
大家都知道圣诞老人！他老人家已经成为圣诞节最受喜爱的象征啦。他赶着驯鹿（叫做鲁道夫^^），拉着装满玩具和礼物的雪橇挨家挨户给每个孩子送礼物的快乐老精灵的形象已深深地留在偶们的脑海中=w= 圣诞老人的雪橇会在每个房子屋顶的着陆，他从烟囱滑下来把礼物填装进长袜中。 大家知道吗？圣诞老人有世界上所有孩子的名单，并且名单被划分成“naughty”和“nice”。 大家都不希望自己在“naughty”名单上~所以，家长们就用这招让小盆友们乖乖的~Alison告诉虎虎，爸爸妈妈们会在屋外摇铃，造成是圣诞老人给孩子们礼物的假象（好有爱啊~）
Music and Movies
I never get tired of Christmas music, and there are so many different kinds to choose from. Popular artists make Christmas albums every year, but my favorite tunes come from artists in the 1950s and 60s. Christmas music comes in every genre, and it plays on radio stations and in stores for at least a month before Christmas. Christmas carols and hymns are also popular; these are songs that are easy to sing in groups because they have different vocal parts and many verses. Christmas caroling is a great way to learn these songs, where a group of people get together and walk from house to house, knocking on doors to serenade the people inside.
While radio stations play Christmas music to get people in the holiday spirit, television stations play Christmas movies. There are the classic films, like It’s a Wonderful Life, A Christmas Carol, and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and Christmas comedies, like Home Alone, Elf, and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. My favorite Christmas film, however, is Love Actually. It’s become a tradition for my friends and me to watch that together every year with mulled wine and plenty of Christmas cookies.
圣诞期间呢，到处都是圣诞歌曲，圣诞歌曲大都关于耶稣诞生啦。圣诞歌曲包括Christmas carols and hymns（颂歌、赞美诗）；popular Christmas song（流行圣诞歌曲），流行歌手在圣诞期间会出各种圣诞专辑（点我去看>>）。Alison说在她3、4岁的时候就学会了唱圣诞歌曲，学会的第一首歌是《Away in a Manger》。
至于圣诞电影呢~就有好多啦！圣诞期间，会有灰常多圣诞电影占据电视。其中比较经典的电影，有《生活多美好 It's a Wonderful Life》(1946)、《圣诞颂歌 A Christmas Carol》(1938)、《红鼻子驯鹿鲁道夫 Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer》(1964)；还有很多圣诞喜剧，《小鬼当家 Home Alone》(1990)、《圣诞精灵 Elf》 (2003)、《疯狂圣诞假期 / National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation》(1989)…… Alison最稀饭的是《真爱至上 Love Actually 》(2003)，是一部由各种小故事组成的温馨的电影~虎虎也灰常稀饭^^ 大家最喜欢的圣诞电影是啥呢？（戳我去看圣诞影视 >>）
Blessings
So have I inspired you to start your own Christmas traditions this year? Great! You can start spreading the Christmas cheer with Christmas blessings! Religious folk may say “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Christmas”, while non-religious people may say “Season’s Greetings” or “Happy Holidays”!
你知道几种祝贺圣诞的说法呢？虎虎来告诉你吧！Merry Christmas~是我们最常用；Happy Holidays不是基督徒可以这么说哦；Happy Christmas 表示是英国的说法；还可以说Season's Greeting、Good Tidings……让我们一起来说圣诞快乐吧(*^__^*)