Christmas 名子的由來

關於Christmas這個名子的由來,我們特別翻譯外國網站的原文供大家參考。

以下翻譯自:http://didyouknow.org/christmas/

『The word “Christmas” means “Mass of Christ,” later shortened to “Christ-Mass.” The even shorter form “Xmas” – first used in Europe in the 1500s – is derived from the Greek alphabet, in which X is the first letter of Christ’s name: Xristos, therefore “X-Mass.”

Today we know that Christ was not born on the 25th of December. The date was chosen to coincide with the pagan Roman celebrations honoring Saturnus (the harvest god) and Mithras (the ancient god of light), a form of sun worship. These celebrations came on or just after the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, to announce that winter is not forever, that life continues, and an invitation to stay in good spirit.

But there’s much more to the fascinating history of Christmas! Where did the Christmas tree originate, why are Christmas candles important, etc.? The answers are all here.』

聖誕節的英文Christmas是指 ”Mass of Christ”- 基督的彌撒,之後簡寫為Christ-Mass。而後來縮寫的形式X’mas初見於1500年代的歐洲,是由希臘字母衍生而來,其中X是基督名字- Xristos的第一個字母 (希臘文的Ch是寫成X ),所以才有”X-Mass”

今日我們知道基督並不是在12月25號誕生的。這一天的選定是為了和異教徒羅馬人紀念Saturnus (農神)以及Mithras (古老的太陽神)慶典,一個對太陽表達敬仰的形式一致。這些慶典都是在羅馬冬至(12/25-北半球一年當中白晝最短的一天)當天或者之後舉行,宣示冬天不會永久,而生命不停延續,也是一個保有好精神的號召。

但對於聖誕節還有更多迷人的歷史,例如聖誕節的起源,以及為什麼聖誕蠟燭如此重要等等。在這裡,可以找到所有答案。