VOA慢速英语: 他是圣诞老人、圣尼古拉斯、克里斯·克林格还是佩尔兹尼克尔？

他是圣诞老人、圣尼古拉斯、克里斯·克林格还是佩尔兹尼克尔？

Santa Claus gestures toward first lady Michelle Obama, at Children's National Medical Center in Washington

Now, the VOA Special English program Words and Their Stories.

这里是美国之音慢速英语词汇掌故。

Santa Claus is someone who will remain in the hearts of children forever. He is the make-believe person who brings toys and other gifts to children at Christmas. To grown-ups, he is a special symbol of good will and selfless giving.

圣诞老人永远存在在孩子的心中。在圣诞节，他会给孩子带来各种各样的礼物。而对于成年人来讲，圣诞老人只是个美好愿望的象征以及无私的给予。

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

圣诞老人还有别的名字：圣尼古拉斯、圣尼克、克里斯·克林格、佩尔兹尼克尔。

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

其中两个名字——圣克劳斯（Santa Claus）和圣尼古拉斯都是来自很久以前居住在纽约的荷兰人的名字。

The Dutch believed Saint Nikolaas gave gifts to children. They honored this kindly saint with a yearly festival on December 6th. 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 Christmastime.

荷兰人认为圣尼古拉斯给孩子们送礼物。他们在每年的十二月6号纪念这位好心的人。而住在附近的讲英语的人非常喜欢荷兰的这个节日。他们把圣诞老人和送礼物的习俗融入到他们的圣诞庆祝活动中。

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.

荷兰人讲“圣尼古拉斯”这个名字时，语速很快。听起来就像“圣特克拉斯”，而到英语中，听起来就像Santa Claus了。

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.

宾夕法尼亚州的纽约的西部，很多德国农民都听说过圣尼古拉斯（Saint Nikolaas）。但是他们称之为佩尔兹尼克尔（Pelznickel），这个词语来自“pelz”的意思是皮毛，“nickel”来自尼可拉斯（Nicholas）。因此，对于宾西法尼亚州的德国人来讲，圣尼古拉斯或者佩尔兹尼克尔是每年穿着毛皮来给孩子送礼物。

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

很快，人们开始感觉到佩尔兹尼克尔的爱和善良，这应该成为纪念Christkind庆祝活动的一部分。过了一段时间，Christkindl变成克里斯·克铃格（“Kris Kringle”），后来这个名字成为圣诞老人的另一个称谓。

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，圣诞老人仍然是一个矮矮的、胖胖的、有喜感的老人，留着白胡须，穿着一件带白毛的红色外套。

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.

我们看到的圣诞老人的形象来自托马斯·那斯特的作品。他是一位出生于巴伐利亚的美国画家。他为圣诞诗歌作画，有人请他画圣诞老人的画像。

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.

那斯特记得，当他小时候还在德国南部时，梅格圣诞节都会有一个胖胖的老人给孩子们发礼物和蛋糕。因此，那斯特画画的时候，他画的圣诞老人就是记忆中小时候看到的那个圣诞老人的形象。经过很多年，那斯特画的圣诞老人像仍然是最受欢迎的。

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.

在圣诞节期间，几乎在美国大城市的任何地方都能看到圣诞老人。有些圣诞老人站在街角为需要的食物和礼物的人要钱，而有些圣诞老人在商店和购物中心。

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

通过孩子们排的很长的队伍，很容易找到圣诞老人，孩子们告诉圣诞老人他们圣诞节想要什么礼物。

You have been listening to the VOA Special English program Words and Their Stories.

现在你听到的是美国之音慢速英语的词语掌故。

Maurice Joyce was your narrator.

莫里斯·乔伊斯为你讲述。

I’m Shirley Griffith.

我是雪莉·格雷夫斯。