Origins of Christmas    聖誕節的起源

Although no one knows on which exact date Jesus
was born, Christians have favored December 25 since
ancient times. It is the date on which the Romans
marked the winter solstice and it is nine months
following the Festival of Annunciation (March 25). In
ancient and early Medieval times, Christmas was either
a minor feast, or not celebrated at all.
The Romans had a winter celebration known as
Saturnalia. This festival was originally held on
December 17 and honoured Saturn, a god of
agriculture. It recalled the "golden age" when Saturn
ruled. In imperial times, Saturnalia was extended to
seven days (December 17-23). Combined with festivals
both before and after, the result was an extended
winter holiday season. Business was postponed and
even slaves feasted. There was drinking, gambling and
naked singing and dancing . It was the "best of days,"
according to the poet Catullus. With the coming of
Christianity, Italy’s Saturnalian traditions were attached
to Advent (the forty days before Christmas). Around
the 12th century, these traditions transferred again
to the "twelve days of Christmas" (i.e. Christmas to Epiphany).

儘管沒有人知道耶穌出生的確切日期，但自古以來基督徒們都贊同將其定在12月25日。這天是羅馬人規定的冬至，它是在天使報喜節（3月25日）9個月後。在古代及中世紀前期，聖誕節只是一個次要節日，有時人們根本不慶祝它。
羅馬人在冬天舉行的一個慶祝活動是農神節。這個節日最初是在12月17日，為了祭祀農神薩圖恩。薩圖恩統治時期被稱作“黃金時代”。在封建年代裏，農神節延長至7天（12月17日至12月23日）。前前後後的節日加在一起，就延長至一個冬季長假。商業活動推遲了，甚至奴隸也能美美地吃上飯了。那裏只有喝酒、賭博和赤身唱歌跳舞。按照詩人卡圖盧斯的説法，那被稱作“最好的
日子”。隨著基督教的盛行，意大利農神節的傳統又與降臨節（聖誕節的前40天）連在一起。12世紀左右，這些傳統又轉變成了“聖誕節的12天”（即從聖誕節到主顯節）。

責編：希望英語