入冬了，先加件衣服一起來讀 #BBC新聞
🎅紅白色聖誕老人的前世今生
The real reason Father Christmas wears red and white

🎄 Why, after all, does Santa Claus wear red and white?

聖誕老人給人的印象，是一個穿著紅白色大衣的老人，但聖誕老人這個形象是甚麼時候開始的？

Many people will tell you that the modern Santa is dressed to match the red-and-white colors of a can of Coke, and was popularized by Coca Cola's advertising in the 1930s.

許多人會說，聖誕老人的衣服在1930年代被設計為紅白兩種顏色，是為了與可口可樂的罐子設計一致。

A good story, but the red-and-white Santa himself wasn't created to advertise Coca-Cola - why, he was touting the rival beverage White Rock back in 1923. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was the one who was invented as a marketing gimmick.

可口可樂公司當時的確有為宣傳可樂創造一個卡通人物，但那是紅鼻子馴鹿魯道夫，而不是身穿紅白衣服的聖誕老人──他1923年就已經誕生，當時是為了宣傳可口可樂的競爭對手White Rock汽水。

🤶 The modern Santa Claus is actually much older, a patchwork character woven together from different sources. These include Saint Nicholas, a 4th Century Greek bishop - who famously wore red robes while giving gifts to the poor, especially children - and the English folk figure "Father Christmas", whose original green robes turned red over time.

現代聖誕老人是用不同歷史人物的故事拼湊而成。這包括一名4世紀的 #希臘主教 聖尼古拉斯，許多神話都記載他身穿紅色外衣給窮人派禮物。另外，聖誕老人的部份特色來自英國神話故事人物 #聖誕神父，他原本身穿綠色外衣，但漸漸變成紅色。

The Santa we know also owes much to the Dutch figure Sinterklaas - also based on Saint Nicholas - whose legend flourished in the once-Dutch city of New York, popular with prosperous Manhattanites such as Washington Irving and Clement Clarke Moore in the early 1800s.

但對現代聖誕老人形象影響最深遠的，是受希臘主教聖尼古拉斯的一個荷蘭神話故事人物。他的中文譯名也是 #聖尼古拉斯，在曾經是荷蘭殖民地的紐約市十分流行，受歐文和穆爾等住在紐約曼克頓的作家歡迎。

🎁 It was in the 1820s, too, that advertisements for Christmas presents became common in the United States.

而在穆爾的同一個年代，美國零售商為了 #清理年末積壓下來的存貨，開始用廣告鼓勵大眾給其他人買聖誕禮物。

By the 1840s, Santa himself was a frequent commercial icon in advertisements. Retailers, after all, had to find some way to clear their end-of-year stock. The gift-giving tradition took firm hold.

到了1840年代，這些廣告經常都有聖誕老人出現，令聖誕節變成一個消費節日的傳統更為根深蒂固。

In Boston in 1867, 10,000 people paid to see Charles Dickens give readings of his Christmas Carol - a story light on biblical details and heavy on the idea of generosity.

1867年的底特律，約1萬人排隊買票，就是為了聽英國著名小說家狄更斯朗讀他的小說 #聖誕頌歌（又譯《小氣財神》），內容主要宣揚無私、慷慨解囊的精神。

想知道《小婦人》中，哪一句名言奠定了現代聖誕節的贈禮傳統嗎？
加入國際選讀，了解更多聖誕文化
https://events.storm.mg/member/HOWSJ/

——
原文連結請看留言
——

#跟我說說✍🏻
你印象中的聖誕節是什麼樣子？
就送你【今日讀報單字包】！

#拉著朋友徹夜不歸 #和另一半共享珍貴時光
#在家庭聚會上被三姑六婆逼婚
#沒什麼，不過又是一個孤單的夜晚