初中英语阅读圣诞节

初中是一个拓宽眼界的时期，下面小编给大家准备了一些有关圣诞节的'英语阅读短文供大家欣赏，希望大家喜欢哦!

　　【the legend of saint nicholas圣尼古拉的传说】

history tells us that the origin of santa claus begins in the 4th century with saint nicholas, bishop of myra (an area in present day turkey). one of the legends tells about that he acquired a fortune when his parents died while he was still in his teens. by nature olas was a generous and honest man, particularly devoted to children. he also cared deeply for the poor. he brought various gifts, money and other useful items to the houses of the poor. he did this at night, and in secrecy, so that no one knew, as he wanted no glory, he just wanted to help people. he became widely known for his generosity.

there is one famous legend about saint nicholas. the story tells of nicholas hearing one day of three beautiful sisters who lived in a miserable hut on the edge of myra. the three sisters were very poor. they could barely earn enough to keep themselves and their old mother from starving to death. when nicholas heard of their plight, he was very concerned. he decided to do something to help them.

one night, when everyone was asleep, nicholas crept through the streets to the edge of town. quietly, he tiptoed up to the hut where the three sisters lived. he climbed onto the roof and dropped three bags of gold through the hole in the roof where the smoke from the fire came out. now it so happened that the three sisters has washed their stockings before they went to bed. the stockings has been hung by the fire to dry. when nicholas dropped the gold through the smoke hole, each bag of gold fell into a stocking.

the three sisters were overjoyed to find three bags of gold in their stockings when they woke up the next morning. soon, the story began to spread. other people began to hang up stockings in the hope of finding bags of gold when they woke up in the morning. from this legend sprang the custom of hanging stockings up by the chimney on christmas eve. over the years, saint nicholas became associated with christmas.

after his death around 350 a.d. he was buried in myra, but in 1087 italian sailors purportedly stole his remains and removed them to bari, italy, greatly increasing st. nicholas' popularity throughout europe. his kindness and reputation for generosity and love for children gave rise to claims that he could perform miracles and devotion to him increased. st. nicholas became the patron saint of russia, where he was famous for his red cape, flowing white beard, and bishop's mitre. in greece, he is the patron saint of sailors; in france he was the patron of lawyers, and in belgium the patron of children and travelers. the dutch kept the legend of st. nicholas alive. in 16th century holland, dutch children would place their wooden shoes by the hearth in hopes that they would be filled with a treat and goodies.

　　【The 12 Days of Christmas圣诞节的十二天】

The 12 Days of Christmas are now most famous as a song about someone receiving lots of presents from their 'true love'. However, to get to the song there had to be the days to start with!

The 12 Days of Christmas start on Christmas Day and last until the evening of the 5th January - also known as Twelfth Night. The 12 Days have been celebrated in Europe since before the middle ages and were a time of celebration.

The 12 Days each traditionally celebrate a feast day for a saint and/or have different celebrations:

Day 1 (25th December): Christmas Day - celebrating the Birth of Jesus

Day 2 (26th December also known as Boxing Day): St Stephen’s Day. He was the first Christian martyr (someone who dies for their faith). It's also the day when the Christmas Carol 'Good King Wenceslas' takes place.

Day 3 (27th December): St John the Apostle (One of Jesus's Disciples and friends)

Day 4 (28th December): The Feast of the Holy Innocents - when people remember the baby boys which King Herod killed when he was trying to find and kill the Baby Jesus.

Day 5 (29th December): St Thomas Becket. He was Archbishop of Canterbury in the 12th century and was murdered on 29th December 1170 for challenging the King’s authority over Church.

Day 6 (30th December): St Egwin of Worcester.

Day 7 (31st December): New Years Eve (known as Hogmanay in Scotland). Pope Sylvester I is traditionally celebrated on this day. He was one of the earliest popes (in the 4th Century).

In many central and eastern European countries (including Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, Slovakia, Switzerland and Slovenia) New Years Eve is still sometimes called 'Silvester'.

In the UK, New Years Eve was a traditional day for ‘games’ and sporting competitions. Archery was a very popular sport and during the middle ages it was the law that it had to be practised by all men between ages 17-60 on Sunday after Church! This was so the King had lots of very good archers ready in case he need to go to war!

Day 8 (1st January): 1st January - Mary, the Mother of Jesus

Day 9 (2nd January): St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory Nazianzen, two important 4th century Christians.

Day 10 (3rd January): Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus. This remembers when Jesus was officially 'named' in the Jewish Temple. It's celebrated by different churches on a wide number of different dates!

Day 11 (4th January): St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first American saint, who lived in the 18th and 19th centuries. In the past it also celebrated the feast of Saint Simon Stylites (who lives on a small platform on the top of a pillar for 37 years!).

Day 12 (5th January also known as Epiphany Eve): St. John Neumann who was the first Bishop in American. He lived in the 19th century.