Name: 四分鐘帶你揭開聖誕老公公身世小故事！ (A Brief History of Santa)
Uploaded: 2012-12-24T07:03:46.000Z
Duration: 3 min 55 s

On the 24th of December every year, children around the world put out milk and cookies

每年 12 月 24 日，世界各地的孩子都會準備牛奶和餅乾，

in the hopes of luring a magic fat man into their home who will leave presents behind before sneaking into the house next door.

希望能引誘一位魔法胖老爺爺進到他們家，在悄悄跑去隔壁家前留下禮物。

這個奇怪的傳統到底怎麼來的？

You can pretty much blame Northern Europe, where the winter weather is cold and dark and depressing.

基本上你可以怪北歐，那裡的冬天又冷又暗又憂鬱。

And the coldest and darkest and depressingest day is the Solstice on December 21st or 22nd

而一年中最冷、最暗、最憂鬱的日子，就是 12 月 21 或 22 日的冬至，

when the sun only gives a few weak hours of light, if any at all.

那天太陽可能只露臉幾個微弱的小時，甚至完全不出現。

These sun-deprived people invented magical characters to visit them and lighten the mood by bringing gifts and celebrations.

缺乏陽光的人們創造了許多魔法角色來拜訪他們，用禮物與慶典來提振心情。

These characters ranged from elves to Gods to goats, but there are two of particular interest to the modern story.

這些角色從精靈到神明、甚至到山羊都有，但與現代故事最有關的有兩個。

The first is St. Nick, in the Netherlands.

St. Nick is thin and perhaps a bit stern, but still brings presents to children early in December.

聖尼古拉瘦瘦的，可能有點嚴肅，但仍會在 12 月初送孩子們禮物。

He dresses like a bishop in red and white with a staff and rides on a horse named Amerigo,

他穿著紅白相間、像主教的服裝，手持法杖，騎著一匹名叫 Amerigo 的馬，

for whom Dutch children are encouraged to leave out a carrot.

荷蘭的小孩會被鼓勵替牠準備一根紅蘿蔔。

聖尼古拉在荷蘭語中叫做 Sinterklaas。

The second character is Father Christmas from England.

第二個角色是英國的聖誕之父。

Father Christmas is a big, jolly pagan dressed in green with a holly wreath on his head.

聖誕之父是一位穿著綠衣、頭戴冬青花圈、快樂的大個子異教角色。

Traditionally, he is less concerned with children and gifts than he is with food and wine and celebration

傳統上，他比起小孩和禮物，更關心食物、葡萄酒以及狂歡。

and is perhaps best known for being one of the three spirits of Christmas who terrorize Scrooge.

他最為人熟知的形象，是《聖誕頌歌》中嚇壞 Scrooge 的三個幽靈之一。

When Europeans settled the Colonies, St. Nick and Father Christmas and the other characters began to mix together.

當歐洲移民到美洲殖民地後，聖尼古拉、聖誕之父與其他角色開始互相融合。

This explains why the US version has so many names.

這也解釋了為什麼美國版本會有那麼多名字。

Santa Claus is the Americanization of Sinterklaas,

「Santa Claus」源自 Sinterklaas 的美式轉音，

but he's also called St. Nick and Father Christmas and Kris Kringle which comes from Germany.

但他同時也被稱為 St. Nick、Father Christmas，還有來自德國的 Kris Kringle。

In the old world, these were different characters,

在舊世界中，這些都是不同的角色，

but in the new world, over time, they evolved into one, which you can see happening in older stories.

但在新世界，它們隨著時間融合成同一個形象，這點可從早期故事中看到。

For example, the poem, "The Night Before Christmas" came out in 1823 in New York

例如詩作《聖誕前夜》在 1823 年於紐約出版，

which established that Santa lands on the roof and fills stocking with toys.

書中確立了聖誕老人會降落在屋頂並往長襪裡塞玩具。

But this Santa is an elf, much like those from the Nordic Countries.

但這位聖誕老人是一位精靈，像北歐故事裡的那種。

He's small and drives a miniature sleigh with tiny reindeer—

他個子小、駕著迷你雪橇和小型馴鹿——

which makes a lot more sense for someone whose job description includes fitting down chimneys.

這其實很合理，畢竟這份工作包含要鑽進煙囪。

Also, the word, "Santa" appears nowhere in the poem.

而且詩裡完全沒有出現「Santa」這個詞。

The original title is "A Visit from St. Nick."

它的原名是《A Visit from St. Nick》。

As the 1800s continued, a fat, human-looking immortal Santa evolved into the standard among American authors.

到了 1800 年代後期，一位胖胖的、長得像人類的不朽聖誕老人逐漸成為美國主流描寫。

It was in the states that he gained both his elvish workforce and a wife.

也正是在美國，他擁有了他的精靈工作團隊與妻子。

By about 1900, Santa had developed his current iconic style.

大約在 1900 年左右，聖誕老人發展成了如今的經典形象。

It should be noted that, contrary to popular belief, Coca-Cola didn't change his colors to their corporate scheme.

值得注意的是，與普遍誤解相反，可口可樂並沒有為了企業顏色而改變他的服裝。

but instead, used the conveniently red-and-white Santa in 1931 to help sell more soda during their off-season.

他們只是於 1931 年利用本來就紅白配色的聖誕老人來促銷淡季飲料。

Though Coke didn't create him, their omnipresent ads probably did brand this as the One True Santa in the minds of millions,

儘管可口可樂沒有創造他，但他們無所不在的廣告確實在許多人心中奠定了「唯一的聖誕老人」。

helping spread him around the world to many cultures with no traditions of winter gift-givers.

並將他傳播到世界各地，甚至到沒有冬季送禮傳統的文化中。

This American Santa, in turn, influenced his relations in Northern Europe to become more like him,

這位美國式聖誕老人也反過來影響北歐的相關角色，

although not always to the pleasure of the locals.

雖然當地人不一定都樂見這種改變。

In particular, the British Father Christmas has been completely assimilated into the Santa collective

特別是在英國，Father Christmas 幾乎完全被吸收進 Santa 的形象裡，

to the point where many Britons don't realize they were ever separate.

導致許多英國人不知道兩者原本是不同角色。

In the Netherlands, however, St. Nick is still successfully holding his own as a distinct character.

然而在荷蘭，St. Nick 仍然成功保持為獨立的角色。

The one last detail about modern Santa that's still up for debate, at least between countries, is where exactly he lives.

關於現代聖誕老人還有一個各國仍在爭論的細節：他到底住在哪裡。

In the late 1800s, his home was the magnetic north pole centered under the aurora borealis.

在 1800 年代末，他的家被設定在極光下的磁北極附近。

While this would be the most diplomatic option for Santa,

雖然這是最具外交意味的選擇，

Magnetic North has since moved off the Polar Ice Sheet and into the Ocean,

但磁北極已經從北極冰層移動到海洋上，

a rather inconvenient place to set up a toy factory.

那並不是一個方便建造玩具工廠的地方。

So Canada claims his workshop is somewhere in Nunavut and has given Santa a post code and—no joke—official Canadian citizenship.

因此加拿大宣稱他的工坊位在努納武特，甚至給了他郵遞區號，以及——沒開玩笑——官方加拿大公民身分。

The American response is that the North Pole doesn't refer to the obviously inhospitable sheet of non-domestic ice,

美國的回應則是：北極指的不是那片顯然不適宜居住的無主冰層，

but rather to the little town of North Pole, Alaska.

而是阿拉斯加有個名叫「North Pole」的小鎮。

Denmark claims he lives in their former colony of Greenland, and Greenland, not surprisingly, agrees.

丹麥則聲稱他住在曾是他們殖民地的格陵蘭，而格陵蘭當然也同意。

The Nordic countries quarrel about his exact location,

北歐國家也對他的確切位置爭論不休，

but Finland is the clear winner of this argument with its workshop in Rovaniemi on the Arctic Circle.

但芬蘭以位於北極圈上的羅瓦涅米工坊明顯贏過這場辯論。

For the evidence inclined, you can actually go visit Santa there and see the elves, toys, reindeer and post office, which makes Finland's claim pretty strong.

如果你需要證據，你甚至可以親自去拜訪那裡的聖誕老人，看到精靈、玩具、馴鹿以及郵局，讓芬蘭的主張相當有力。

Santa is even available during the off-season.

But, no matter where he might be based, Santa still manages to get around the world in just one night to deliver all those presents...and eat all those cookies.

但無論他真正的基地在哪裡，他依然能在一夜之間走遍全球，送出所有禮物……並吃掉所有餅乾。