現在的聖誕習俗與過去有何不同？

Christmas Traditions, Past and Present
聖誕節的往昔與今朝

Americans may have made some changes in the way they celebrate Christmas over the years, but some important traditions--like friends and family--remain the same. According to a Pew Research Center survey conducted among a representative sample of 2,001 adults nationwide, nine out of every 10 Americans celebrate Christmas.
多年來，美國人在慶祝聖誕節的方式上做了很多改變，但一些重要的傳統還是保留至今，例如在那天與朋友和家人相聚。根據佩尤研究中心對全國2001名具有代表性的成年人進行的調查顯示，十個裏面有九個美國人會慶祝聖誕。

However, only around half of those who celebrate view it as a religious holiday, while one-third see it as a cultural celebration, rather than one of faith. Religion is far less central to young peoples’ observances of Christmas, the survey found, with only 39 percent of those aged 18-29 viewing it as a religious holiday, compared with 66 percent of those aged 65 and older.
然而，會慶祝聖誕節的人中只有差不多一半把它視作爲一個宗教節日；而三分之一的人會將它看作一個文化慶典，而不是一種信仰。在年輕人的眼中，宗教遠遠不是聖誕節的核心，經調查發現，18-29歲的人中只有39%的人把它當做一個宗教節日，與之相比，65歲及以上的人有66%把聖誕節視爲宗教節日。

According to Christian theology, the Christmas holiday commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whose teachings form the basis of the Christian faith. Christians didn’t begin celebrating Christ’s birth until the third century A.D., when Roman church officials settled on December 25 (the Bible doesn’t mention the exact date), probably to coincide with already existing pagan winter festivals. Today, Christmas is not the most important Christian holiday–in fact, it ranks fourth after Easter, Pentecost and Epiphany. Yet since the 19th century, when Americans began to celebrate Christmas in the way we think of today–including traditions such as decorating trees, sending holiday cards and giving gifts–it has grown into the biggest commercial holiday of the year and is now celebrated by the vast majority of Americans, Christian or not.
根據基督教神學的理念，聖誕節是爲了紀念拿撒勒耶穌的誕生，其傳教爲基督教信仰構建了雛形。基督教徒們從公元前三世紀纔開始慶祝耶穌的誕生，當時羅馬官方將日期定爲12月25日（聖經中沒有提到具體的日期），可能是爲了和當時異教徒的冬季節日同步。如今，聖誕節已經不是基督教最重要的節日了，其重要地位居於復活節、聖靈降臨節和主顯節之後。之後，自十九世紀以來，美國人開始像現在一樣慶祝聖誕節，包括裝飾聖誕樹、贈送節日賀卡和禮物等傳統，從那時開始聖誕節已經成爲每年最大的商業節日；現在絕大多數美國人都慶祝聖誕，不論他們是否是基督徒。

In an attempt to explore the changing nature of Christmas traditions, the Pew survey also asked its adult participants how they remember celebrating the holiday as children, compared to the way they celebrate it now. A whopping 86 percent said they plan to celebrate Christmas with family and friends, and the same percentage say they plan to give gifts to friends and family. Around nine in 10 adults (91 percent) said these activities were part of their holiday traditions when they were children. According to the survey, eight out of every 10 Americans (79 percent) plan to put up a Christmas tree this year, compared with 92 percent who said they typically put up a Christmas tree when they were children.
爲了探討聖誕節的傳統的演變，佩尤調查還讓這些成年參與者談談他們童年時是如何慶祝聖誕的。高達86%的受調查者說，他們是和家人朋友一起慶祝聖誕節的，也有相同比例的人說準備給朋友和家人送禮物。大約十分之一的成人（91%）表示，這些活動也是他們小時候過聖誕節的時候會做的事情。據調查，每10個美國人裏有8個（79%）計劃今年在家裏佈置一棵聖誕樹，而92%的人說在他們小時候他們也通常會在聖誕節放一棵聖誕樹。

Other holiday traditions remembered from childhood didn’t fare as well, however. While 81 percent of those surveyed said their families typically sent holiday cards during their childhoods, only 65 percent said they planned to do so this year. Only 16 percent said they would go caroling (compared with 36 percent who said they caroled during their childhood).
然而，其他的節日傳統卻跟童年時的不一樣。儘管有81%的受調查者表示，在兒提時代，他們的家人通常會贈送節日賀卡，但只有6%5的人表示他們今年也會贈送賀卡。也只有16%的人說他們會去唱聖誕頌歌（與之相比，36%的人說他們也會在童年時唱聖誕頌歌）。

The Pew survey found that religious and non-religious Americans are relatively similar in their celebrations of the Christmas holiday, and that both cultural and religious observers were just as likely to gather with family, exchange gifts and take part in another popular Christmas tradition–Santa Claus. Among those adults surveyed who have a child who believes in Santa Claus, 69 percent said they plan to pretend that Santa visits their house on Christmas Eve this year. Perhaps more surprisingly, 18 percent of parents whose children do not believe in Santa will still pretend to get a visit from the jolly bearded fellow this Christmas, and so will 22 percent of adults who are not parents or guardians of any children.
佩尤調查還發現，有宗教信仰和無宗教信仰的美國人都在慶祝聖誕節的方式上不盡相同。文化和宗教人士會和家人聚在一起，互相交換禮物和沿襲其他廣受歡迎的聖誕傳統——比如扮聖誕老人。受調查者中還包括一些有孩子的成年人，那些孩子都相信有聖誕老人的存在，在這些受調查者中69%的人說，他們打算假扮聖誕老人在今年的聖誕夜上門拜訪。也許更令人驚訝的是，還有18%的家長，儘管孩子不相信聖誕老人的存在，但仍然會假扮這個快樂的留着鬍子的聖誕老人，也有22%的人雖然不是任何孩子的父母或是監護人，表示願意這麼做。