thenamechristmasisshortfor"christ\'smass".amassisakindofchurchservice.christmasisareligiousfestival.itisthedaywecelebrateasthebirthdayofjesus.therearespecialchristmasservicesinchristianchurchesallovertheworld.butmanyofthefestivitiesofchristmasdonothaveanythingtodowithreligion.exchanginggiftsandsendingchristmascardsarethemodernwaysofcelebratingthechristmasintheworld.
thebirthofjesushadastory:innazareth,acityofgalilee.thevirgin\'snamewasmarywasbetrothedtojoseph.beforetheycametogether,shewasfoundwithchildoftheholyspirit.josephherhusbandwasmindedtoputherawaysecretly.whilehethoughtaboutthesethings,gabriel,anangelofthelordappearedtohiminadreamandtoldhimdidnotbeafraidtotakemaryaswife.andmarywillbringforthason,andheshallcallhisname,jesus,forhewillsavehispeoplefromtheirsins.
beforejesusbirths,josephandmarycametoquirniuswasgoverningsyria.soallwenttoberegistered,everyonetohisowncity.josephalsowentupoutofgalilee,outofthecityofnazareth,intojudea,tothecityofdavid,whichiscalledbethlehem,becausehewasofthehouseandofthelineageofdavid,toberegisteredwithmary,hisbetrothedwife,whowaswithchild.soitwasthatwhiletheywerethere,thedayswerecompletedforhertobedelivered.andshebroughtforthherfirstbornson,andwrappedhiminswaddlingcloths,andlaidhiminamanger,becausetherewasnoroomforthemintheinn.
andthat,christmasisthefeastofthenativityofjesus,ison25th,decembereveryyear.butnobodyknowtheactualbirthdayofjesus.andthechristmashasbecomepopularwhenchristmascardsappearedin1846andtheconceptofajollysantaclauswasfirstmadepopularinnineteenthcentury.
圣诞歌曲《平安夜》
说到圣诞歌曲，大概没有哪一首能比这首更“有名”更广为人知的了。网上甚至专门有一个silentnight.web(http://silentnight.web.za/)。
这首歌是奥地利的一个小地方的小乡村教会的神父JosephMohr在1816年写的歌词，曲作者FranzGruber是当地的一位默默无闻的音乐老师。据说当时是因为小教堂的管风琴坏了，所以Mohr神父要Gruber先生为他写的这首歌谱上用吉它伴奏的曲子应急。歌谱后来由修管风琴的人带出来，外面的世界才得以知道这首歌。这首歌很快传开受人喜爱。今天她已经几乎成为圣诞节的官方“节歌”。她被译成许多种文字。上面那个网页就有67种不同语言的105种不同版本的歌词。（中译者刘廷芳也是“五四新文化基督徒”“生命社”成员之一，据说是一位身材瘦小但善于交际社会活动能力很强的“大将”。。。）
这首脍炙人口的歌曲曲子动听，歌词优美，充满了一种属天的安宁。可以想象当年的默默无闻的Mohr神父在圣诞节前的晚上在山坡上望着奥地利乡村月下的景色，遥想圣经中关于救主降生的记载，感慨上帝借着道成肉身的圣子成就的救恩，是任何心被恩感，灵感奔涌，写下这"StilleNacht!HeiligeNacht"的不朽诗句。Mohr神父一生微寒，仅有的财富全部奉献给当地的学校和养老院，病逝的时候身上不名一文，真正体现了圣诞传统“博爱惠施”的精神。“平安夜”的曲作者也是特别名不见经传，以至后来的人很长一段时间都不知道他的名字，所以历史上还有把曲作者归到贝多芬、亨德尔这些“大牌”名下的时候。独行奇事的上帝又一次“颠覆”“有名”与“无名”，他使用一位默默无闻的乡村小教堂的神父和一位名不见经传的业余作曲者，为世人创作、留下这首流芳百世的圣诞名曲。《平安夜》的来历本身可以说就是一个神迹。
在这繁忙的节日季节，让我们暂时忘掉那些杂事吧！安静下来，倾听那来自心底的轻轻的《平安夜》歌声，思想两千年前那个夜晚在伯利恒降生的婴孩对人类、对历史、对你我的个人生命的真正意义。。。
SilentNight(ENGLISH)
SilentnightHolynight
Alliscalmallisbright
'RoundyouvirginMotherandChild
Holyinfantsotenderandmild
Sleepinheavenlypeace
Sleepinheavenlypeace
Silentnight,holynight,
Shepherdsquakeatthesight.
Gloriesstreamfromheavenafar,
Heav'nlyhostssingAlleluia;
ChristtheSaviorisborn;
ChristtheSaviorisborn.
Silentnight,holynight,
SonofGod,love'spurelight.
RadiantbeamsfromThyholyface,
Withthedawnofredeeminggrace,
Jesus,Lord,atThybirth;
Jesus,Lord,atThybirth.
平安夜
（南乡哥输入）
平安夜，圣善夜！
万暗中，光华射，
照着圣母也照着圣婴，
多少慈详也多少天真，
静享天赐安眠，静享天赐安眠。
平安夜，圣善夜！
牧羊人，在旷野，
忽然看见了天上光华，
听见天军唱哈利路亚，
救主今夜降生，救主今夜降生！
平安夜，圣善夜！
神子爱，光皎洁，
救赎宏恩的黎明来到，
圣容发出来荣光普照，
耶稣我主降生，耶稣我主降生！
圣诞节歌曲
一直流行的圣诞节的的歌曲主要有三首：一个是《平安夜》；一个是《听，天使报佳音》；第三个是《铃铛儿响叮当》。
下面罗列其他的圣诞节歌曲：
1.Celine Dion重新诠释Schubert经典圣诗.
2.Ave Maria(圣母颂 Charlotte Charles Francois Gounod)
天籁美声Charlotte重新诠释Gounod完美结合平均率之版本
3. Gloria In Excelsis Deo(荣耀归于神 伴奏版)
全地颂赞新生王降生
4. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
愿上帝赐给世人喜乐，古典圣诞名曲
5. Joy To The World(伴奏版)
耶稣降生，普世欢腾，圣诞必备名曲
6. Mary’s Boy Child(伴奏版)
小耶稣安祥的躺在圣母怀里，多么伟大的夜里
7. We Three Kings Of Orient Are
东方三博士只愿见救主一面，带有近东风格的圣诞名曲
8. What Child Is This
古典疗伤系圣诞名曲《绿袖子》
9. silent night(Elvis Presley)
说到平安夜，怎么能漏了这首让人心安宁的不朽名曲呢？
10. O Holy Night(Celine Dion)
Celine Dion重新诠释荡气回肠圣诞经典圣诗
11. O Holy Night(Leann Rimes)
Leann Rimes重新诠释荡气回肠圣诞经典圣诗
12. Halleluja
连皇帝都要为之肃立的名曲！
圣诞节的小诗：http://zhidao.baidu.com/question/14673467.html
http://www.poemsforfree.com/xmaspo.html
圣诞节的故事：http://www.knoxvilletennessee.com/christmas/stories/stocking.html
http://zhidao.baidu.com/question/16445382.html?md=3
http://www.1zan.com/duanxin/1/1/2006/129983.html
太多了，只好给你网址，自己看了。
参考资料：http://www.diyifanwen.com/zhuanti/shengdanjie/20071113194032465.html
The history of Christmas dates back over 4000 years. Many of our Christmas traditions were celebrated centuries before the Christ child was born. The 12 days of Christmas, the bright fires, the yule log, the giving of gifts, carnivals(parades) with floats, carolers who sing while going from house to house, the holiday feasts, and the church processions can all be traced back to the early Mesopotamians.
Many of these traditions began with the Mesopotamian celebration of New Years. The Mesopotamians believed in many gods, and as their chief god-Marduk. Each year as winter arrived it was believed that Marduk would do battle with the monsters of chaos. To assist Marduk in his struggle the Mesopotamians held a festival for the New Year. This was Zagmuk, the New Year's festival that lasted for 12 days.
The Persians and the Babylonians celebrated a similar festival called the Sacaea. Part of that celebration included the exchanging of places, the slaves would become the masters and the masters were to obey. The ancient Greeks held a festival similar to that of the Zagmuk/Sacaea festivals to assist their god Kronos who would battle the god Zeus and his Titans.
The Roman's celebrated their god Saturn. Their festival was called Saturnalia which began the middle of December and ended January 1st. With cries of "Jo Saturnalia!" the celebration would include masquerades in the streets, big festive meals, visiting friends, and the exchange of good-luck gifts called Strenae (lucky fruits). The Romans decked their halls with garlands of laurel and green trees lit with candles. Again the masters and slaves would exchange places.
"Jo Saturnalia!" was a fun and festive time for the Romans, but the Christians thought it an abomination to honor the pagan god. The early Christians wanted to keep the birthday of their Christ child a solemn and religious holiday, not one of cheer and merriment as was the pagan Saturnalia.
Some legends claim that the Christian "Christmas" celebration was invented to compete against the pagan celebrations of December. The 25th was not only sacred to the Romans but also the Persians whose religion Mithraism was one of Christianity's main rivals at that time. The Church eventually was successful in taking the merriment, lights, and gifts from the Saturanilia festival and bringing them to the celebration of Christmas.
The exact day of the Christ child's birth has never been pinpointed. Traditions say that it has been celebrated since the year 98 AD. In 137 AD the Bishop of Rome ordered the birthday of the Christ Child celebrated as a solemn feast. In 350 AD another Bishop of Rome, Julius I, choose December 25th as the observance of Christmas.
The birth of Jesus had a story: In Nazareth, a city of Galilee. The virgin's name was Mary was betrothed to Joseph. Before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Joseph her husband was minded to put her away secretly. While he thought about these things, Gabriel, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and told him did not be afraid to take Mary as wife. And Mary will bring forth a Son, and he shall call his name, Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.
Before Jesus births, Joseph and Mary came to Quirnius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. Joseph also went up out of Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and of the lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. So it was that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
And that, Christmas is the feast of the nativity of Jesus, is on 25th, December every year. But nobody knows the actual birthday of Jesus. And the Christmas has become popular when Christmas cards appeared in 1846 and the concept of a jolly Santa Claus was first made popular in nineteenth Century.
The custom of giving gifts to relatives and friends on a special day in winter probably began in ancient Rome and northern Europe. In these regions, people gave each other small presents as part of their year-end celebrations.
In the 1800's, two more Christmas customs became popular--decorating Christmas trees and sending Christmas cards to relatives and friends. Many well-known Christmas carols, including ``Silent Night" and ``Hark! The Herald Angels Sing," were composed during this period. In the United States and other countries, Santa Claus replaced Saint Nicholas as the symbol of gift giving.
The word Xmas is sometimes used instead of Christmas. This tradition began in the early Christian church. In Greek, X is the first letter of Christ's name. It was frequently used as a holy symbol.
“圣诞节”这个名称是“基督弥撒”的缩写。弥撒是教会的一种礼拜仪式。耶诞节是一个宗教节。我们把它当作耶稣的诞辰来庆祝，因而又名耶诞节。这一天，世界所有的基督教会都举行特别的礼拜仪式。但是有很多圣诞节的欢庆活动和宗教并无半点关联。交换礼物，寄圣诞卡，这都使圣诞节成为一个普天同庆的日子。
圣诞节是基督教世界最大的节日。4世纪初，1月6日是罗马帝国东部各教会纪念耶稣降生和受洗的双重节日、称为“主显节”Epiphany，亦称“显现节”即上帝通过耶稣向世人显示自己。当时只有耶路撒冷的教会例外，那里只纪念耶稣的诞生而不纪念耶稣的受洗。
后来历史学家们在罗马基督徒习用的日历中发现公元 354年12月25日页内记录着：“基督降生在犹大的伯利恒。”经过研究，一般认为12月25日作为圣诞节可能开始于公元336年的罗马教会。12月25日原来是波斯太阳神（即光明之神）密特拉（Mithra）的诞辰，是一个异教徒节日，同时太阳神也是罗马国教众神之一。这一天又是罗马历书的冬至节，崇拜太阳神的异教徒都把这一天当作春天的希望，万物复苏的开始。可能由于这个原因，罗马教会才选择这一天作为圣诞节。这是教会初期力图把异教徒的风俗习惯基督教化的措施之一。后来，虽然大多数教会都接受12月25日为圣诞节，但又因为各地教会使用的历书不同，具体日期不能统一，于是就把12月24日到第二年的1月6日定为圣诞节节期（Christmas Tide），各地教会可以根据当地具体情况在这段节期之内庆祝圣诞节。
随着基督教的广泛传播，圣诞节已成为各教派基督徒，甚至广大非基督徒群众的一个重要节日。在欧美许多国家里，人们非常重视这个节日，把它和新年连在一起，而庆祝活动之热闹与隆重大大超过了新年，成为一个全民的节日。
12月25日的主要纪念活动都与耶稣降生的传说有关。耶稣的出生是有一段故事的，耶稣是因着圣灵成孕，由童女马利亚所生的。神更派遣使者加伯列在梦中晓谕约瑟，叫他不要因为马利亚未婚怀孕而不要她，反而要与她成亲，把那孩子起名为“耶稣”，意思是要他把百姓从罪恶中救出来。当马利亚快要临盆的时候，罗马政府下了命令，全部人民到伯利恒务必申报户籍。约瑟和马利亚只好遵命。他们到达伯利恒时，天色已昏，无奈两人未能找到旅馆借宿，只有一个马棚可以暂住。就在这时，耶稣要出生了！於是马利亚唯有在马槽上，生下耶稣。
后人为纪念耶稣的诞生，便把十二月二十五日定为圣诞节，纪念耶稣的出世。但真实的诞生日就没有人知道了。十九世纪，圣诞卡的流行、圣诞老人的出现，圣诞节也开始流行起来了。
The origin of Christmas：One day ,long ago ,a litter baby was born.His name was Jesus.Jesus was a special baby.Mang people say he was the son of God.
Think that he is born in the sky having a new come into being, and evasive intense star brilliant rays occasionally.
Have had three sages to follow person star brilliant rays , have found Jesus.
They have brought about the peculiar gift, and have foretold that Jesus grows up may become a great people the day afer tomorrow.
Jesus has become great one teacher after growing up, he has taught people loving God heartily , shown loving care for each other.
Afterwards,Jesus is envied and hated because of meeting with Judaism upper strata, the nail is suffered calamities on the cross , the at last is passed away by evil person.
People hangs with the star in the Christmas tree top for the thing commemorating Jesus , when Christmas Day , people give present each other.
Jingle Bells：Dashing through the snow；In a one- horse open sleigh；Over the fields we go；Laughing all the way；Bells on bobtails way；
Making spirits bright；What fun it is to ride and sing；A sleighing song tonight；OH,Jingle bells, jingle bells,；Jingle all the way；
Oh,what fun it is to ride；In a one-horse open sleigh；Jingle bells,jingle bells；Jingle all the way；Oh,what fun it is to ride；
In a one-horse open sleigh；A day or two ago；I thought I take a ride；And soon Miss Fanny Bright；was seated by my side；
The horse was lean and lank；Misfortune seemed his lot；He's got into a drifted bank；And we, we got upsot；OH,Jingle bells, jingle bells,；
Jingle all the way；Oh,what fun it is to ride；In a one-horse open sleigh；Jingle bells,jingle bells；Jingle all the way；Oh,what fun it is to ride；
In a one-horse open sleigh；A day or two ago,；The story I must tell；I went out on the snow,；And on my back I fell;A gent was riding by；
In a one-horse open sleigh,；He laughed as there I sprawling lie,；But quickly drove away.；OH,Jingle bells, jingle bells,；Jingle all the way；
Oh,what fun it is to ride；In a one-horse open sleigh；Jingle bells,jingle bells；Jingle all the way；Oh,what fun it is to ride；In a one-horse open sleigh；
Now the ground is white；Go it while you're young,；Take the girls tonight；And sing this sleighing song;Just get a bob-tailed bay；two-forty as his speed；
Hitch him to an open sleigh；And crack! you'll take the lead.；OH,Jingle bells, jingle bells,；Jingle all the way；
Oh,what fun it is to ride；In a one-horse open sleigh；Jingle bells,jingle bells；Jingle all the way；Oh,what fun it is to ride；In a one-horse open sleigh.
The origin of the Christmas tree：It is said that a farmer received a hungry and ruthless child on a Christmas night and let him have a hearty Christmas dinner.
When the child said goodbye, he folded a fir branch and put it on the ground and blessed: "There is a gift full of gifts, stay in this beautiful Shancun and repay your kindness."
After the child left, the peasant discovered that the branch had become A small tree, he realized that he was originally a messenger of God.
This story becomes the source of the Christmas tree.
