你真的了解圣诞节吗?

So who DID suggest cutting down a huge piece of shrubbery, dragging it into the house, covering it with lights, then sticking a model fairy on top? Then leaving it there until it drops needles all over the floor.
到底是谁建议砍掉一棵参天巨树，然后把它拖进房子，挂满节日灯，并在树顶插上一个精灵模型，又任由它的针叶掉满地上而不管？

Blame a German. The Romans had hung up the odd bit of green branch, but it was evangelist Martin Luther from Saxony who first decorated a whole fir tree.
要怪就怪德国人吧。是罗马人开始挂起这种奇怪的绿色树木的，但萨克森州的福音传道者才是装饰起冷杉树的第一人。

That was in 1510. The idea finally spread to Britain during Queen Victoria’s reign when her German-born husband Prince Albert had one sent over to remind him of his own childhood Christmases.
在1510年，这个主意传到了维多利亚女王统治的英国。有人送了一棵圣诞树给女王的丈夫—出生于德国的Albert王子，以唤起他对童年圣诞节的回忆。

Cards
圣诞卡

The first were sent in 1843 by Sir Henry Cole, boss of the Victoria and Albert Museum. He was far too busy to write letters so had an artist design 1,000 cards, illustrated with a festive family scene on the front and printed with the greeting, “A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You”.Horrified at being caught out, all his friends sent him one back the next year.
第一封圣诞卡是1843年由维多利亚和阿尔伯特博物馆（世界上最大的装饰艺术和设计博物馆）的老板Henry Cole先生发出的。他由于工作太繁忙而没空写祝贺信，于是他请了艺术家设计1000份贺卡，在卡片首页画有家庭节日相聚的场景，然后印刷带有“祝你圣诞节快乐和新年快乐”的祝福语。由于怕被发现没回信，他的所有朋友都在下一年送回他一张卡片。

In 1880 cards became so popular.
1880年，圣诞卡开始普及。

Tinsel
金灿灿的装饰

The first mass-produced Christmas decoration, it was made in Europe in the 1600s from sheets of silver alloy hammered until they were paper-thin and cut into strips.
第一批大量制造的圣诞节装饰，是在17世纪在欧洲制造的，把银合金片不断捶打直到变成薄片，然后切割成条。

The idea was to reflect the light from candles and fireplaces. Problem – after a few Christmases, the silver turned black. A cheaper, throwaway tinsel made from aluminium-based paper swept the festive market in the 1950s. Problem – it went up like a flash when it caught fire.
这些装饰是为了反射蜡烛和火炉的光亮，营造温馨气氛。问题——在圣诞节一系列活动后，银条会变黑。一种更便宜的，可丢弃的装饰条使用铝做的，在20世纪50年代横扫节日饰品市场。问题——如果遇火它会像闪电一样爆发。