“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。圣诞节是一个宗教节日，它是我们庆祝耶稣诞辰的日子。
　　世上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。交换礼物和寄圣诞卡都是庆祝圣诞节的现代方式。
　　耶稣的出生背后有一段故事，故事发生在加利利的一个城镇拿撒勒。在这里，处女玛利亚被许配给木匠约瑟。在玛利亚与约瑟结婚前，玛利亚发现她怀上了圣灵的孩子。这让约瑟感到焦虑而不安；但是神的一位天使加伯列出现在他的梦中，告诉他不要担心，并且他必须娶玛利亚为妻。加伯列也告诉他玛利亚将会生下一个儿子，这个孩子必须取名为“耶稣”—他将是为人们的罪恶而献出生命的救世主。
　　圣诞节是纪念耶稣诞生的节日。定于每年的12月25日。但是没有人知道耶稣真正的诞生日是什么时候。1846年出现了圣诞卡之后，圣诞节开始变得流行起来。到了19世纪，圣诞节又出现了一位令人愉快的圣诞老人。
　　
　　The Origins of Christmas
　　by Van
　　
　　The name Christmas is short for “Christ’s Mass” A Mass is a kind of Church service. Christmas is a religious^[宗教的] festival. It is the day we celebrate as the birthday of Jesus.
　　There are special Christmas services in Christian churches all over the world. But many of the festivities of Christmas do not have anything to do with religion. Exchanging^[交换] gifts and sending Christmas cards are modern ways of celebrating Christmas.
　　There is a story behind the birth of Jesus, beginning in Nazareth, a city in Galilee. Here, the Virgin Mary was betrothed^[许配]to Joseph, a carpenter. Before Joseph and Mary consummated their union, Mary found that she was pregnant with the child of the Holy Spirit. This made Joseph very anxious and uncertain; but Gabriel, an angel of the Lord, appeared to him in a dream, telling him not to be afraid and that he should take May as his wife. Gabriel also told him that Mary would bring a son into the world and that he should be named Jesus the saviour that would die for people’s sins^[罪过].
　　Christmas is the feast^[节日] of the nativity of Jesus. It is on December 25th, 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^[概念] of a jolly^[欢乐的] Santa Claus was first made popular in nineteenth Century.