人文英语阅读教程5单元：AB语言点.doc

Unit 1 Traditions Customs Section A Special Origin of Christmas Notes and information related to the text 1. It is a carryover from the German midwinter fests. (Para. 1) the German midwinter fests: The most important German midwinter fest is the Midwinter Solstice, the point at which the sun reaches its greatest declination, north, and the time when the sun reaches the point (about Dec. 21). The shortest day and the longest night caused ancients considerable anxiety. What if the sun was unable to gain its strength again? Midwinter festivals, therefore, centered around the theme of rebirth. 2. As such, it was a typically heathen symbol, which mainly served as a symbol of fertility and a defense against evil spirits. (Para. 1) Note: Winter in the northern countries was harsh. Only a few trees stayed “alive” and the evergreens, to the early Germans, became a symbol of immortality. Good spirits and the magic power of the evergreen were believed to resist the life-threatening powers of darkness and cold. They believed in the special powers of these trees and wherever they were, evil spirits could not go, so they brought the greenery into their homes. Since late Middle Ages, life green branches, symbols of life in the cold and dead of winter, were placed on windows, mirrors, and in vases, and may have served to keep evil spirits away. Over time, this mythical function of the greens became simply decorative. 3. It was hung with apples, synonymous with sin，and wafers, which symbolized salvation. (Para. 3) apples，synonymous with sin: According to the Bible, God created Adam and Eve, and had them live in the Paradise, forbidding them to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil lest they should understand the righteousness and the evilness of their own acts, which means an end of all peace of their soul. 4. Not until the 17th century was a decorated pine tree seen in public again. (Para. 5) Note: With “not until” placed at the beginning of a sen