Christmas
For Christians, Christmas is the second most important festival of the year, after Easter (which is at the end of April or beginning of May). For most people, however, it is the most festive of all festivals. Families come together for a day of eating, drinking and exchanging presents; for children it is still one of the most fun days of the year, as they receive their long-awaited presents.
festive - 祝祭らしい / long-awaited - 待ち通しの
Nowadays, the religious significance of Christmas is fading, but due to the continuing tradition of exchanging gifts, it has become an overwhelmingly commercial affair with shops putting up their decorations at the end of Autumn.
religious significance - 宗教上の意義 / is fading - 薄くなっている
continuing tradition - 今でも続いている伝統 / overwhelmingly - 圧倒的に
commercial - 商業的
Although mainly a christian event, there are many aspects of the festival which have older roots in pre-christian traditions - the Christmas Tree, for instance, has its origins in a pagan festival.
mainly - 主に / pre-christian traditions - クリスト教より前からの伝統
has its origins in - 〜に由来する / pagan -異教
(1) Mulled Wine and Mince Pies - People often hold parties in their houses in the fortnight before Christmas, inviting friends and neighbours to enjoy some drinks. We usually serve ‘Mulled Wine’ - hot red wine flavoured with herbs and spices - and ‘Mince Pies’ - small pastry pies filled with mixed fruit-mince which are eaten with cream or ice-cream or ‘brandy butter’.
fortnight - 二週間という意味 / serve - （お客さんに）出す
(2) Carol Singing - There are a whole collection of traditional, christian songs, called ‘carols’, which are sung during the Christmas season. Groups of ‘Carol Singers’ go round their neighbourhood and sing carols outside people’s houses. We usually go to the door and thank them. If people are feeling very festive, they often invite the whole group into the house to drink, guess what(?!), mulled wine and mince pies…
collection - 収集 / neighbourhood - 近所 / guess what - 当ててみて！
(3) Presents - Christmas Day itself is usually spent with family - so a lot of people go back to their parents’ homes - and involves lots of eating and drinking. Some people go to church on Christmas morning for a short service where they sing carols and try to show their children that there’s more to the whole thing than just getting presents… Which is of course actually the most important thing… Children tell their parents what they want and then wait for Christmas Day to see if Father Christmas will bring them their desires. It’s not just family though, as friends also give gifts to each other as well.
involves - 〜を伴う / service - （教会での）式・儀式 / desires - 欲望・欲しがっている物
(4) Boxing Day - The day after Christmas, the 26th, is called ‘Boxing Day’. People usually spend the day relaxing and recovering from eating and drinking too much the day before… Children spend the day enjoying their new presents. Outside the cities, people often head out for a long walk in the countryside, usually to counter the effects of Christmas overindulgence. ‘Boxing Day’ gets its name from an old tradition where wealthy people used to give their servants boxes with a ‘bonus’ (ie., some money), presumably as a reward for a year’s hard work.
recovering from - ～から回復中 / the day before - 前日 / spend ~ ing - （時間を）（何々して）過ごす
head out for - ～のために外に向かう・出かける / counter - 中和する・打ち消す
overindulgence - 耽りすぎ / wealthy - 金持ち / presumably - 思うに・たぶん
reward - 褒美・報酬
And there we have it, some Christmas traditions… I’ve got to say this, but… it sure beats KFC! Anyway, have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
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