8. 圣诞老人原名“圣塔尼古拉斯”！？

　　The most famous and pervasive of these figures in modern celebration worldwide is Santa Claus, a mythical giftbringer, dressed in red, whose origins have disputed sources. SantaClaus is a corruption of the Dutch Sinterklaas, which means simplySaint Nicholas. Nicholas was Bishop of Myra (in modern day Turkey) inthe fourth century. Among other saintly attributes, he was noted forthe care of Children, generosity, and the giving of gifts。

　　全球最知名的圣诞人物恐怕就是圣诞老人了，他老人家带礼物、穿红衫，广受小盆友欢迎。他的英文名SantaClaus是德语Sinterklaas的误传，而Sinterklaas的直译就是“圣塔尼古拉斯”了。尼古拉斯先生是14世纪玛拉国(今土耳其)的主教，他非常关心孩子，慷慨大方、乐施礼物。后成为圣诞老人的原型。

　　9. 小圣诞(Little Christmas)是怎么回事？

　　Little Christmas is one of the traditional names in Ireland forJanuary 6, more commonly known in the rest of the world as theCelebration of the Epiphany.It is so called because it was the day on which Christmas Day wascelebrated under the Roman calendar, before the adoption of theGregorian calendar. It is the traditional end of the Christmas seasonand the last day of the Christmas holidays for both primary andsecondary schools in Ireland。

　　爱尔兰人把每年的1月6日称为“小圣诞”——其他国家把这一天称为“主显日”。在乔治亚历通用以前，这一天是以罗马历计算的圣诞节。在爱尔兰，小圣诞被视为是圣诞季的最后一天，过了这一天，小学和中学就开学啦。(很像咱们的“过大年”啊！)

　　10. 女人的圣诞节(Women's Christmas)又是怎么回事儿？

　　Little Christmas is also called Women's Christmas, and sometimesWomen's Little Christmas. It is so called because of the tradition ofIrish men taking on all the household duties for the day and givingtheir wives a day off.Most women hold parties or go out to celebrate

　　the day with their friends, sisters, mothers, aunts, etc. Bars andrestaurants usually serve mostly women and girls on this night.Children often buy presents for their mothers and grandmothers。

　　小圣诞节在爱尔兰同时也叫“女人的圣诞节”，或“女人的小圣诞”。因为这一天，爱尔兰的男人通常会接过家里的所有家务，让他们的妻子休一天假。很多女人在这一天开派对、和朋友、姐妹、母亲、阿姨们一起外出庆祝。酒吧和餐馆在这一天通常也会接待很多女宾，而孩子们则会为他们的母亲和祖母们准备礼物。