圣诞树一致是庆祝圣诞节不可少的装饰物,如果家中没有圣诞树,就大大减少了过节气氛。关于圣诞树的来源有多种不同的传说。 Legend suggests that, in the late 16th century, Martin Luther (the founder of the Protestant religion) was the first to decorate an indoor tree with candles when he attempted to recreate the stars shining over a forest of evergreens. The first mention of decorated trees being taken indoors came in 1605 in Germany - a country with a long Christmas tree history! The trees were initially decorated with fruit and sweets together with hand made objects such as quilled snowflakes and stars. German Christmas Markets began to sell shaped gingerbreads and wax ornaments which people bought as souvenirs of the fair and took home to hang on their tree. 其中一个是说:大约在十六世纪,圣诞树最先出现在德国,德国人把长青的松柏枝拿到屋中去摆设,将之成为圣诞树。后来,由德国人马丁路德把蜡烛放在树林中的枞树枝上,然后点燃蜡烛,使它看起来像是引导人们到伯利恒去。而近今日,人们已经改用粉色的小灯泡了。 Tinsel was also invented in Germany in about 1610. Up until fairly recently real silver was used, which was pulled into wafer thin strips by special machines. This was durable but tarnished quickly and many experiments took place to try and find an alternative - including a mix of lead and tin, which was too heavy and kept breaking. It was only in the mid 20th century that a viable alternative was found. |