Ｃｈｒｉｓｔｍａｓ Ｄａｙ

Christmas or Christmas Day is a holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus, the central figure of Christianity. It is traditionally celebrated on December 25 by most Western Christian churches. Although dating to probably as early as A.D. 200, the feast of Christmas did not become widespread until the Middle Ages. Aspects of celebration may include gift-giving, Christmas trees, display of Nativity sets, church attendance, the Father Christmas Santa Claus myth, and family gatherings. The word Christmas is derived from Middle English Christemasse. It is a contraction meaning “Christs mass”. The name of the holiday is often shortened to Xmas because Roman letter “X” resembles the Greek letter X, an abbreviation for Christ.

圣诞节是庆祝天主教中心人物耶稣诞生的节日，通常西方天主教堂在12月25日庆祝。圣诞节最早可追溯到公元200年，但直到中世纪才开始广泛流传。圣诞节庆祝活动包括赠送礼物、圣诞树、摆耶稣系列雕像、参加教堂活动、圣诞老人传说、家庭聚会等。Christmas一词来源于中世纪英语Christemasse，大概的意思是耶稣的弥撒。有时候圣诞节被写成Xmas，因为罗马字母X和希腊文Chirst的缩写X很相似。

Todays Highlight in History:

Issac Newton

Thought for Today:

I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.

——Issac Newton

在我自己看来，我不过就像是一个在海滨玩耍的小孩，为不时发现比寻常更为光滑的一块卵石或比寻常更为美丽的一片贝壳而沾沾自喜，而对于展现在我面前的浩瀚的真理的海洋，却全然没有发现。

——艾萨克•牛顿

Issac Newtea:

1642: English mathematician and scientist Issac Newton was born on December 25th. He invented differential calculus and formulated the theory of universal gravitation, a theory about the nature of light, and three laws of motion. His great treatise on gravitation, presented in Principia Mathematica (1687), was supposedly inspired by the sight of a falling apple. His discoveries were so numerous and varied that many consider him to be the father of modern science.

1642年12月25日，英国数学家和自然科学家艾萨克•牛顿诞生。他是微积分的发明者和万有引力定律理论奠基人，他还发现了光的性质理论以及牛顿运动三定律。他受一颗掉落的苹果启发于1687年出版有关重力学伟大著作《自然哲学的数学原理》。他的发现涉及众多领域，数不胜数，因此很多人认为他是现代科学之父。

Charlie Chaplin:

1977: Charlie Chaplin, a British-born superstar of silent comedies and one of the great icons of 20th-century film, died on December 25 at the age of 88. Chaplin was one of the most creative and influential personalities in the silent film era: he acted in, directed, scripted, produced, and eventually even scored his own films. His working life in entertainment spanned over 70 years, from the British Victorian stage and music hall in England as a child performer, almost until his death at the age of 88. He led one of the most remarkable and colorful lives of the 20th century, from a Dickens-like London childhood to the pinnacle of world fame in the film industry and as a cultural icon. His productions include The Kid (1921), The Gold Rush (1925), and City Lights (1931).

1977年12月25日， 英裔无声片喜剧大师、二十世纪标志性人物之一查理•卓别林逝世，享年88岁。卓别林是无声片时代最具创造力和影响力的人物：他自演、自导、自编、自制，甚至还自己为影片谱曲。他的演艺生涯持续了大约七十多年，幼年时便开始在英国维多利亚舞台和音乐剧团表演，直到88岁临终前。他的一生充满传奇色彩，从狄更斯式的伦敦童年时代到电影界文化标志。他的作品有《孩子》（1921），《淘金记》（1925）和《城市之光》（1931）等。