Mistletoe 槲寄生

Hanging mistletoe in the home is an ancient pagan practice adopted by early Christians. The word itself is Anglo-Saxon and the tradition of kissing under the mistletoe originated in England. Each kiss required a berry to be plucked until none remained.
在家中掛槲寄生是早期基督徒奉行的一種古老的異教徒做法。槲寄生的英文單詞是古英語，在槲寄生下接吻的傳統則源于英格蘭。每在槲寄生下接一個吻，就要采一顆莓果，直到樹上的莓果都摘光。

Christmas carols 圣誕頌歌

Carols were songs and dances of praise and joy in pagan times and the practice of carol singing carried over into the Christian era. Carols have been written through the centuries but the most familiar date from Victorian times. Today, popular songs such as Bing Crosby’s White Christmas and Slade’s Merry Xmas Everybody are just as much a part of Christmas as carols.
頌歌在異教徒時代是表達贊頌和喜悅的歌舞，唱頌歌的做法一直延續到了基督時代。幾個世紀以來人們寫了不少頌歌，不過最熟悉的頌歌來自維多利亞時代。今天，平?克勞斯貝的《白色圣誕節》和斯萊德的《祝大家圣誕快樂》這樣的流行歌曲也成為了圣誕頌歌。

英文來源：每日電訊報
翻譯&編輯：丹妮