Although, for Christians, Christmas is not the most important of festivals, it is probably the most widely celebrated religious occasion in the West. This festival celebrates the birth of the messiah in Bethlehem Palestine about two thousand years ago. This messiah was Jesus Christ who, Christians believe, was sent to save mankind and absolve them from their sins. Nowadays, you might be forgiven for missing the religious element to this festival as it has descended somewhat into an orgy of consumerism and indulgence. Gifts are given amongst family and friends and cards wishing “Seasonal Greetings” sent between just about everyone. Father Christmas, otherwise known as Santa Claus, is said to squeeze his way down chimneys across the world on Christmas Eve and deliver presents to any children that have behaved well over the last year. Another important motif of the festival is the Christmas tree, around which traditionally people would dance around hinting at the pagan origins of this mid-winter celebration.
聖誕節
雖然對基督教徒來說，聖誕節並不是其最重要的節日，但是在西方，它卻是壹個最受廣泛慶祝的節日。聖誕節慶祝的是兩千多年前彌賽亞(猶太人盼望的復國救主)在巴勒斯坦伯利恒的誕生。這個彌賽亞就是耶穌(基督教信奉的救世主)。基督教徒相信，耶穌是被派來拯救人類並協助人們擺脫罪惡的救世主。如今，就算妳已經忘記了這個節日的本來意義也不會有人怪罪妳，因為，現在的聖誕節已經演變成為大肆消費、狂歡與縱情享受的節日。在這個節日裏，親人們、朋友間都會互送禮物，滿載著“節日祝福”的賀卡也會送到每壹個人的手中。“聖誕之父”（Father Christmas），也就是我們所熟知的“聖誕老人”（Santa Claus），據說會在聖誕節前夕順著煙囪下來，給世界各地的孩子們送去禮物，這些收到禮物的孩子必定是那些在過去的壹年中各方面表現都很優秀的孩子。聖誕節的另壹個重點是聖誕樹，在這壹天，人們會圍著聖誕樹跳舞，這也表明聖誕樹是聖誕節形成之前的隆冬節日的重要組成部分。
Easter
For religious, as opposed to cultural, Christians, this is the fundamental festival of Christianity. It celebrates the fact that Jesus Christ was crucified and died and then rose again a few days later. Jesus claimed in his life that he was the Son of God. The Jews, viewing this as heinous blasphemy, had him handed over to the Roman governor of Palestine and demanded that he be executed. Following his death on the cross however, Jesus appeared to his disciples and told them to spread his gospel of love and forgiveness around the world. Despite the religious theme to Easter, to many people in the west, this festival is simply about the exchange of chocolate eggs, said to be delivered by the Easter Bunny. Again, one can see, as with Christmas, hints of the pagan origins of this festival, onto which has been grafted the later Christian message of Easter. The early pagan concern was with the onset of spring and the rebirth of nature symbolized by an egg!
復活節
對基督徒來說，復活節在宗教上的意義與在文化上的意義是不壹樣的，它是基督教中最重要的節日。它紀念的是耶穌在十字架上受刑死後幾天內又復活這件事。耶穌聲稱自己是“上帝的兒子”。猶太人認為這是極其惡毒的褻瀆話，因此把耶穌交給了當時在巴勒斯坦的羅馬統治者，要求將這個“狂妄之徒”處死。在十字架上被釘死後，耶穌又出現在他的信徒們面前，號召大家把愛和寬容的信仰散播到世界各地。忽略了宗教上的本來意義，現在的許多西方人只把這個節日當成了壹個互換“復活節彩蛋”的節日，還美其名曰是“復活兔”贈送的。大家可以看到，就像聖誕節壹樣，以前的宗教成份已經融入到了復活節當中，在復活節形成之前，人們正是利用“彩蛋”來暗示春天的到來和自然萬物的新生。