關於聖誕節的英語作文2000字
聖誕節英語作文:The Christmas Tree_2000字
Although it is generally agreed that the Christmas tree in its current form came from Germany in the early 19th century, the tradition of decorating a tree to mark winter celebrations dates back hundreds of years to Roman times, when they used to decorate evergreen trees with small pieces of metal to celebrate Saturnalia.
In medieval times the 'Paradise Play' was performed every year on 24 December. This depicted the creation of Man and the fall of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden and always included an evergreen hung with apples which represented the apple tree of temptation.
There is a legend that St Boniface, an English monk, came upon a group of pagans gathered around an oak tree who were preparing to sacrifice a child to the God Thor. In order to stop the sacrifice, and save the child's life, St Boniface is said to have felled the tree with one blow of his fist. Later on, a fir tree grew in place of the oak and this, St Boniface told the pagans, was the Tree of Life and represented the Christ Child.
Legend also 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.
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 mmany 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.
Artificial trees were invented in the 1880's in a bid to try and stop some of the damage being caused to real trees due to people lopping the tip off large trees, thus preventing the trees from growing any further. It got so bad in Germany that laws had to be brought in to prevent people having more than one tree.
Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, is credited with being responsible for introducing the custom of the Christmas tree to the British public by decorating the first English Christmas tree at Windsor Castle in 1841 using candles, sweets, fruit and gingerbread.
The popularity of the Christmas tree grew in Britain during the first half of the 20th century, with trees becoming bigger and more elaborately decorated with bells, baubles and tinsel. However, the onset of the Second World War resulted in a ban on cutting down trees for decoration and people resorted to having small, artificial tabletop trees bearing home made decorations. These were often taken down into the air raid shelters when the sirens sounded to provide a bit of Christmas cheer!
This all changed following the war, and large trees were erected in many public places to celebrate Christmas. The most famous of these is the tree in Trafalgar Square, London which is an annual gift from the Norwegian government to give thanks for the help they received from Britain during the war.
-
(精)實用的元宵節的作文300字
在學習、工作或生活中,大家都經常接觸到作文吧,作文是人們把記憶中所存儲的有關知識、經驗和思想用書面形式表達出來的記敘方式。作文的注意事項有許多,你確定會寫嗎?以下是小編整理的元宵節的作文300字3篇,僅供參考,歡迎大家閱讀。元宵節的作文300字篇1今日我給大家...
-
(精選)我心目中的春作文
在現實生活或工作學習中,說到作文,大家肯定都不陌生吧,根據寫作命題的特點,作文可以分爲命題作文和非命題作文。你知道作文怎樣寫才規範嗎?下面是小編爲大家整理的我心目中的春作文,歡迎閱讀與收藏。我心目中的春作文篇1有人問我,雪化後是什麼?你可能會說:“當然是水了!...
-
仰望藍天作文
在我們平凡的日常裏,大家一定都接觸過作文吧,藉助作文可以宣泄心中的情感,調節自己的心情。你寫作文時總是無從下筆?以下是小編收集整理的仰望藍天作文,歡迎大家分享。仰望藍天作文篇1仰望藍天,只見一片碧藍,在太陽下閃閃發光。凜冽的冬風呼呼作響,跑道兩旁的樹,落光了...
-
關於選的作文
在現實生活或工作學習中,大家都寫過作文,肯定對各類作文都很熟悉吧,作文是一種言語活動,具有高度的綜合性和創造性。那麼一般作文是怎麼寫的呢?以下是小編幫大家整理的關於選的作文,歡迎閱讀,希望大家能夠喜歡。關於選的作文1面對着衆多的答案,我迷惘了。如今,親自走進...