Merry Christmas圣诞快乐

Christmas is on December 25. It is the biggest holiday in most western countries， just like the Spring Festival in China. Families and friends get together and have fun.

Santa Claus hometown

圣诞老人的故乡

Santa Claus has a long white beard. Where is Santas hometown？ There are lots of stories. One story says hes from Rovaniemi， a town in Finland. There is a Santa Claus village in the town.

Christmastee 圣诞树闪闪亮

The Christmas tree is a big part of the holiday. There are lights and gifts on the tree. People in different countries also put different things on the tree. Swedish people put animal toys on trees. The toys are made of straw. They think it will bring a good harvest.

Candycane 拐杖糖甜蜜蜜

Candy cane is a kind of Christmas candy. It is like a small walking cane. It is traditionally white with red stripes. Now it comes in different flavors and colors.

Words

western /?west?n/ adj.西方的 beard /b??d/ n.胡须

Rovaniemi 【地名】 罗瓦涅米（芬兰北部城镇）

Finland /?f?nl?nd/ n.芬兰 light /la?t/ n.灯

Swedish /?swi?d?? /adj.瑞典的 straw /str??/ n.稻草

a good harvest大丰收 cane /ke?n/ n.拐杖

traditionally /tr??d???n?li/ adv.传统地 stripe /stra?p /n.条纹

flavor /?fle?v?（r）/ n.口味

Nine reindeers

九只驯鹿拉雪橇

Santa has nine reindeers. They are good helpers. On Christmas Eve， they pull Santas sleigh. They help him to bring gifts to kids in the world. Each reindeer has a name. The one with a red nose is Rudolph.

A big dinner

圣诞大餐吃什么

People have Christmas dinner. Its a feast. There is often turkey， ham and salmon. And Christmas pudding is a must. Its a pudding full of raisins.

HotChristmas 南半球的夏日圣诞节

Christmas in Australia is very hot. The country is in the southern hemisphere. So Christmas is in summer there. It feels different.

Words

reindeer /?re?nd??（r）/ n.馴鹿 helper /?help?（r）/ n.帮手

Christmas Eve圣诞前夜 pull /p?l/ v.拉

sleigh /sle?/ n.雪橇 Rudolph /?ru?d?lf/ 红鼻子驯鹿鲁道夫

feast /fi?st/ n.盛宴 ham /h?m/ n.火腿

salmon /?s?m?n/ n.三文鱼 pudding /?p?d??/ n.布丁

must /m?st/ 不可缺少的东西（此处为名词）

raisin /?re?zn/ n.葡萄干

hemisphere /?hem?sf??（r）/ n.半球；southern hemisphere南半球