马上又到西方的圣诞节了。一提到圣诞祝福，很多人的条件反射只有一句：Merry Christmas！

但如果你在英国，尤其是在校园、寄宿家庭，或者外企的英国同事中，这句话未必是最常听到的那一句。

在英国，人们更常说的是：Happy Christmas。这个细节，其实很多留学党、外企人都会忽略。但英国人自己用起来，却非常自然。

你如果看过《哈利·波特与魔法石》，一定记得那个经典场景——圣诞节当天，罗恩笑着对哈利说：“Happy Christmas, Harry!”

英国王室在圣诞致辞中，也更喜欢使用“Happy Christmas”，而不是更普遍的“Merry Christmas”。

因为“Happy”传递的是平静、稳固的幸福感，而“Merry”在维多利亚时代后期带有一丝“醉酒作乐”的联想，王室希望选择更优雅、庄重的表达，也影响了部分英国人跟随。

如果你在英国还一味只说 Merry Christmas，虽然不会出错，但在英国人听来，多少会有点“美式”。而一句 Happy Christmas，反而更容易拉近距离，让人觉得你真的懂点英国文化。

接下来，就让我们一起走进英式圣诞，提前了解英国人的圣诞习俗，不只是“涨知识”，更是避免尴尬、拉近距离的社交加分项。

01 圣诞老人

"Santa Claus" is seen as an Americanism, and The Telegraphreported that even the British National Trust said that "Santa Claus should be known as 'Father Christmas' in stately homes and historic buildings because the name is more British."

在英国人眼中，“Santa Claus”（圣诞老人）这个称呼带有浓厚的美国色彩。据《观察家报》报道，就连英国国家信托基金会（National Trust）也曾明确表示：在参观庄园府邸或历史遗迹时，应当统一使用“Father Christmas”这一称呼，因为这个名字才更符合英国的传统。

02 圣诞拉炮

Christmas crackers are often pulled at the start of the meal, and the paper hats found inside are worn throughout the meal. Also inside each cracker is a "banger," which makes a loud pop when the cracker is pulled, a joke, and a small prize.

英国人通常会在圣诞大餐开始前拉响圣诞拉炮，并在整个用餐过程中戴上里面的纸帽子。每个拉炮里藏着一根“爆竹”，拉开时会发出清脆的响声，除此之外，里面通常还会附上一则小笑话和一份小礼物。

03 圣诞神曲

The British "Christmas No. 1" has been a tradition for over 50 years. Starting in 1952, the top song on the British singles chart has been a coveted spot every Christmas. Christmas No. 1 alums include The Beatles, Queen, Ed Sheeran, and more.

英国的 “圣诞冠军单曲”（已经有超过 50 年的历史。自 1952 年起，每年圣诞节英国单曲排行榜的冠军位置都备受追捧。历年的圣诞冠军单曲演唱者包括披头士、皇后乐队、艾德·希兰等众多大牌歌手。

04 圣诞演讲

Every year, families gather to watch the royal Christmas address, informally known as the Queen's or King's speech.

每年圣诞节，许多家庭都会聚在一起收看英国王室的圣诞致辞，这段讲话通常被非正式地称为“女王（或国王）的圣诞演讲”。

The Telegraph reported that the first Christmas address was 251 words long, but Queen Elizabeth II later came to average 656 words in each speech. It is often one of the most-watched television programs on Christmas Day in the UK.

据《每日电讯报》报道，历史上首次圣诞致辞只有 251 个词，而伊丽莎白二世女王在位期间，每次演讲的平均长度则达到了 656 个词。这场致辞往往也是英国圣诞节当天收视率最高的电视节目之一。

05 节礼日

Boxing Day is often referred to as the British equivalent of Black Friday, but there are notable differences between the two holidays. Boxing Day, which is a public holiday in the UK, falls on the day after Christmas and has a rich cultural history in Great Britain.

节礼日常被称为英国版的“黑色星期五”，但这两个节日之间仍有明显区别。节礼日是英国的法定假日，通常在圣诞节的次日庆祝，在英国有着悠久而丰富的文化历史。

Originating in the mid-1600s, the day was traditionally a day off for servants. On this day, servants would receive a "Christmas Box," or gift, from their master. The servants would then return home on Boxing Day to give "Christmas Boxes" to their families.

节礼日起源于 17 世纪中叶，最初是仆人的休息日。那一天，仆人会从主人那里收到一个 “圣诞礼盒”或礼物。节礼日当天，仆人们则会回家，把 “圣诞礼盒”送给自己的家人。

06 主显节前夕

In the UK, it's tradition to take down your tree and decorations 12 days after Christmas — known as Twelfth Night — to avoid bad luck in the new year.

在英国，有一个传统：圣诞节过后 12 天再收起圣诞树和装饰，这一天被称为“第十二夜”，据说这样做可以避免新年的厄运。

In the Anglican tradition, Twelfth Night, or Epiphany Eve, is the day before Epiphany, which celebrates the coming of the Magi to baby Jesus and marks the end of the 12 days of Christmas.

在圣公会传统中，“第十二夜”也称为主显节前夕，是主显节的前一天。主显节纪念东方三博士朝拜婴儿耶稣，同时也标志着圣诞节 12 天庆祝的结束。

07 圣诞美食

就像中国人在除夕夜一定要围坐一桌，吃一顿象征团圆与新年的年夜饭一样，对英国人来说，圣诞节的意义，也有很大一部分藏在餐桌上。

那么，英国人的圣诞餐桌上，究竟会出现哪些经典美食？下面就带你一起看看英式圣诞不可或缺的几样代表性美食。

Christmas pudding

圣诞布丁

A Christmas pudding is a dense fruit cake often made weeks or even months in advance. This process allows the dried fruit to absorb the alcohol that's regularly poured onto the cake in the weeks leading up to consumption.

圣诞布丁是一种质地紧实的水果蛋糕，通常会提前几周，甚至几个月就开始制作。这样的做法，是为了让蛋糕中的干果在等待食用的这段时间里，充分吸收定期淋在蛋糕上的酒液。

On Christmas, the cake is set alight and then topped with a sauce of brandy butter or rum butter, cream, lemon cream, ice cream, custard, or sweetened béchamel. It is also sometimes sprinkled with caster or powdered sugar.

到了圣诞节当天，人们会将蛋糕点燃，再搭配白兰地黄油或朗姆黄油食用，也可以配上奶油、柠檬奶油、冰淇淋、卡仕达酱，甚至甜味白酱一起享用。有时，表面还会撒上一层细砂糖或糖粉作为点缀。

Yorkshire pudding

约克郡布丁

A traditional British roast dinner wouldn't be complete without Yorkshire puddings filled with Bisto or homemade gravy. Yorkshire puddings — not to be confused with sweet puddings — are made of eggs, flour, and milk or water.

一顿传统的英式烤肉大餐，如果没有淋满Bisto家肉汁或自制肉汁的约克郡布丁，那绝对是不完整的。约克郡布丁可不是甜点，千万别把它和那种甜腻的布丁搞混。它是用鸡蛋、面粉和牛奶（或水）调制而成的。

After they're cooked in hot oil in the oven, they end up with a distinct hole in the middle.

在烤箱的高温油锅中烤制后，布丁中心会自然凹陷，形成一个独特的圆孔。

Christmas cake圣诞蛋糕

While fruit cake is certainly a polarizing dessert wherever you are, Brits seem to make it a little better with thick, sweet white icing. Often, Christmas cake is also topped with festive holly decorations.

水果蛋糕向来都是一种颇具争议的甜点，但英国人似乎用一层厚实、甜美的白色糖霜，让它变得更讨喜了一些。圣诞蛋糕上常常还会点缀象征节日气氛的冬青装饰，让整体看起来更加应景。

Mince pie

百果馅饼

The BBC reported that the first-known mince pie recipe dates back to an 1830s English cookbook. By the mid-17th century, people reportedly began associating the small pies with the Christmas season.

据 BBC 报道，已知最早的百果馅饼食谱可以追溯到 19 世纪 30 年代的一本英国烹饪书。不过，据记载，早在 17 世纪中叶，人们就已经开始将这种小馅饼与圣诞节联系在一起了。

At the time, they were traditionally filled with pork or other kinds of meat, sage, and other spices. Nowadays, the pies are filled with dried fruits and sugar powder.

在当时，这种馅饼的传统做法是塞满猪肉或其他肉类，并加入鼠尾草等香料调味。而演变到今天，百果馅饼的内馅已经变成了由干果制成的甜味馅料，表面还会撒上洁白的糖粉。

今天的内容就要这里了！趁着圣诞节，沪江也为各位学员的英语学习准备了一份“节日福利”！

这个圣诞节，不只是收礼物的日子，更是给自己投资的时刻。快趁节日好机会，让英语能力升级，为明年的留学、职场加分吧！