十大圣诞传统及其起源（组图）

Mince pies 肉馅饼

Early mince pies were made of meat, fruit and spice and inspired by Middle Eastern cuisine brought back by the Crusaders.
早期的肉馅饼受十字军战士带回的中东食谱启发，是用肉、水果和香料制成的。

They commonly had 13 ingredients representing Christ and the Apostles, and were formed in a large oval shape to represent the manger. Meat had disappeared from the recipe by Victorian times, although beef suet is often still included.
这种肉馅饼加入了13种配料，代表耶稣和他的十二个使徒。肉馅饼做成椭圆形状，象征耶稣降生的马槽。到了维多利亚时期，猪肉从配方中消失了，不过牛油仍是配料之一。

Stockings 长筒袜

Leaving stockings out at Christmas goes back to the legend of St Nicholas. Known as the gift giver, on one occasion he sent bags of gold down a chimney at the home of a poor man who had no dowry for his unmarried daughters. The gold fell into stockings left hanging to dry. St Nicholas was later referred to by the Dutch as Sinterklaas and eventually, by English-speakers, as Santa Claus.
在圣诞节挂起长筒袜源于送礼人圣•尼古拉斯的传说。有一回圣•尼古拉斯把几袋金子放进一个穷人家的烟囱里，这个穷人没钱给他的女儿们置办嫁妆。结果金子正好掉进了那家人晾着的长筒袜中。后来圣•尼古拉斯被荷兰人称为Sinterklaas，最后在英语中转变为了Santa Claus这个名字。