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Santa Claus
is someone who will
remain in the hearts of
children forever. He is the
make-believe person
who brings toys
and other gifts to
children at Christmas. To grown-ups,
he is a special symbol of
good will and selfless
giving.
who
will remain: que permanecerá; the make-believe person: el personaje
de ficción; who brings toys: que trae juguetes; to grown-ups: para
los adultos; good will: buena voluntad y predisposicíon; selfless
giving: altruismo, desinterés;
Santa Claus
also has some
other names: Saint
Nicholas, St. Nick,
Kris Kringle,
Pelznickel.
Two of his
names -- Santa
Claus and Saint Nicholas --
both come from the
Dutch who settled in
New York long
ago.
both
come from: ambos provienen de; Dutch: holandeses, gente de los Países
Bajos; who settled: que se establecieron; long ago: antaño, hace
mucho tiempo;
The Dutch
believed Saint Nikolaas
gave gifts to
children. They honored this
kindly saint with
a yearly festival on
December 6th. The English-speaking
people who lived
nearby greatly
enjoyed Dutch festivals.
And they brought the
saint and the custom of
giving gifts into
their own
celebration at Christmas time.
kindly saint:
bondadoso santo; yearly: anual; nearby: en los alrededores;
greatly enjoyed: disfrutaban enormemente; brought: trasladaron (bring
/ brought / brought / bringing); the custom of giving
gifts: el hábito de intercambiar regalos;
The Dutch
spoke the name “Saint
Nikolaas” very
fast. It sounded like “Sinterklaas.”
And so, when the
English said this word, it
sounded like Santa
Claus.
spoke:
pronunciaban; very fast: muy velozmente; it sounded like: sonaba
como;
West of New
York, in Pennsylvania,
many German
farmers had also heard of
Saint Nikolaas. But
they called him
Pelznickel. This word
came from “pelz,”
meaning fur, and “nickel”
for Nicholas. And so, to the
Germans of Pennsylvania,
Saint Nicholas or
Pelznickel was a man dressed
in fur who came
once a year with
gifts for good
children.
west of:
al oeste de; German farmers: granjeros alemanes; had also heard of:
también habían oído hablar de (hear / heard / heard /
hearing); pelz = fur: piel; nickel = Nicholas: Nicolás;
dressed in fur: vestido con pieles; once a year: una vez al año;
Soon,
people began to feel that
the love and kindness
Pelznickel brought
should be part of a celebration
honoring the Christkindl, as the
Germans called the
Christ child. After a
time, this became “Kris
Kringle” . Later,
Kris Kringle became
another name for
Santa Claus himself.
the
love and kindness ... brought: el afecto y la gentileza que traía ...;
should be part of: formaría parte de; honoring: que homenajeaba;
Christkindl = Christ child: Niño Jesús;
Whatever he is
called, he is still the
same short, fat,
jolly old man
with a long beard,
wearing a red suit
with white fur.
whatever he
is called: como sea que se lo llame; short: de baja estatura; fat:
obeso, panzudo; jolly old man: jovial anciano; beard: barba;
wearing: que viste;
The picture of
Santa Claus, as we
see him, came from
Thomas Nast. He was an
American painter
born in Bavaria. He painted
pictures for Christmas
poems. Someone
asked him to paint a
picture of Santa
Claus.
as we see him:
del modo en que lo conocemos; born in: nacido en; asked him to paint:
le pidió que pintara;
Nast
remembered when he was a little
boy in southern
Germany. Every Christmas, a
fat old man
gave toys and
cakes to the children. So,
when Nast painted
the picture, his
Santa Claus looked
like the kindly
old man of his
childhood. And through the
years, Nast’s
painting has remained as the most
popular picture of
Santa Claus.
in southern
Germany: en el sur de Alemania; every: cada; looked like: se
parecía a; childhood: niñez; through the years: con el transcurrir
de los años;
Santa can
be seen almost
everywhere in large American
cities during the
Christmas season. Some
stand on street
corners asking for money to
buy food and gifts
for the needy. Others are
found in stores and
shopping centers.
almost
everywhere: casi en todas partes; some stand: algunos aparecen de pie;
on street corners: en las esquinas; asking for money: pidiendo dinero;
for the needy: para los necesitados, los indigentes;
It is easy to
find them by the
long lines of children
waiting to tell
Santa what they
want for Christmas.
it is
easy to find them: es fácil encontrarlos; by the long lines: junto a
las largas colas, filas; what they want for: lo que ellos desean para. |
