12/25 Christmas Day
12/26
Boxing Day: is a holiday traditionally celebrated the weekday or Saturday
following Christmas Day, when servants and tradesmen would receive gifts, known
as a
"Christmas
box"
, from their masters, employers or customers.
A Christmas Carol《小氣財神》
A Christmas Carol, is a novella by Charles Dickens, first
published in London by Chapman & Hall on 19 December 1843. The novella met
with instant success and critical acclaim. A Christmas Carol tells the story of
a bitter old miser named Ebenezer
Scrooge and his transformation into a gentler, kindlier man after
visitations by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and the
Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come.
The book was written at a time when the British were examining and exploring Christmas traditions from the past as well as new customs such as Christmas cards and Christmas trees.
David Copperfield
David Copperfield, is the eighth novel by Charles Dickens. It was first published as a serial in 1849–50, and as a book in 1850. Many elements of the novel follow events in Dickens' own life, and it is probably the most autobiographical of his novels. In the preface to the 1867 edition, Dickens wrote, "like many fond parents, I have in my heart of hearts a favourite child. And his name is David Copperfield. "
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (/ˈtʃɑrlz ˈdɪkɪnz/; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime, and by the twentieth century critics and scholars had recognised him as a literary genius. His novels and short stories enjoy lasting popularity.
Christmas song:: Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas –
lyrics
Music composed by Hugh Martin, lyrics by
Ralph Blane
Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Let your heart be light
From now on,
our troubles will be out of sight
Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Make the Yule-tide gay,
From now on,
our troubles will be miles away.
Here we are as in olden days,
Happy golden days of yore.
Faithful friends who are dear to us
Gather near to us once more.
Through the years
We all will be together,
If the Fates allow
Hang a shining star upon the highest bough.
And have yourself A merry little Christmas now. (second and fourth sentence to rhyme)
Original sin
Original sin, also called ancestral sin, is the Christian doctrine of humanity's state of sin resulting from the fall of man, namely the sin of consuming from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, stemming from Adam's rebellion in Eden . This condition has been characterized in many ways, ranging from something as insignificant as a slight deficiency, or a tendency toward sin yet without collective guilt, referred to as a "sin nature", to something as drastic as total depravity or automatic guilt of all humans through collective guilt.
Depiction of the sin of Adam and Eve
西斯汀教堂 壁畫
http://www.vatican.va/various/cappelle/sistina_vr/index.html
Iphigenia
In Greek mythology, Iphigenia /ɪfɨdʒɨˈnaɪ.ə/was a daughter of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra , and thus princess of Argos. After offending Artemis, Agamemnon was commanded to kill Iphigenia as a sacrifice to allow his ships to sail to Troy. In some versions, Iphigenia is sacrificed at Aulis, but in others, she is rescued by Artemis. In the version where she is saved, she goes to the Taurians and meets her brother Orestes.
The Sacrifice of Iphigenia
Abraham
Abraham (/ˈeɪbrəˌhæm, -həm/), birthname
Abram, is t
he first of the
three biblical patriarchs.
His story, told in chapters 11 through 25 of
the Book of Genesis, plays a prominent role in Judaism, Christianity, Islam and
the Bahá'í Faith.
Isaac
Isaac /ˈaɪzək/ as described in the Hebrew Bible and the Qur'an, was the second son of Abraham , the only son Abraham had with his wife Sarah, and the father of Jacob and Esau. According to the Book of Genesis, Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born, and Sarah was past 90.
Isaac and Family
Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (from Latin trinitas "triad", from trinus "threefold") defines God as three consubstantial persons, expressions, or hypostases: the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit; "one God in three persons" . The three persons are distinct, yet are one "substance, essence or nature".
Untypical
image of the Trinity, showing the three persons with the same appearance. From
left to right: God the Son, God the Father, Holy Spirit.
Fig leaf
A fig leaf is widely used figuratively to convey the covering up of an act or an object that is embarrassing or distasteful with something of innocuous appearance, a metaphorical reference to the Biblical Book of Genesis, in which Adam and Eve used fig leaves to cover their nudity after eating the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil . Some paintings and statues have the genitals of their subjects covered by a representation of an actual fig leaf or similar object, either as part of the work or added afterwards for perceived modesty.
A statue of Mercury holding the caduceus in the Vatican,
with a
fig leaf
placed over the genitalia.
Age of Enlightenment
The Enlightenment, known in French as the Siècle des Lumières (Century of Enlightenment) and in German as the Aufklärung, was a philosophical movement which dominated the world of ideas in Europe in the 18th century. The principal goals of Enlightenment thinkers were liberty, progress, reason, tolerance, fraternity, and ending the abuses of the church and state. The Age of Enlightenment was preceded by and closely associated with the scientific revolution.
Part of "School of Athens"
生字
*Scrooge (noun) /skruːdʒ/
→disapproving someone who spends as little
money as possible and is not generous
→Scrooge is a character who learns how to
be generous, in the book
'A Christmas Carol' by Charles
Dickens.
*Carol (noun) /ˈkær.əl/
→a happy or religious song, usually one sung at Christmas
*Religious (adjective) /rɪˈlɪdʒ.əs/
→ relating to religion
宗教的；宗教上的
*Secular (adjective) /ˈsek.jʊ.lər/
→ not having any connection with religion
世俗的；非宗教的
*Vulgar (adjective) (NOT SUITABLE) /ˈvʌl.ɡər/
→ not suitable, simple, dignified or
beautiful; common or not in the style preferred by the upper classes of society
粗俗的；庸俗的；不雅的
*Bough (noun) /baʊ/
› a large branch of a tree
Origin:
Old English bōg, bōh 'bough or shoulder',
of Germanic origin; related to Dutch boeg 'shoulders or ship's bow', German Bug
'ship's bow' and 'horse's hock or shoulder', also to
bow.
*Fresco (noun) /ˈfres.kəʊ/
→ (a picture made by) painting on wet
plaster (= mixture of sand, lime noun and water) on a wall or ceiling
濕壁畫（技法）
*Enlightenment (noun) /ɪnˈlaɪ.tən.mənt/
→ the state of understanding something
領悟；啓發；開導
*Clay (noun) /kleɪ/
→ thick, heavy soil that is soft when wet,
and hard when dry or baked, used for making bricks and containers
黏土，陶土
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