英和和英

出典:『Wikipedia』 (2011/05/05 12:15 UTC 版)

英語による解説

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Das Christkind (German "The Christ-child", pronounced [ˈkʁɪstkɪnt]) is the traditional Christmas gift-bringer in regions of Austria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Slovakia, Hungary, parts of Hispanic America, in certain areas of southern Brazil and in the Acadiana region of Louisiana. In Italy it is called Gesù Bambino (Italian for "Baby Jesus"), in Hungary its name is Jézuska (Hungarian for "Little Jesus"), in Slovakia Ježiško ("Little Jesus") and in the Czech Republic Ježíšek ("Little Jesus"). Promulgated by Martin Luther, explicitly to discourage the figure of St. Nicholas, at the Reformation in 16th-17th century Europe, many Protestants changed the gift bringer to the Christ Child or Christkindl, and the date of giving gifts changed from December 6 to Christmas Eve. A gift-bringer familiar to German children, the Christkind bears little resemblance to the infant of Bethlehem. The Christkind was adopted in Catholic areas during the 19th century, while it began to be, in a rather surprising turnabout, gradually replaced by a more or less secularized version of Saint Nicholas, the Weihnachtsmann (Father Christmas, Santa Claus) in Protestant regions.