十大圣誕傳統及其起源（組圖）

Mince pies 肉餡餅

Early mince pies were made of meat, fruit and spice and inspired by Middle Eastern cuisine brought back by the Crusaders.
早期的肉餡餅受十字軍戰士帶回的中東食譜啟發，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.
這種肉餡餅加入了13種配料，代表耶穌和他的十二個使徒。肉餡餅做成橢圓形狀，象征耶穌降生的馬槽。到了維多利亞時期，豬肉從配方中消失了，不過牛油仍是配料之一。

Stockings 長筒襪

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.
在圣誕節掛起長筒襪源于送禮人圣?尼古拉斯的傳說。有一回圣?尼古拉斯把幾袋金子放進一個窮人家的煙囪里，這個窮人沒錢給他的女兒們置辦嫁妝。結果金子正好掉進了那家人晾著的長筒襪中。后來圣?尼古拉斯被荷蘭人稱為Sinterklaas，最后在英語中轉變為了Santa Claus這個名字。