聖誕節是普天同慶的大日子，Christmas is a holy day and a joyful festival for the celebration of the birth of Christ . Xmas means the abbreviation of Christ's mass (彌撒). 節日期間，瘋狂購物，饋贈朋友，互相祝福 , 各適其適, a lot of shopping and many presents are wrapped; many cards are sent to relatives and friends.
聖誕節有獨特的裝飾和氣氛。CHRISTMASSY mood means festive mood, typical of Christmas. Christmas carols 聖誕頌歌are sung in a cheerful way everywhere. Christmas has its own typical festive decorations: tiny and miniature figures hanging on the Christmas tree, such as the manger of Bethlehem, the Christ child, His Virgin Mother, St Joseph, the Magi Kings, the shepherds, the animals and the star. 聖誕樹掛上的mistletoe 檞寄生and tinsels 金屬絲裝飾品strips of shiny material like metal 以及 poinsettia聖誕紅a tropical plant with large red leaves ，都是Yuletide season聖誕期間才隨處可見到的事物。
聖誕節有獨特的食品Christmas food include: pudding布丁甜糕 a dark fruit cake; eggnog蛋奶酒 a drink containing eggs and usually alcohol; gingerbread薑餅 cakes and cookies made with ginger containing the crucial ingredient molasses糖漿 ; 沒有肉類的mincemeat百果餡 a traditional English Christmas food containing no meat but just a mixture of raisins, other dried fruits and spices.
全球節日，林林種種，類別繁多，各自各精彩。Kinds of festivals include celebrations, carnivals and other festivities，例如：Chinese New Year華人的農曆新年；Cherry Blossom Festival of Japan日本人的櫻花節；Rio Carnival- four days celebration with music, dance food and drink巴西嘉年華式的狂歡節；Tomato Fight of Bunol in Spain lasting exactly one hour西班牙一小時街頭大戰的番茄節。
除了傳統、地方或宗教色彩的節日之外，FESTIVALS can also be a series of performances or events，節目也指一連串的表演和藝術活動，例如：Salzburg Festival of Austria and Mozart Festival of Lincoln Center in New York奧地利沙茲堡和紐約林肯中心的大型著名音樂節。
慶典往往帶有濃厚的傳統色彩，FESTIVALS are often traditional，傳統節日延續文化或宗教的存承，traditional festivals often preserve the old traditions of a cultural heritage, 例如：華人農曆正月的新年和八月的中秋節，穆斯林回曆九月的齋月，the Ramadan when Muslims do not eat or drink between sunrise and sunset。
FESTIVITY/ FESTIVE/FESTAL三者的分別：
FESTIVITY是名詞，等同於celebration慶典，充滿歡樂的revelry, the happiness and enjoyment that exist when we celebrate。FESTIVITIES are the activities to celebrate a special event, e.g. Fireworks 燒煙花and parade 節慶遊行form part of the festivities。我們說: Christmas festivities/holiday festivities/seasonal festivities。
FESTIVE是形容詞，節日的、喜慶的意思，jolly and happy, it means typical of a special celebration；festive傾向於指適合節日的事物，我們說: a festive occasion/mood/season/holiday, e.g. The Millennium was a very festive occasion. Let's celebrate it with a big party。
FESTAL現在較少用, relating to a festival, 直接與節日本身有關，我們說 : a festal costume節日的盛裝，festal celebrations 節日的慶祝活動。
FESTIVAL/CELEBRATION/PARTY/BALL字義辨別：
Festivals can be large or small, public or private, formal or informal. Festival suggests the celebration of an entire community either periodically at a significant time of the year or on some important occasion. Celebration usually means a large gathering and party a more intimate group, often with persons who are close friends or at least acquainted. A ball is an official or stately occasion, e.g. the President's inaugural ball。
CELEBRATE/CELEBRATED/CELEBRITY/CELEBRATION四者意思和用法有分別 :
We celebrate 慶祝means we do something to show that an occasion or event is special. e.g. a 80th birthday or a wedding anniversary. We celebrate an important event, such as anniversary, bicentenary, birthday, coronation, festival, jubilee, wedding. We celebrate success, achievement, victory. 我們大事慶祝一番Let's all celebrate等於說： enjoy oneself/have fun/have a good time/have a party/make merry.
CELEBRATED著名的、聞名的、馳名的 = famous. We say a celebrated hero, writer, actress, composer, historian etc.
CELEBRITY 名人、名流 = a famous person, especially in entertainment and sport. We say A-list/well-known/instant/overnight /T.V. celebrities.
CELEBRATION是慶典、慶祝的活動a special event that people organize in order to celebrate something. We say street/special/official/national/National Day/wedding celebrations.
當中，婚姻是人生大事，喜慶的盛事，A WEDDING CELEBRATION is an occasion of great festivity。
文：文世昌
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