Romy+Oltuski　袁瑞

It's thanks to centuries of Byzantine， Greek， and Scandinavian myths and folklore that this Christmas， some guy will put on a red velvet1） suit and fake beard to sit on a throne2） in Walmart， taking kids' toy orders. But Santa wasn't always the generous man in Walmart， nor is he everywhere today. In other countries， the patron saint3） of giving inherited different traits， leaving Santa with quite a few doppelg?ngers4） around the world， including goats， monks， and wise men who travel on camelback. Below， we take you on a tour of Santa's many representations around the globe.

多亏了拜占庭、希腊和斯堪的纳维亚的神话和民间传说经过几个世纪流传了下来，今年（编注：英文原文发表于2011年）的圣诞节将有人穿着红色的天鹅绒服装，戴着假胡须，坐在沃尔玛超市里面的宝座上，接受孩子们的玩具订单。但是，圣诞老人在过去并不总是沃尔玛里那个慷慨的人，如今也不一定随处可见。在其他国家，这个乐善好施的守护神继承了不同的特征，使全球出现了不少酷似圣诞老人的版本，其中包括山羊、和尚和骑骆驼旅行的智者。下面我们就带大家去看看圣诞老人在全球的众多代表吧。

Hoteiosho， Japan

Japan's holiday gift-giver is a fat Buddhist monk carrying a huge sack. Some say he travels with a red-nosed reindeer5） and some say he works alone， but he doesn't arrive at Christmas in either hybrid6） Christian-Buddhist tale. Christmas in Japan is spent with family doing charity work. But on New Year's Eve， the real action begins： the house is cleaned and decorated， then family members throw beans for good luck and await their gifts from the benevolent7） monk.

日本的布袋和尚

在日本，节日里给人们发放礼物的是带着一个大布袋的胖和尚。有人说他和一只红鼻子的驯鹿结伴而行，也有人说他是一个人单独行动。但是在糅合基督教和佛教成分的传说中，他都不会在圣诞节这一天到来。在日本，圣诞节是要和家人一起做慈善工作的。但是到了新年前夜，真正的活动才开始：在打扫并装饰完房屋后，家庭成员会抛撒豆子来祈求好运，然后等着这位仁慈的和尚来给他们发放礼物。

Sinterklaas， the Netherlands

Dutch Santa Claus is elderly， looks more like a pope than a jolly8） fat man， and wears stately9） robes. He hangs out with a guy named Black Peter （Zwarte Piet） and takes a steamboat over to Holland from Spain in mid-November. He then has three weeks， rather than one night， to distribute gifts to good children， flying over roofs by a white horse and dropping them down chimneys. Meanwhile， he and his cronies10）—six to eight， er， black men who give David Sedaris'11） story about Sinterklaas its name—snatch up the bad children， beat them with switches12）， stuff them into body bags， and take them back to Spain.

荷兰的圣尼古拉斯

荷兰的圣诞老人年纪要大一些，穿着华丽的长袍，看起来更像是一位教皇，而不是一个乐呵呵的胖子。他和一个名叫黑彼得（德语为Zwarte Piet）的人结伴而行，在11月中旬乘坐汽艇从西班牙来到荷兰。然后他有三周而不是一个晚上的时间，来给好孩子分发礼物。他骑着白马飞过一家家屋顶，把礼物丢进烟囱里。……