雅思聽力考試中的日常生活部分經常會用到各種各樣的節日，圣誕節就是不得不提到的一個。因為這是西方世界里面最大的節日了，圣誕節中最重要的道具圣誕樹就顯得特別的重要，那么你知道圣誕樹的來歷嗎?新東方網雅思頻道為大家整理了相關的資料，希望大家在慶祝圣誕的過程中了解這些雅思聽力背景材料。

圣誕樹

　　Legend suggests that, in the late 16th century, Martin Luther (the founder of the Protestant religion) was the first to decorate an indoor tree with candles when he attempted to recreate the stars shining over a forest of evergreens.

　　The first mention of decorated trees being taken indoors came in 1605 in Germany - a country with a long Christmas tree history! The trees were initially decorated with fruit and sweets together with hand made objects such as quilled snowflakes and stars. German Christmas Markets began to sell shaped gingerbreads and wax ornaments which people bought as souvenirs of the fair and took home to hang on their tree.

　　Tinsel was also invented in Germany in about 1610. Up until fairly recently real silver was used, which was pulled into wafer thin strips by special machines. This was durable but tarnished quickly and many experiments took place to try and find an alternative - including a mix of lead and tin, which was too heavy and kept breaking. It was only in the mid 20th century that a viable alternative was found.

　　Artificial trees were invented in the 1880's in a bid to try and stop some of the damage being caused to real trees due to people lopping the tip off large trees, thus preventing the trees from growing any further. It got so bad in Germany that laws had to be brought in to prevent people having more than one tree.

　　圣誕樹一致是慶祝圣誕節不可少的裝飾物，如果家中沒有圣誕樹，就大大減少了過節氣氛。關于圣誕樹的來源有多種不同的傳說。

　　其中一個是說：大約在十六世紀，圣誕樹最先出現在德國，德國人把長青的松柏枝拿到屋中去擺設，將之成為圣誕樹。后來，由德國人馬丁路德把蠟燭放在樹林中的樅樹枝上，然后點燃蠟燭，使它看起來像是引導人們到伯利恒去。而近今日，人們已經改用粉色的小燈泡了。

　　另一個傳說記載。據說有一位農民在一個風雪交加的圣誕夜里接待了一個饑寒交迫的小孩，讓他吃了一頓豐盛的圣誕晚餐，這個孩子告別時折了一根杉樹枝插在地上并祝福說：“年年此日，禮物滿枝，留此美麗的杉村，報答你的好意。”小孩走后，農民發現那樹枝竟變成了一棵小樹，他才明白自己接待的原來是一位上帝的使者。這個故事就成為圣誕樹的來源。在西方，不論是否基督徒，過圣誕節時都要準備一棵圣誕樹，以增加節日的歡樂氣氛。圣誕樹一般是用杉柏之類的常綠樹做成，象征生命長存。樹上裝飾著各種燈燭、彩花、玩具、星星，掛上各種圣誕禮物。圣誕之夜，人們圍著圣誕樹唱歌跳舞，盡情歡樂。

　　圣誕樹真正出現在圣誕節時，首先見于德國，之后又傳入歐洲和美國，并以其優美的姿態，成為圣誕節不可缺少的裝飾。圣誕樹的種類繁多，有天然松柏圣誕樹、也有人造圣誕樹及白色圣誕樹。每棵圣誕樹上都掛滿琳瑯滿目的裝飾品，但每棵樹的頂端必定有個特大的星星，象徵三博士跟隨該星而找到耶穌，而且也只有該家庭的一家之主可以把這棵希望之星掛上。