there was an old manor house where a young, splendid family lived. they had riches and many blessings; they liked to enjoy themselves, and yet they did a lot of good. they wanted to make everybody happy, as happy as they themselves were.

on christmas eve a beautifully decorated christmas tree stood in the large old hall, where fire burned in the fireplaces and fir branches were hung around the old paintings. here gathered the family and their guests; here they sang and danced.

the christmas festivities had already been well under way earlier in the evening in the servants' quarters. here also stood a large fire tree, with lighted red and white candles, small danish flags, swans and fishing nets cut out of colored paper and filled with candies and other sweets. the poor children from the parish had been invited, and each had its mother along. the mothers didn't pay much attention to the christmas tree, but looked rather at the christmas table, where there lay woolen and linen cloths, for dresses and trousers. yes, the mothers and the older children looked at this; only the smallest children stretched out their hands toward the candles, the tinsel, and the flags. this whole gathering had come early in the afternoon; they had been served christmas porridge and roasted goose with red cabbage. then when the christmas tree had been looked over and the gifts distributed, each got a small glass of punch and apple-filled æbleskiver.

when they returned to their own humble rooms, they talked about the "good living," by which they meant the good food they had had, and the presents were again thoroughly inspected.

编辑:Liuxuepaper.Com

作文地带知识拓展:

• 英语（English）属于印欧语系日耳曼语族西日耳曼语支，最早被中世纪的英国使用，并因其广阔的殖民地而成为世界使用面积最广的语言。英国人的祖先盎格鲁部落是后来迁移到大不列颠岛地区的日耳曼部落之一，称为英格兰。这两个名字都来自波罗地海半岛的Anglia。该语言与弗里斯兰语和下撒克森语密切相关，其词汇受到其他日耳曼语族语言的影响，尤其是北欧语（北日耳曼语），并在很大程度上由拉丁文和法文撰写。