译文:
       圣诞节前一天---圣诞前夕著名的原因

       圣诞前夕是一个重大的节日,是有神圣的理由的,像午夜聚会和商品零售原因.1867年是纽约市麦西百货公司在圣诞前夕持续营业到午夜的第一年.
       一位HowStuffWorks的读者也十分亲切的指出:"所有的犹太族节日是从节日前一天的傍晚(而不是历法上的午夜)开始的.我们的节日典礼在前一天傍晚开始:仪式,烛光,......不论什么都是从黄昏开始一直持续到第二天黄昏,然后才结束."

原文:
       Why is the day before Christmas, Christmas Eve, celebrated¹?

       Christmas Eve is a big deal for religious reasons, such as the midnight mass, and also for retail² reasons. 1867 was the first year that Macy's department store in New York City remained open until midnight on Christmas Eve. 

       A HowStuffWorks reader was also kind enough to point out the following: "All Jewish holidays start at sundown the evening before (not at calendar midnight). Our holidays start with ceremony the evening before: rituals, candle-lighting, whatever... at sundown and they last until the following sundown, and then they're over."

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