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, celebrated?

       Christmas Eve is a big deal for religious reasons, such as the midnight mass, and also for retail 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."