Africa-Press – Eswatini. We do hope the people of Ukraine will find safe places and enough resources to enjoy Christmas 2023.
Especially because fragile is their safety, now that the aid money from the USA and EU is under threat from self-centred and hypocritical politicians in the respective locations. Orthodox Christians make up nearly half the population of Ukraine. They observe Christmas Day on January 7, dressing in traditional garments and walking through town singing carols. Then, they get a bit daft, with some families enjoying another traditional gesture after grabbing a spoonful of their Christmas recipe called kutya, made of cooked wheat with honey, poppy seeds and sometimes nuts. They throw it at the ceiling! If it sticks, there will be a good harvest in the new year. Perhaps they should change that alternative to a truce in the terrible war.
Gentleman
What is rather fascinating are the different names given to the gentleman who guides the reindeers into town and climbs down chimneys. If you happen to have a long white beard and the appropriate red clothing – especially the distinctive hat – you could wander into a large French department store at precisely this time of year and say; “Bonjour, je suis Père Noël.” And then trot over the border to a similar store in Germany, and declare, “Guten tag, ich bin Weihnachtsmann.” You would be rather popular, because you would appear to be none other than Father Christmas himself. It is not a practice to recommend, not least in the event that a more ‘legitimate’ Father Christmas might already be present.
The name ‘Santa Claus’ is probably the one most widely recognised and has an interesting origin. The story starts with the monk Saint Nicholas. He lived in the late 200s – no, that is not a misprint – nearly 2 000 years ago. And his life was spent in what is today Turkey. You cannot help wondering whether that choice of residence determined the traditional meat for the Christmas table – if you are lucky enough to afford it! And St Nicholas, during those dark years after the fall of the Roman Empire, built a reputation from helping others, by giving away his inherited money. The Catholic church had made him a saint for his altruistic works; people idolised him as the protector of children and sailors. They celebrated his life every year on December 6, which was the day of his death.
Realise
The Dutch, who called Saint Nicholas Sinterklaas – when you say that word aloud you realise how close that is to ‘Santa Claus’ – had a culture that proceeded to celebrate the memory of St Nicholas. And in New York (previously known as New Amsterdam and thus having a strong Dutch connection) the newspapers reported even in 1773 and 1774 that the Dutch residents were holding Sinterklaas gatherings on December 6 in those years. Sinterklaas is the shorter version of the Dutch name for Saint Nicholas: Sint Nikolaas, who has a land-bound white horse instead of the reindeer, and a red bishop’s hat rather than a floppy triangular hat with a tuft of white fur on the tip.
An even shorter version of the gentleman’s name, especially enjoyed by the Americans, is ‘St Nick’ and inevitably it features in numerous Christmas songs, the writer’s favourite being ‘Little Saint Nick’ by that pop-harmony band, the Beach Boys; in their day they were as popular as the Beatles. Perhaps it was an American who told the story about the little boy who also happened to be called Nicholas. One December day, the boy made the exciting journey with his mother, down to the superstore in town, for the very special encounter at that time of year. When it was his turn, he coyly shuffled over to Santa Claus, but then proudly announced: “You and I have the same name.” Smiling, Santa replied, “Well then, hello, Harold.”
Term
As you will recall, the French use the term Noël in their Christmas greetings. The term comes from the Latin ‘nasci’, meaning ‘to be born’. In the book of Ecclesiastes, the birth of Jesus is called ‘natalis’. A variation of this word ‘nael’, made its way into Old French, as a reference to the Christmas season, and later into Middle English as ‘nowel’. One day, in a frivolous mood, a man sent his friend a cryptic Christmas card. It said: ABCDEFGHIJKMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ. The recipient puzzled over it for weeks, finally giving up and asking the sender to explain. He received a reply which said, “Wake up, there is No L.” Gerrit?
Mother Teresa, the Albanian-Indian Catholic nun, was another person famous for her charitable work. And, just like Saint Nicholas, she was canonised; she became Saint Teresa of Calcutta. One of her most persuasive sayings was, “It’s not how much we give; it is how much love we put into giving.” Useful advice for when I buy the wife’s Xmas present this year (lol). If, by any chance, you are a devotee of the brilliant exponents of one-line stand-up comedy – especially Tim Vine and Stewart Francis – you will enjoy the following exhortation. If we find Christmas day approaching, with the weather too hot and dry, in need of more than a little precipitation, we must all cry out in perfect unison, ‘Make it rein, deer’!
Source: TIMES
For More News And Analysis About Eswatini Follow Africa-Press
