{"id":40418,"date":"2023-12-21T06:44:07","date_gmt":"2023-12-21T06:44:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/names-of-christmas-fame"},"modified":"2023-12-21T07:32:56","modified_gmt":"2023-12-21T07:32:56","slug":"names-of-christmas-fame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/names-of-christmas-fame","title":{"rendered":"NAMES OF CHRISTMAS FAME"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Eswatini. <\/strong><\/span>We do hope the people of Ukraine will find safe places and enough resources to enjoy Christmas 2023.<\/b><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Gentleman<\/b><\/p>\n

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 \u2013 especially the distinctive hat \u2013 you could wander into a large French department store at precisely this time of year and say; \u201cBonjour, je suis Pe\u0300re Noe\u0308l.\u201d And then trot over the border to a similar store in Germany, and declare, \u201cGuten tag, ich bin Weihnachtsmann.\u201d 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 \u2018legitimate\u2019 Father Christmas might already be present.<\/p>\n

The name \u2018Santa Claus\u2019 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 \u2013 no, that is not a misprint \u2013 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 \u2013 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.<\/p>\n

Realise<\/b><\/p>\n

The Dutch, who called Saint Nicholas Sinterklaas \u2013 when you say that word aloud you realise how close that is to \u2018Santa Claus\u2019 \u2013 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\u2019s hat rather than a floppy triangular hat with a tuft of white fur on the tip.<\/p>\n

An even shorter version of the gentleman\u2019s name, especially enjoyed by the Americans, is \u2018St Nick\u2019 and inevitably it features in numerous Christmas songs, the writer\u2019s favourite being \u2018Little Saint Nick\u2019 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: \u201cYou and I have the same name.\u201d Smiling, Santa replied, \u201cWell then, hello, Harold.\u201d<\/p>\n

Term<\/b><\/p>\n

As you will recall, the French use the term Noe\u0308l in their Christmas greetings. The term comes from the Latin \u2018nasci\u2019, meaning \u2018to be born\u2019. In the book of Ecclesiastes, the birth of Jesus is called \u2018natalis\u2019. A variation of this word \u2018nael\u2019, made its way into Old French, as a reference to the Christmas season, and later into Middle English as \u2018nowel\u2019. 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, \u201cWake up, there is No L.\u201d Gerrit?<\/p>\n

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, \u201cIt\u2019s not how much we give; it is how much love we put into giving.\u201d Useful advice for when I buy the wife\u2019s Xmas present this year (lol). If, by any chance, you are a devotee of the brilliant exponents of one-line stand-up comedy \u2013 especially Tim Vine and Stewart Francis \u2013 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, \u2018Make it rein, deer\u2019!<\/p>\n

Source: TIMES<\/b><\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Eswatini<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":40417,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,6],"tags":[234,248,249],"class_list":["post-40418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-files","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-eswatini","tag-eswatini"],"yoast_head":"\nNAMES OF CHRISTMAS FAME - Eswatini<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We do hope the people of Ukraine will find safe places and enough resources to enjoy Christmas 2023. 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