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December 26 A brown Christmas?And so, as with every year, Christmas is officially over and the anticlimax has hit home with full force – the turkey’s lying descrated on the plate surrounded by pieces of rapidly moulding stuffing, there’s still a ball of wrapping paper hidden behind the sofa that you’ll find sometime around mid-February, you’ve become completely accustomed to the Christmas tree (so much so that the room will suddenly look barren without it) and you’re already starting to plan what to do with that money you got from Aunty Mildred from the other end of the country. (Yes, that Aunty Mildred – the one that everyone assures you you’ve met once or twice but you’ve no recollection of such.) Some people – like me – attempt to drag the festivities out for another day by celebrating Boxing Day (essentially, a second shot at Christmas, where you get to get drunk with your friends instead of just family), and hosting a massive party for everyone around to come to. Incidentally, such a review will find its way onto here along with pictures, I’m quite sure.
Was it just me, though, or did Christmas not seem quite the same this year? People assure me that it’s just me getting older, and the magic of Christmas slowly and surely being replaced for the contempt of its over-commercialisation, though I dismiss it. I also had an inkling that it may have been to do with the fact my Granddad died nine days prior to Christmas, though when I heard other people felt the same, I reasoned that such a fact may just have served to make it a bit less Christmassy for me. I pondered and pondered over many a glass of cider and red wine (separately, you understand,) on this matter, and came to a few hypotheses; firstly, I can’t recollect there being any frost on the ground on Christmas morning. I mean, a Christmas is always wished to be a white one, but when it’s not even silvery-grey and is, instead, a dull brown, it doesn’t serve to make one very Christmassy. Also, I mused, I’d done my Christmas shopping by the middle of November, meaning that I’d pre-empted any Christmas rush or queue, and didn’t get a chance to fight for my presents like any other self-respecting last-minute shopper.
Another cause, perhaps, was that I knew I was working on Christmas Eve. I also knew that were desperately short-staffed on such a day, and that the queue would be out of the door at the caffè from around nine in the morning until the moment we closed with the sort of general moron that is desperately trying to pry their way into our already-burgeoning pseudo-intellectual coffee culture. Such couldn’t really get my spirits up, however I certainly wasn’t miserable for the shift – I worked with my hair temporarily dyed blue and persuaded the manager to close early on the grounds that we were rapidly running out of everything.
Such said, I did enjoy Christmas as much as the next man. Lots of fantastic presents and cash, chocolate and toiletries for months and a smug satisfaction as I sat eating my massive plate full of Christmas dinner and watching a lowly jogger saunter on by. Alright, so few people nowadays care about the true meaning of Christmas, as reflected in the fact that I only got one Christmas card this year depicting a nativity scene, but perhaps that’s what makes it special even though there were so many things there that could have potentially ruined it – the knowledge that there was another layer of meaning there for anyone that wanted it, and another thing to toast to.
I guess that all that’s left for me to say would be that, I thouroughly hope that you enjoy what remains of the festive season – eat too much, drink too much and show those feelings you bottle up for the entire year – safe in the knowledge that nigh-on everyone else will be doing the same.
Merry Christmas.
Gaz out. December 10 Deck the halls with BastardisationWell, the plan to get two more posts up before the anniversary of the first anniversary of Gaz's Blog™ really went to pot, it would seem. Regardless, you're getting at least another one before the epic festivities of tomorrow kick in proper. Anyway, I decided to round off another fantastic year of blogging™ by combining two of my favourite pet hates together in one free-for-all, bloodbath-type marathon rant. Anyone that has read the blog™ for any period of time longer than two microseconds will have twigged that I despise; December 04 Christmas is nearly here...So it's been nearly a year since I used this particular setting. My, how the time flies. I also seem to remember doing features last year on Christmassy songs and facts, though I pretty much drained the barrel on those last year, and so if you want to look over them again, just scroll down, and click the 'December 2005' option on the left. Anyway, so Christmas is here again. Well, by which I refer to the serious rundown to Christmas, as if you went off what the shops and other hostelries said, we'd all be celebrating Christmas before our summer holidays for that particular year. Whilst we're on the subject, I'm going to take a few moments to categorise the various stages of Christmas-readiness in our lovely (if not fantastically pre-emptive) country; December 25 Advent Bloggings™: Christmas DayAnd lo, the day is upon us at last. After months and months of shopping around for presents, ideas for presents, booze, food, ridiculous hats, decorations and subsequent recovery items (Alka Seltzer, Pro Plus, Gaviscon etc.), the big day is here. Now, is it just me, or does Christmas Day all seem like so much of an anticlimax compared to the actual run-up to it? Well, getting presents is always nice, as is seeing the genuinely pleased or horrified expressions on people's faces as they open the gifts you spent your own money getting, as is eating some fantastic food and drinking excessive amounts of tipple, however it's then: what now? Once you've listened to, watched, played with, looked at, read everything once, everything seems a little bit samey again. Ah well, it's probably just me getting old, miserable and, perhaps most notable, conservative. (Small c, one notes: refers to the ideology and not the party. Just as a point as well, I could've refered to either, its just I chose to promote the idealism rather than the organisation.)
This is, as some of you out there might be aware, the 2nd Christmas celebrated here at Gaz's Blog™. Granted lots of changes have taken place since the last one; Gaz's Blog™ growing exponentially in size, content, popularity and exposure and a hell of a lot of things have happened. It might also be worth noting that this point isn't actually going anywhere, I just decided to make it for the hell of it. Should you want to know what I got, allow me to enighten you as to some of the fantastic gifts; Harry Hill DVD, Meat Loaf live with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (Possibly one of the most spectacular orchestra compilations I've ever heard,) The new Darkness album, Age of Empires III, Cash and vouchers, 'Is it just me or is everything Shit' and a Stormtrooper-y Mr Potato Head, to name but a few.
Of course, it would be selfish of me to get wrapped up in the commercialism of Christmas and not mention those hwo make it very special. I'm not talking personally anymore, but am In fact referring to your friends and family. I made a big show of sending out a text message saying a very simple 'Merry Christmas' that didn't require too much attention or commitment to the words out to as many people as Motorola would let me with this phone. (Granted that then, I sent it again by accident, thus my bill for today will be huge, but that's besides the point.) I then got reply texts wishing me a Merry Christmas back again, which probably made both parties feel equally good about themselves. Occasionally, I got the odd repeated text, and one that was sent a grand total of 12 times to me for reasons still unbeknownst to me or any other bugger, but it emphasised the point that Okay - people might not like spending time with their relatives, but everyone does it. We're in this boat together, so let's make the most of this one day. I recommend those who've read this Blog™ and not sent a few text messages wishing people a Merry Christmas to do so, or just ring them up for a quick chat. Then go out bingeing again tomorrow, but just spend this special time with your loved ones.
How's that then, Gaz advocating love and understanding? Truly sensational. But then so is the time of year: A time of year that has the power to bring people to their knees in prayer, adoration and solitude, to make even the most hardened conservative spend their money on gifts and for peaces and goodwill to be advocated by the entire Christian population of the world. Just for a day. Thus, I think it only fair to mention three final closing points this festive season;
And don't give me any of that Da Vinci code bullshit either. Jesus is recognised as being born on the 25th, even if he's not believed to have been by some people (Especially those who follow Dan Brown blindly like some sort of psuedo-intellectual herd of sheep) and so if anyone can present me with some actual evidence to prove me wrong, I'll gladly dismiss it anyway. Merry Christmas. December 22 Advent Bloggings™: The 22nd day of ChristmasWell, it seems that my fame is such that I can amass some 100 views without me even trying and thus, in keeping with my greedy, nay egotistical attitude toward life, the universe and everything, I decided to get another Blog™ up here to try and get another 30. (The average viewers to each blog™. Not bad, you must admit. And if you don't? Then, in the immortal words of General Melchett, "yar-booh and sucks to you, fritzy".) Anyway, before I continue with my Christmassy theme for another day, I must make a slight grammatical point: If one is despicable, one can be despised, no? Good. Also, if one is surprisable (Not sure if an 'e' is needed there.), then one can be suprised, sensibly. Thus why if one is suspicious, can one not be suspis(c)ed? Or if they can, why didn't I know about the word up until now. If, for whatever reason, you wanted the origin of a new word - the Daschund (Sausage Dog - not to be confused with Hotdogs) was originally a German dog (hund) which was used to hunt badgers (dasch). Just in case you were interested, of course. Anyway - today was the last day of College, and didn't we send it out with a bang? Though, what was slightly depressing was taking the down the deorations at the end so the cleaners didn't nick them, however we left lots of tinsel on the floor in the hope it might get trodden in. But, that's both by-the-bye and tangeated from the main point:
Christmassy Fact for the Day
The origins of the word 'Carol' (When related to the Christmas meaning, and not the female name) are unclear - it could have come from the greek verk 'Choros' (To sing) or from the Old French word 'Carole' (A song accompanied by dancing.) The point of the matter is that the pagans used these long before the Christians did, as is the story with most Christmas things - either the Pagans or the Americans got there before us. Ah well. In the late 12th century, carols started to appear, however we banned by the Catholic Church until the early part of the 15th century, when they were deemed acceptable. The oldest Carol still sung today is 'O come, O come Emmanuel,' which explains the plagal cadences and morbid overtones throughout the entire piece. Many of the original carols were sung in Latin, and so "O come all ye faithful" came from the latin song 'Adeste Fideles' before being translated into many other languages besides English, the names seemingly corresponding to one another to the same extent that Gibralatar considers itself Spanish. ('O Holy Night' is 'Cantique de Noël' in French, for example.) It would not be until the late 19th Century when some carols were ste to music, as many were sung freestyle in services - often fiddling with the written form to make the song fit. (It's "God rest ye merry, Gentlemen", not "God rest ye, merry gentlemen.")
Christmassy Song for the Day
"White Christmas" : Bing Crosby
The best-selling Christmas song of all time (More so than Band Aid, contrary to popular belief) with infinite parodies and little out-of-sync lines that can be sung, including changing the word 'white' to any other colour less than three syllables long - it doesn't really work with 'Orchid white with a touch of lavender', I've found out the hard way, when I was still saying the colour whilst everyone else (Including Bing) were well into the second verse. December 19 Advent Bloggings™: The 19th day of ChristmasWell hello there. Another Christmassy blog™ for you to digest whilst I prepare the latest list of my little pet hates for you lucky, lucky people. However, before I divulge you with yet more interesting trivia from my databanks, allow me to shed light on how incredibly unfestive I'm feeling: Most of Bolton has already joined me in agreeing that it doesn't feel as close to Christmas as it actually is (6 days and counting,) nor even in December for that matter. My teachers continue to set tests, essays, work and revision as if it were any other school week, and, had it not been for the Christmas Tree erected prematurely (Two rude words in sequence. Such horror.) in the common room, I do believe advent might have passed me by altogether. (It's an interesting theory, actually: Do we only have enough celebratory energy in us to celebrate a few weeks after we see the Christmas Tree? Which leads us onyo another line of questioning: Would it be possible, like Wizzard had hoped, to have Christmas everyday?) Anyway, enough with the questions, and on with the trivia:
Christmassy Fact for the Day
It may wonder you as to why we have Mistletoe in the festive season. What puzzles me more is why kiss under it? I mean, after all, Mistletoe's poisonous, so surely it'd be more of a bad luck omen than a good luck one? Well, to cut a very longwinded story slightly shorter; I did some research into this peculiar topic. (Well, actually, by research I mean I simply checked wikipedia, but it's got to count for something.) Mistletoe is actually a parasite of sorts, like Ivy and most fungi - It feeds off its host, and, by doing such, can bear green leaves longer than most other deciduous trees and plants - leading the ancient Celts to believe it to be sacred. Further, it used to like growing on Oak trees, which were the very Coca-Colas of the avatars back then. Apparently. Anyway, the Druids used to cultivate this sacred spore and hang it above doorways, and encourage people to settle their grievances by kissing under it. The lattermost part, at least, has remained to this day, however the grievances bit seems to have been forgotten a tad.
Christmassy Music for the Day
"Another Rockin' Rollin' Christmas" - Gary Glitter
Cheesier than an entire fromagerie, naffer than Ribena light and possibly the worst lyrics since "A Windmill in Old Amsterdam", but surely that's what Christmas is all about, no? December 15 Advent Bloggings™: The 15th Day of ChristmasIf, should you, for whatever reason, you're interested in my thoughts of the day, see below this post. If, however, you want some Christmassy Trivia, read on:
Christmassy Fact for the Day
Christmas Tree Lights all span from the days of putting candles on the trees, which is still the tradition in some areas of Scandanavia. Legend has it that Martin Luther (Not to be confued with Martin Luther King Jr., the famous civil rights campaigner) was walking home one night when he saw the stars twinkling through the branches of a fir tree. So inspired was he that he went home and set up a tree of his very own.
Then we fastforward to America in 1879. Just three years after Thomas Edison had patented (There's quite a strong debate going over who actually invented it,) the light bulb, Edward Johnson, a man who worked for Edison's company decided to put electric lights on the tree. It was some years later before strings of lights were commercially made (1903, in fact), and even then, if one went out, the rest followed suit. It would be 1927 before little light bulbs would be made that didn't get too hot and would stay lit, even if others in the chain weren't.
Christmassy Song for the Day
After substantial requests (Well, Steve anyway) last night for this song, it has to go on. Thus, the song for the day is:
"Mary's Boy Child" - Boney M.
Possibly the only known Reggae Christmas Song, it remains an unusual choice, however one that I must bow to, and further confess to liking.
December 13 Advent Bloggings™: 13/12/05Back on full force then with the Advent Bloggings™. Set beautifully against Meat Loaf's "I couldn't have said it better" album which I rediscovered this morning as being pure excellent, the stage is set for another Christmassy fact:
Christmassy Fact for the Day
Many people, if questioned, (And believe me, it would be a really random string of questioning) would say that pretzel has nothing to do with Christmas. Technically, they're not, but should be for all intents and purposes. During the winter Solstice (25th December) Ancient German tradition was to bake what they called a 'bretzel'. Originally, this bretzel was a circle of dough with a cross in the middle, attempting to symbolise the year divided into four seasons: The basic shape but for one of the 'seasons' has been kept, but twisted slightly for manufacturing ease, and has come to be the pretzel we mostly all know and seculalrly love. Some countries still insist on calling the foodstuff a bretzel, namely Germany and Japan; just to be awkward, I suppose.
Bretzel (NB: Though not actually made of dough, this is the assumed bretzel shape.)
Christmassy Music for the Day
What would Christmas be without Slade's "Merry Xmas Everybody"?
Well, possibly a damn site less repetitive, but that's not what's being argued at hand here. Also, unwittingly, they have made use of the Greek form of Christmas, using the Chi symbol. Or perhaps they were just lazy. Who can say?
December 09 Advent Bloggings™: The 9th day of ChristmasWell, managing to get two essays and baby feeding into one day is something of a new thing for me, I must confess. Anyway, enough of that and only the title: Granted that it should be the 6th day of Christmas, as it's the first one done after the 5th, however it's done on the 9th, making it the 9th day. Settled? Good. (In either circumstance.) On with the Christmassy schenanegans:
Christmassy Fact for the Day
Tinsel as we know (And optionally love) it didn't start off in existance as the decoration for Christmas Trees. Oh no. Like anything shiny, one might expect to find it's beginnings in France. Of course, if one thought this, one would be right. Tinsel, when in France, was called lame. (Pronounced 'lamb'.) Now, the French, not being the particularly noted military strategists, decided to use this as decoration on their soldiers' uniforms. I may be no Sun Tzu, but the certainly can't be many things that give you away more on a battlefield than tinsel stuffed into every nook and cranny of your uniform. However, as France was very good at getting into wars in those days (But still no better at fighting them,) the secret leaked to the Germans, where they soon decided to manufacture it to make their Christmas Trees look all splendiforous.
Christmas Trees themselves are actually a German tradition in themsleves. In Pagan Scandanavia, Christmas Trees were hung with War decorations to bring good luck and this, inevitably, spread to Catholic Germany, where it was adopted into Christianity and, more importantly, Christmas itself. The earliest mentions of Christmas Trees is in the 1600s, when German merchants used to carry the trees through towns, place it in the Market Square and the people would dance around it. Now, that's an entirely different meaning of the word lame. Soon, it was adapted in many ways, treated in the same way as Mistletoe is and placed on top of Pyramids and offered fruit and nuts. Crazy Germans.
Christmassy Music for the Day
The music itself is actually "Wizards in Winter" by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, however I first found out about this particular piece via this rather excellent display of Christmas Lighting which can be found here. (Oh, and 'son and lumière' has nothing to do with the title, author, music or lights - it's simply a posh term for a light and music show.) December 05 Advent Bloggings™: The 5th day of ChristmasNow, I'm not entirely sure as to where my chocolate for the 6th has gotten to - I definitely only had the one this morning. But that, as you may well know, is by the bye. (And if you didn't, consider yourselves enlightened.) Nothing much happened today: Both french lessons cancelled so two hours were spent dwelling in the common room playing Christmas music at excitably loud volumes - oh, and then there's two burkes pulling out in front of me in driving. Someone up there must like me. And, it is also my sad duty to inform you that there most probably will not be a 7th day of Christmas advent blog™, as I'll be in Cambridge, ready to be grilled in my interview - thus, anyone who's also going down to Corpus Christi - feel free to chat to me if you see me. Anyway, shall we begin?
Christmassy Fact for the Day
Last year, probably at around this time, I stumbled across an article that stated how much it would cost for one to buy everything mentioned in the song "The 12 days of Christmas". Of course, being the immature so-and-so I was then, I decided to simply go straight ahead to the site I had intended on getting to. Anyway, that's straying from the point. Yesterday (This is the point, so pay attention.) I managed to find this year's list and costs, which I shall now rescribe to you. Oh, and if you're wondering, it's up 6.1% over last year. Truly shocking.
Partridge in a Pear Tree - 1 x $104.99 (↑12.9%)
Turtle Doves - 2 x $20 = $40 ↑
French Hens - 3 x $15 = $45 (↑3.7%)
Calling Birds - 4 x $99.99 = $399.96 (↑1.0%)
Golden rings - 5 x $65 = $325 (↑27.5%)
Geese-a-Laying - 6 x $50 = $300 (↑42.9%)
Swans-a-Swimming - 7 x $600 = $4,200 (↑20.0%)
Maids-a-Milking - 8 x $5.15 = $41.20 ↑
Ladies Dancing - 9 x $508.46 = $4,576.14 (↑4.0%)
Lords-a-Leaping - 10 x $403.91 = $4,039.08 ↑
Pipers Piping - 11 x $186.65 = $2,053.20↑
Drummers Drumming - 12 x $185.36 = $2,224.30↑
Total = $18,348.87 (↑6.1%)
Of course, if you wanted to be really pedantic and buy all the repeated gifts, meaning buying 364 gifts in total, one would spend a massive $72,608.02. Put into perspective, this is, according to the current exchange
rates, £41,654.41 in our (proper) money. Added to this, however, is the cost of delivery and that of buying it over the internet, which would amount to a massive $10,973.93 (£6,295.92) extra. Hardly seems worth it really, does it?
Christmassy Song for the Day
It's got to be "The 12 days of Christmas" (- Anon.) really, hasn't it? Keep those requests for the song of the day coming though.
Oh, and on a slightly festive but distasteful note, this joke -
Vietnam's going all Christmassy this year: They're hanging glitter in Ho Chi Minh Square.
December 04 Advent Bloggings™: The 4th day of ChristmasThere's only so many essays a man can write in a day before suffering from some sort of manic boredom that can only be relieved by, well, doing anything non-essay related. Thus, I have decided to update the blog™ with the fourth day of Christmas' fact and music. Just of note to those that read the blog™ religiously or otherwise; if there's any Christmas song that you like particularly or Area you want explaining, just simply request it in a comment and I'll do my best to unearth the truth for you. Anyway, here we go:
Christmassy Fact for the Day
The retail madness that surrounds Christmas can actually be traced back to Mr Hitler and Emperor Hirohito. (Well, the Second World War, but it was their fault really.) Essentially, in order for Americans to be able to get their gifts to the soldiers in Europe, they woudl have to buy at the beginning of December so that they could get there in time. Of course, this idea stuck, and so the shops started to call the season the 'time of giving' (Or words to that effect.) The retailers took the gift idea of Epiphany and of St. Nick and combined them to create this secular season of giving, recieiving and huge let downs. Truly, this is a form of giving, but not the spirit thereof.
Christmassy Song for the Day
"I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" - Roy Wood & Wizzard
One of the truly great Christmas songs - Cheesy, eccentric and just that little bit repetitive. Still, its quite refreshing to find a song that everyone sings along to and few people mind because they know it'll be gone at the end of the month. December 03 Advent Bloggings™: The 3rd day of ChristmasIf only Rammstein made Christmas songs. Actually, come to think of it: If only all Christmas songs sounded like Rammstein. The perhaps Christianity would be slightly more widely appreciated. Intriguing thought of the day, then; should I set up my own brand of Christianity to bring back all the psuedo-satanists and the 'nu-metal' so-and-sos. Perhaps not. After all, it'd require effort. Anyway, I shall not ramble on about my day for too long, as myself and the Baron von Collingwood had a rather nasty run-in with some market researchers that we quickly turned around to be an opportunity for free Tea and crêpes. Anywho, I digress:
Christmassy Fact for the day
Saint Nicholas was a real saint. In fact, the Dutch still celebrate his saint day (December 6th) as the day on which they give their children presents from Saint Nick himself. (Well, slightly vicariously.) Nothing is known about his actual life apart from the facts that he was the Bishop of Myria in Lycia (Modern-day Turkey) sometime before 350 AD and that he was incredibly kind to children. The Dutch, when they colonised America to form New Amsterdam, introduced the holiday over there. However, when the British bought New Amsterdam from the Dutch and renamed it 'New York' (The very same) the date changed to Christmas day. (December 25th for the numpties amongst you.)
But what of the name 'Santa Claus'? Well, Santa Claus is the angophile version of the Dutch colloquial term 'Sinter Klaas' for Saint Nick. The name itself is an example of how the holiday, due to America's melting pot background, has become something of a half-way house between British, Dutch, Catholic and Prussian celebratory methods.
Christmassy Song for the day
"Carol of the Bells" - Trans-Siberian Orchestra feat. Metallica
It's as near as Christmas carols are going to get to Rammstein, realistically speaking. Possibly the most evil version of any Christmas song in the world. Ever. December 02 Advent Bloggings™: The 2nd day of ChristmasA bit of laziness here, I might confess. I really can't be arsed at the moment turning rather uneventful things into rather over-dramaticised super-events, so I'll simply stick to the one event: Almost writing off my mum's new car. Essentially, she's gotten a new car so I can go 3rd party on the insurance at the fantastic price of £150/pa, as they wouldn't touch me in a sport Ka, for whatever reason. Not that I'm untrustworthy, just that there are thousands of Chav drivers out there, who spend their hard-doled money on kitting up their Vauxhall Novas or Rover Metros to make them look...well, ridiculous. Anyway, my mum, being the helpful soul she is, decided to leave the car in 1st gear and, with a learner that's used to starting up a car in neutral, the inevitable happened: the car shot forward half a metre. (I'll point out that this is the first half metre it's actually driven). I mean, half a metre isn't too bad, is it? Well, I suppose it does get slightly worse when there's a garage door a little over half a metre in front of you. Ah well: no damage came of it in the end... thankfully. Anyway: Christmas.
Christmassy Fact for the day
Anyone who's read 'The Da Vinci Code' will know that Christmas day is not the actual date of Jesus' birth. Apparently, the 25th December was a Pagan Holiday -The birth of the Invincible Sun [Son] - and so the Romans, who had recently turned to Christianity, decided to adopt it as a special day to bring in the early Christian punters.
Well, I stand before you today to tell you that, like most of the facts in Mr Brown's novel - It's not true. To find out the real reason for the origin of Christmas day, we must delve deep into what can be described as the depths of ancient Judaism. In said ancient Judaism, there is a popular belief (which the early Christians inherited) that a prophet died on the day of their conception. The year itself didn't matter, but their earthly death signified their 'Birth in Heaven'. (Their words, not mine.)
Now, according to ancient western calculations, Jesus was crucified on the 25th March. God only knows how they worked that out, but they did. Now, fast forward 9 months from 25 March 0AD and we get to... 25th December 0AD - The first Christmas. Whilst the facts themselves may not have any real credibility, they do have a Christian origin. Further, Philocalus wrote in 354 AD that Jesus' birth date had been set as the 25th December, meaning that Christmas was first celebrated in 355 AD. So there.
Christmassy Song for the day
"An Angel Came Down" - Trans-Siberian Orchestra
A little cheesy, but still good to get you in the Christmas mood. December 01 Advent Bloggings™: The 1st day of ChristmasAs promised no fewer than a few minutes ago, here we are with the very first Advent Blogging™. Now, there is some debate over whether today is the first day of Christmas of of Advent. Personally, I would say the latter, however it pays to make it easy to understand for those out there with the IQ lower than that of the average goat. Anyway; fact and song for the day.
Christmassy Fact for the day
Referring to Christmas as 'Xmas' is neither blasphemous or unchristian. In fact, the term was originally coined by the fiscal church of the 16th and 17th centuries, when hand presses were still used to print books. As letters took time to lay out again and again, any short terms that could be made were welcomed. And so, Xmas was born. Now, the question is begged by some: 'Why?' Well, if you'll stop asking questions, I'll tell.
The 'X' in Xmas is not actually an X, but actually the Greek letter 'Chi', whose capital looks almost identical to the latin letter X. Regard:
X (Capital): X
X (Smaller): x
Chi (Capital): Χ
Chi (Smaller): χ
Chi, as most of your bright sparks will have figured out, is the 'Christ' at the beginning of the holiday title, minus the 'r', 's' and 't'. So not far wrong.
Christmassy Song for the day
"I believe in Father Christmas": Greg Lake
Nice song: especially at the end when all the drums start going bananas. Proverbially, of course. I don't think squashing bananas would sound very musical at all.
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