And, in Sweden, Christmas goes on and on. Here the thirteenth day of christmas (Trettondagen) is a public holiday as is Trettondags Eve (Trettondagsafton). And the carol which "celebrates" this ("On the first day of Xmas my true love gave to me...) is a classic spend, spend, spend carol.
The two bank holidays at the end of Xmas are always just too much...
Twelfth Night is, of course, a Shakespeare play, a cross-dressing comedy.
Last edited by Dreamwoven; 12-31-2015 at 01:58 AM.
Winter would be a damn sight more miserable than it is without Christmas, tawdry commercialism* and awful music notwithstanding.
*Sorry for the tautology - "tawdry" derives it present meaning directly from the tacky commercialism that has from time immoral benefited from religious or other festivals of all kinds.
Voices mysterious far and near,
Sound of the wind and sound of the sea,
Are calling and whispering in my ear,
Whifflingpin! Why stayest thou here?
I dislike the winter months as much as anyone, I'm a sunshine person (so why am I living in England? ) but I can honestly say that the deadening ritual of Christmas is something I would willingly forego were it possible. The same goes for other public holidays which impose on people a necessity to behave in accordance with outmoded practices: religious or otherwise.Originally Posted by Whifflingpin
My ideal would be to make public holidays optional and give everyone time off in lieu so that those who wanted to observe the current status quo could do so and those who would prefer to take their holidays at a more propitious time would also be catered for.
"L'art de la statistique est de tirer des conclusions erronèes a partir de chiffres exacts." Napoléon Bonaparte.
"Je crois que beaucoup de gens sont dans cet état d’esprit: au fond, ils ne sentent pas concernés par l’Histoire. Mais pourtant, de temps à autre, l’Histoire pose sa main sur eux." Michel Houellebecq.
I think many would agree with you, Emil. But once you get children of your own, or even when your siblings get children, it becomes very difficult to ignore. This, I think is why Christmas has such a hold on people.
I have worked through winter holidays in the past when others needed the time off. They are somewhat optional. As Dreamwoven mentioned, having children of a certain age changes things.
My blog: https://frankhubeny.blog/
I didn´t know how to add to this discussion, specially as this is a very serious end of the year. Perhaps our minds are very much on what we can save in the future...
That´s why I´m posting this animation by Maurício de Sousa, the greatest Brazilian children comics cartoonist.
In the story Mônica and her best friend Little Onion are helping the Bethlehem Star to go back to heaven. The little star was on a flight from some cosmic disaster and fell on earth where it entered Mônica´s bedroom. It has to be in heaven in time to iluminate Chistmas Eve. So they have to wait for Santa Claus to take it back.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DD-pV9ddBZA
There are a few dialogues but I think with the above introduction one can understand the story even without undertitles. Mônica, by the way, was inspired by Mauríco´s own daughter.
To Litnetters of other religions: In spite of the Christian references, the star can be considered as an universal symbol I think, specially one that looks like a small cushion
"I seemed to have sensed also from an early age that some of my experiences as a reader would change me more as a person than would many an event in the world where I sat and read. "
Gerald Murnane, Tamarisk Row
Nice video. I would not have understood it without your explanation. Mônica's tears reviving the dying star reminded me of Belle and the Beast in the Disney movie, "Beauty and the Beast".
Sure, Yes/No! I was trying to remember, where I had seen/or read about the revival through tears before. Disney was probably Maurícios greatest inspiration.
"I seemed to have sensed also from an early age that some of my experiences as a reader would change me more as a person than would many an event in the world where I sat and read. "
Gerald Murnane, Tamarisk Row
Everyone knows about the Twelfth Night of Christmas from Shakespeare. But in Sweden the day after this is called Trettondagen (the 13th day of Christmas). It is a public holiday in Sweden. But this year it is extra special, as the day after is a "squeeze day" (klemdag), between the 13th day and the weekend. Check it in you 2017 diary!). Many people in work take the day as a holiday out of their normal holiday allocation, to go skiing for a 4-day holiday.
Last edited by Dreamwoven; 01-04-2017 at 06:07 AM.
I love Christmas, and it doesn't seem to be dying despite the decline of Christian faith. One doesn't have to be a Christian to love the story of how God so loved the World that he gave his only begotten son......
Every parent thinks (to some extent, at least) that his own childrens' births will save him from his sins, and give him eternal life. Christmas makes these thoughts universal.
Besides, I like the literature.
Here's a link to Chesterton's "The House of Christmas":
https://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristma..._christmas.htm
Here, Dostoevsky contributes with "The Beggar Boy and Christ's Christmas Tree" (it's short enough to read in ten minutes, and I love the authorial asides at the beginning and end):
http://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/58527.htm
The thirteenth day of Christmas is when in Sweden a trettondagen concert is held in Stockholm. We watched part of it on TV, but it was heavy going. There were no explanations of what music was being played/sung. I recognised Ravel's Bolero, but that was about it.
The commercial and material aspect of Christmas has become more important threw out the years, that's a fact. Christmas is nowadays a holiday in which buying gifts, shooping and offering stuff is a very important part.
But i don't think it has become the most important part of it, so i do not agree with the idea that Christmas, has a spiritual holiday, a holiday based on fraternal and family values is dying. On the other hand, i'm Portuguese, and in that aspect Portugal is still a more traditional and conservative country than the US, and in Portugal the materialistc perspective is very far away from the american reality. So, probably what i said apllies to my country, but not to the US. Specially to some specific realities, like the big cities such as New York and Los Angeles.
The 20th day of Christmas is called the twentieth Knut, Knut (Canute in English) being the name day: see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Knut%27s_Day.
It marks the end of Christmas. Then the Christmas tree is thrown out, traditionally "danced out" after the decorations have been removed.
While I have no religious affiliation to Christmas, I love it. I see as a celebration of winter and always fuss about it and I really don't see going out of fashion anytime soon. Even my friends from different faiths celebrate Christmas with gusto.
~
"It is not that I am mad; it is only that my head is different from yours.”
~
Today is the 20th Knut, the last day of Christmas, and it falls on Friday the 13th January!
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