Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 4 of 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
#13006 12/24/00 07:38 PM
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788
Réveillon

"This nocturnal meal, eaten after the Midnight Mass in France and Canada, originally consisted of a simple snack of biscuits or a piece of tourtičre, along with a hot drink. With the years, this snack has been transformed little by little into a more lavish and elaborate meal. The same dishes that are served at Christmas dinner are also served at réveillon, which is essentially limited to family.

In Canada, the custom of Christmas réveillon varies depending on the family, the period and the cultural context.

For Francophones living largely in rural areas, Christmas réveillon was not known until the 1930s when family festivities began to take shape with the commercialization of the holiday season.

For Anglophones and city dwellers, on the other hand, Christmas réveillon began to be part of family celebrations much earlier, around 1875. The tendency to feast on Christmas Eve became more and more pronounced with the custom of the decorated tree and the exchange of presents."






#13007 12/24/00 11:47 PM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Fascinating, Father Steve. While Brazilians, like their French cousins, celebrate Christmas with a feast on the eve, the word "réveillon" to them means New Year's Eve.


#13008 12/25/00 02:48 PM
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,439
W
wow Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,439
Well, here you all are! I wanted to send a bit of cheer and parent-ly advice and so my note is in miscellany!
But good wishes can never be sent too often. So here they are with a special wish for a happy day to emanuella.
Ramadan just ended, Hanukkah is in progress, the winter solstice is being celebrated and we start the 12 days of Christmas today. Surely there must be some wonderfulness going on in Asian countries, too! So one way or another, I wish you all peace and joy and the love of friends and family. To all AWADtalk members, especially, a heartfelt Thank You from me for your kindness, patience and genial collegiality in accepting my posts. Oh, and I really really really do thank you for the laughs along the way. There is a special place in heaven for those who make others laugh and see the absurdity in life.
I'm getting too too sentimental.
For all those "bah humbug" folk ... have a great day if for no other reason than that you have a paid day off!
Merry Christmastide
wow



Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
As the old pagan holiday season churns ever onward.

Yes, I celebrate, as do many non-liturgical Christians and Jews, the major holidays. Mostly it's the cross-quarter days, GroundFrog Day, May Day, NoName Day and Hollow(sic)een, but Easter (named after the German Goddess) and Yule are up there.


#13010 12/28/00 06:57 PM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 163
J
member
Offline
member
J
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 163
After six months AWOL I come here late to wish you all a merry Christmas, anyway, I can wish you a happy new year in time. At least to those who use the Gregorian calendar. To the rest, congratulations for you have been spared of the new millennium hype.
This year has been a great one for me and I would like to thank everyone on this forum. Without you it wouldn’t have been the same!.


Juan Maria.

#13011 12/28/00 07:01 PM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 163
J
member
Offline
member
J
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 163
Thirty years ago -so old am I?- “reveillón” was a common word in Spain and, as in Brazil, we used it for the new year eve celebrations.
Nowadays we have substituted “reveillón” by “cotillón” which is of French origin too.


Juan Maria.

#13012 12/28/00 07:58 PM
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788
It strikes me that, in the United States, the secular holidays are those created, endorsed and promoted by such enterprises as Hallmark Greeting Cards, which market moves are promptly seconded by florists, retailers, candy makers and the like. At one time, Holy Mother Church thought herself to have the power to create and declare holidays. Later, here in the Colonies, at least, the Congress thought itself to have this power. Now, the source of true power is disclosed.




#13013 12/29/00 06:36 AM
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,146
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,146
Hallmark! At last, the true culprit is exposed. I've always rather fancied the World Congress of Hungry Retailers myself, but it's natural that there'd be a ringleader. Thanks, Dad.



The idiot also known as Capfka ...
#13014 12/29/00 02:56 PM
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,289
B
veteran
Offline
veteran
B
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,289
Hallmark and its incubi and succubi
Of course, where Hallmark leads, the retailers are not slow to follow. In the contemporary U.S., Halloween is fast becoming more and more a major holiday. People put strings of orange lights on their houses, along with lighted life-size decorations on their lawns the way they do Christmas creches. If there were a modern Clement Clark Moore to invent a personification for Halloween, it would soon rival Christmas as a popular holiday and a retailer's bonanza.


Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Litery sleuth Don Foster casts doubts on C.C. Moore's authorship:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0805063579/o/qid=978112202/sr=2-1/107-3218140-7500504


Page 4 of 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,912
Posts229,283
Members9,179
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV, Heather_Turey, Standy
9,179 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 442 guests, and 3 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
tsuwm 10,542
wofahulicodoc 10,510
LukeJavan8 9,916
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5