You like the idea of celebrating the annihilation of an entire population of native people?
Doesn't sound like something worth celebrating to me.
You do know many Native Americans celebrate Thanksgiving, right? Where on earth do people get their ideas? The day has never had anything to do with the slaughter of First Nationers.
The decorated Christmas tree is a German idea, so I suppose there's no automatic harm in adopting other nations' customs. It does seem a bit one-sided at times though:
Santa Claus replaced Father Christmas
Halloween is now about dressing up and trick or treat and pumpkins
Children now have an American-style prom when they leave school
Flipping the bird replaced flicking the Vs
Disney's Pooh replaced E. H. Shepard's drawings
We have ass for arse; gridlock for traffic jam; power outage for power cut; wintry mix for sleet
Any more?
The name Santa Claus is a derivitive of St Nicholas, nothing to do with the Americans!
It seems to be "a wintry mix of..." there rather than a substitute for 'sleet'. Would make more sense, in any case. Just "a mix of..." with a descriptor.
The name Santa Claus is a derivitive of St Nicholas, nothing to do with the Americans!
Yes, it has its origin in Europe, as does much of American culture – gotten, for example, is in the King James Bible. But it's the influence of the American Santa Claus which is the reason why children here now tend to speak of Santa rather than Father Christmas.
One of my friends and her family celebrate thanksgiving for some reason. I've never understood why! They're Scottish with no connection to America other than going to Orlando every few years.
Not that different to the millions of atheists and agnostics who celebrate Christmas.
Not the American version it's not. Even my American friends think it's the most ludicrous "sport" ever invented. It's why one is a manic Liverpool supporter!
Yet it's the most popular sport in a country with 300m inhabitants.
Actually wintery mix and sleet are too different things. (At least as far as I understand.) Sleet is not quite snow. Wintery mix is a combination of freezing rain, sleet and snow. In otherwords , it's when Mother Nature can't make up her mind so you get all the variations of cold precipitation at once.
Thanksgiving IS the American harvest festival. The revisionist 'Europeans are all imperialist scum' have tried very hard to make it about something else over the last couple of decades, but it always has, since its inception, been about celebrating family, friends and a fruitful harvest. Now that we're a less agrarian society it's become a bit about football and the ramp up to the Christmas shopping season, but I suppose everything evolves.
We actually used to celebrate thanksgiving in the UK centuries ago. it was a dinner of thanks that was celebrated for Harvest, most Protestant Christian countries celebrated it, it was brought to the US by Pilgrim settlers from England.
It's funny bc in the UK we used to call taps, faucets many centuries ago but now it's considered a US word.
Actually wintery mix and sleet are too different things. (At least as far as I understand.) Sleet is not quite snow. Wintery mix is a combination of freezing rain, sleet and snow.
Thanks, so it's not an exact equivalent of sleet. I don't remember hearing it before a couple of years ago, where WINTRY MIX was also on the weather map.
Thanks, so it's not an exact equivalent of sleet. I don't remember hearing it before a couple of years ago, where WINTRY MIX was also on the weather map.
'Wintery mix' is really common where I live. The cold fronts and the wet almost never coincide but they brush past each other. Which is a good thing because otherwise we'd have snow from November to March. Blech!
Yes, it has its origin in Europe, as does much of American culture – gotten, for example, is in the King James Bible. But it's the influence of the American Santa Claus which is the reason why children here now tend to speak of Santa rather than Father Christmas.
It is true that much of the modern iconography of Father Christmas/Santa originates from the US. Clement Clarke Moore, Haddon Sundblom, and Thomas Nast being largely responsible. The US seems to have imported most of its Christmas traditions from the continent because the English puritans didn't celebrate it at all!
It is true that much of the modern iconography of Father Christmas/Santa originates from the US. Clement Clarke Moore, Haddon Sundblom, and Thomas Nast being largely responsible. The US seems to have imported most of its Christmas traditions from the continent because the English puritans didn't celebrate it at all!
This is not surprising they weren't just colonised by the UK, they were colonised by many different European nations at the time who set up footholds in all parts of the US to stake a claim of US soil. The French in Louisiana e.g.
Comments
Now it's all about celebrating Diwali, Oktoberfest, Australia Day and Norwegian Constitution Day.
Feliz carnaval!!!
You do know many Native Americans celebrate Thanksgiving, right? Where on earth do people get their ideas? The day has never had anything to do with the slaughter of First Nationers.
Thanksgiving Proclamation http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/thanks.htm
https://twitter.com/bbcweather/status/276877983057342464
The name Santa Claus is a derivitive of St Nicholas, nothing to do with the Americans!
It seems to be "a wintry mix of..." there rather than a substitute for 'sleet'. Would make more sense, in any case. Just "a mix of..." with a descriptor.
Yes, it has its origin in Europe, as does much of American culture – gotten, for example, is in the King James Bible. But it's the influence of the American Santa Claus which is the reason why children here now tend to speak of Santa rather than Father Christmas.
Not that different to the millions of atheists and agnostics who celebrate Christmas.
Yet it's the most popular sport in a country with 300m inhabitants.
The same inhabitants who race cars that only turn left ;-)
Yeah that's them. Funnily enough the few people who've driven Formula One and Nascar generally say that Nascar is much harder.
Thanksgiving IS the American harvest festival. The revisionist 'Europeans are all imperialist scum' have tried very hard to make it about something else over the last couple of decades, but it always has, since its inception, been about celebrating family, friends and a fruitful harvest. Now that we're a less agrarian society it's become a bit about football and the ramp up to the Christmas shopping season, but I suppose everything evolves.
It's funny bc in the UK we used to call taps, faucets many centuries ago but now it's considered a US word.
Only because driving left constantly for hours drives you insane.
Thanks, so it's not an exact equivalent of sleet. I don't remember hearing it before a couple of years ago, where WINTRY MIX was also on the weather map.
Yeah that's exactly it. I always judge my countries by what sports they compete in.
'Wintery mix' is really common where I live. The cold fronts and the wet almost never coincide but they brush past each other. Which is a good thing because otherwise we'd have snow from November to March. Blech!
It is true that much of the modern iconography of Father Christmas/Santa originates from the US. Clement Clarke Moore, Haddon Sundblom, and Thomas Nast being largely responsible. The US seems to have imported most of its Christmas traditions from the continent because the English puritans didn't celebrate it at all!
This is not surprising they weren't just colonised by the UK, they were colonised by many different European nations at the time who set up footholds in all parts of the US to stake a claim of US soil. The French in Louisiana e.g.