Thread: Merry Christmas and Happy New Years' CARDS!

And some pretty cards with Cнегурочка & Дед мороз



















PLEASE POST A FUNNY, CUTE, INTERESTING, BEAUTIFUL OR INSPIRATIONAL SEASONAL CARD!

A few more cultural observations about the cards that Hanna posted:

The Scandinavian tradition of "St. Lucia", represented by a young girl wearing a crown of candles, is in some ways rather surprising!

First, although saints are very important in Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Roman Catholicism, it's slightly unusual for Protestants (Scandinavians are/were mostly Lutherans) to have a special day for honoring a saint. (Martin Luther himself was suspicious of any custom that seemed to be "too Roman Catholic", and he also argued that the tradition of representing saints with icons was dangerously close to idol-worship.)

Second, в католической традиции, Святая Луция была итальянской девушкой-мученицой третьего века, которую казнили за её отказ отказаться от христианства. Согласно преданию, выкопали (выкололи?) глаза у нёе до казни, и поэтому в католической иконографии, Луцию часто показывают с тарелкой, на которой она носит пару кровавых глазниц! [In Catholic tradition, St. Lucia was an Italian girl-martyr of the third century, who was put to death for her refusal to renounce Christianity. According to legend, her eyes were gouged out before her execution, and therefore in Catholic iconography, Lucia is often shown with a plate, on which she bears a pair of bloody eyeballs!]



So, how did an Italian Catholic saint become so popular in the Protestant countries of Scandinavia -- and why does she wear a венок со свечами, instead of carrying eyeballs on a tray? Well, it's possible that after Christianity came to Scandinavia, "St. Lucy" was adopted as a replacement for a pagan Scandinavian goddess who was associated with the approaching winter solstice.

And as for the candles on her head, название "Lucia" восходит в латинскому слову lux (род. един. lucis), с означением "свет". (And eyeballs on a tray seem more appropriate for Halloween than for the Christmas season!)

I totally remembered that you're Jewish and here's the Hannukah card to prove it! -- Notice that this is presumably from a non-Jew to a Jewish friend. This strikes me as a "very American" card. Traditionally, Jews considered Hannukah to be a rather unimportant holiday on the religious calendar, but in 20th-century America, Hannukah gradually evolved into a sort of "Jewish Christmas", at least in the popular imagination.

And in some ways, the elevation of Hannukah was not so much about showing respect for the customs of Jewish Americans, but was related to the perpetual arguments in US domestic politics about religion in public schools, and representation of minorities, and church/state separation, etc. Thus, there are tens of millions of Christian Americans who are mostly ignorant of much more important Jewish religious days such as Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashana, Purim, Sukkot, etc. -- but they remember Hannukah, because it comes in December, near Christmas!

Thus, there's quite a lot of ironic humor in this card -- presumably, the sender never sends Rebecca a card on more important Jewish holidays like Rosh Hashana or Purim -- but when Christmastime comes around, the sender suddenly recalls, "Oh yeah, Rebecca is Jewish -- I should send her a Hannukah card..."

Originally Posted by Hanna

And some pretty cards with Cнегурочка & Дед мороз

Ё-моё! As St. Lucy might have said: "Oh, my eyes!!"



Since наша Ханна has already crossed the lines of good taste and moral decency by posting a disco-blinking animated .gif, I might as well add this little анекдот про Деда Мороза и Снегурочку, which was told to me by a Ukrainian emigre several years ago:

Дед мороз пьяный, с сигаретой в зубах, выходит к деткам, и тащит за косу Снегурочку, всю избитую, в кровоподтеках, в разодранном платье. Детки тут же начинают плакать.

-Дедушка мороз, ей же больно!! -- кричат детки.

-Я что, садист по вашему ? -- спрашивает дедушка, раскручивает над головой Снегурочку за косу, и со всего размаха бьет ее об пол -- Она же дохлая!!!

I have successfully told this joke to friends who aren't students of Russian, using a loose translation "in the American idiom":

Santa Claus comes out to his Santa chair in the shopping mall where the kiddies are waiting -- he's drunk, with a cigarette in his teeth. Behind him, he's dragging the beautiful Snowflake Elf by her long hair, and she's bruised and beaten, bloodstained, with her dress all torn up. Upon seeing this, the kids burst into tears.

"Santa Claus, you're hurting her!" scream the children.

"What, you think I'm some kind of sadist?" retorts the jolly old saint, whirling the Snowflake Elf over his head by her braids, and smacking her against the floor with all his might. "It can't hurt her, she's already deader than roadkill*!"

* "Roadkill" = падаль животного на шоссе. You could also translate Она же дохлая!!! as "She's a carcass; she's a stiff; she has croaked; she's at room temperature", etc. The point is that дохлый ("dead") can be used politely only when speaking about animals, but it sounds very crude and disrespectful to say it about a person.

P.S. This only is my second-favorite анекдот про Деда Мороза. But I might save my favorite one (set in Africa, with the punchline "Кто в этом году плохо кушал...") for later.

Throbert,
here is another one in your collection

Дед Мороз, пожалуйста, пришли варежки,шапку,валенки и шубку, а то замерзаю, сирота я..." пишет мальчик письмо с адресом: "На север, Деду Морозу". На почте читают письмо, из жалости собирают деньги, покупают шапку, шубку, валенки, а про варежки забыли и отправляют малышу. Мальчик пишет ответное письмо - на почте с радостью вскрывают письмо и читают всем коллективом: "спасибо, Дедушка, получил и валенки и шапку и шубку, а варежки наверное на почте украли."

Originally Posted by Doomer

Throber,
here is another one in your collection

Дед Мороз, пожалуйста, пришли варежки,шапку,валенки и шубку, а то замерзаю, сирота я..." пишет мальчик письмо с адресом: "На север, Деду Морозу". На почте читают письмо, из жалости собирают деньги, покупают шапку, шубку, валенки, а про варежки забыли и отправляют малышу. Мальчик пишет ответное письмо - на почте с радостью вскрывают письмо и читают всем коллективом: "спасибо, Дедушка, получил и валенки и шапку и шубку, а варежки наверное на почте украли."

Может я сейчас скажу чушь, но дело в том, что анекдот сильно потерял в выразительности всего лишь из-за одного слова. Мне больше нравится, если слово "шапку" употребить в ласкательной форме - "шапочку".

Originally Posted by jnllll

Может я сейчас скажу чушь, но дело в том, что анекдот сильно потерял в выразительности всего лишь из-за одного слова. Мне больше нравится, если слово "шапку" употребить в ласкательной форме - "шапочку".

в оригинале там и не "украли" было
но все-таки форум это открытое место, PG13 так сказать

Originally Posted by Doomer

в оригинале там и не "украли" было
но все-таки форум это открытое место, PG13 так сказать

Аг-гааааа! So the оригинал was really very close to the version I've heard in English. May I take a guess that украли ("they have stolen") was сп*здили ("they have f*cking stolen") in the original?

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

Ё-моё! As St. Lucy might have said: "Oh, my eyes!!"



Since наша Ханна has already crossed the lines of good taste and moral decency by posting a disco-blinking animated .gif, .

Sir, How dare you mock my taste in Russian New Years cards!!!
That is just too much coming from a citizen of the country that invented blinking multi-coloured Christmas lights...

Anyway, here is some more Christmas stuff...... >



Anyway, I wonder if the people in this house had time to cook Christmas food and buy presents....




I wonder what their electricity bill will be......? Hope they're getting their energy from a "green" supplier.

Originally Posted by Hanna

That is just too much coming from a citizen of the country that invented blinking multi-coloured Christmas lights...

Speaking of which
Brookfield Zoo lights - BrookField Zoo Lights 2011.mp4 - YouTube
I was there yesterday with my family
Not all the lights are LED but they switching to it, going green
The sponsor is local electricity company