The word for today is… rambunctious (adj) – Boisterous and disorderly. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Rambunctious first appeared in print in the early half of the 19th century, at a time when the fast-growing United States was forging its identity and indulging in a fashion for colorful new coinages suggestive
Michael R. Nadorff Mary E. Dozier Mississippi State University Many people love the holidays because they are a time to make happy memories with loved ones. But what if you could do something that would help restore memories in some of the people you love? Using a process called reminiscence
Matthew Robert Anderson Concordia University Everyone knows the story of Scrooge, a man so miserly his name has become synonymous with penny-pinching meanness. Scrooge’s conversion from miser to benefactor has been told and retold since Charles Dickens first wrote A Christmas Carol in the fall and winter of 1843.
Sally O’Reilly The Open University Our fascination with ghostly tales around Christmas time goes back thousands of years and is rooted in ancient celebrations of the winter solstice. In the depths of winter, pagan traditions included a belief in a ghostly procession across the sky, known as the Wild
The word for today is… frenzy (noun) – 1. A state of violent mental agitation or wild excitement. 2. Temporary madness or delirium. 3. A mania; a craze. Todays word is a nod towards the Boxing Day sales, where frenzied mobs buy stuff they don’t need with money they don’
Dimitris Xygalatas University of Connecticut The mere thought of holiday traditions brings smiles to most people’s faces and elicits feelings of sweet anticipation and nostalgia. We can almost smell those candles, taste those special meals, hear those familiar songs in our minds. Ritual marks some of the most important
Joan Fitzpatrick Loughborough University Charles Dickens popularised the traditional, English Christmas in 1843 in his novel A Christmas Carol, when Bob Cratchit and his family sit down on Christmas Day to eat a dinner of goose with mashed potatoes and apple sauce accompanied by sage and onion stuffing and followed
Joan Fitzpatrick Loughborough University Charles Dickens popularised the traditional, English Christmas in 1843 in his novel A Christmas Carol, when Bob Cratchit and his family sit down on Christmas Day to eat a dinner of goose with mashed potatoes and apple sauce accompanied by sage and onion stuffing and followed
Joe Perry Georgia State University In 1921, in a Munich beer hall, newly appointed Nazi party leader Adolf Hitler gave a Christmas speech to an excited crowd. According to undercover police observers, 4,000 supporters cheered when Hitler condemned “the cowardly Jews for breaking the world-liberator on the cross” and
William Keylor Boston University The Christmas Truce is no stranger to popular entertainment – this year more than any other as its 100th anniversary is marked. The famous moment when British and German soldiers climbed out of the trenches in peace on Christmas Day 1914 has been replicated and ruminated upon
The word for today is… accouchement (noun) – A confinement during childbirth; a lying-in. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : “Parturition, delivery in childbed,” 1803, from French accouchement, noun of action from accoucher “go to childbed”. The verb accouche (1867) is a back-formation, or else from French accoucher. If you enjoyed this
Diane Winston USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism Tinseled trees and snowy landscapes are not the only signs of the upcoming holiday season. Red kettles, staffed by men and women in street clothes, Santa suits and Salvation Army uniforms, also telegraph Christmastime. The Salvation Army is among America’s
Aurélie Bröckerhoff Coventry University Cristina Galalae University of Leicester Wooden huts with twinkling fairy lights, festive hubbub, and the aromas of roasted chestnuts and glühwein – this picture-postcard setting is recreated annually across UK towns and cities in December. This year, however, most Christmas markets have been cancelled, meaning that 2020
François Lévêque Mines ParisTech A few hundred years ago, who would have dreamed that the humble Christmas tree would one day be an immense global success? Certainly not Martin Luther, who is said to have decorated a tree with candles to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Nor Prince Albert,
Nelson Blackley Nottingham Trent University The “commercialisation” of Christmas has long been a feature of the season. Although there have been significant changes in seasonal shopping habits over the past decade (such as online stores and the introduction to the UK of “Black Friday) the practice of buying gifts, bringing
Katherine Baker mercatornet.com Katherine Baker is a freelance writer who lives in Western Pennsylvania. A couple of years ago there was quite a kerfuffle about the holiday duet, “Baby, its Cold Outside”. This song, from 1944, features a dialogue which some people might describe as a man trying to
