LL-L: "Holidays" LOWLANDS-L, 24.DEC.1999 (03) [E]

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From: john feather [johnfeather at sceptic1.freeserve.co.uk]
Subject: Holidays

Jason

The Dutch Christmas cards I get usually wish me a "voorspoedig nieuwjaar".
Van Dale N/E also has "zalig Kerstmis" and "zalig nieuwjaar".

It's interesting that "merry" has almost died out in standard BE except in a
few set expressions such as "Merry Christmas", "Merry [or Merrie] England"
(which Americans translate as "Merry Old England"), "play merry hell".
Otherwise it tends to mean (Chambers) "enlivened by drink, tipsily
cheerful".

I assume that when >Mandy Patinkin, star of stage and "Chicago Hope", ...
sings such songs as The Hokey Pokey< the melody would be recognised here as
that of the "hokey cokey". "Hokey-pokey" (the e's are optional) in England
used to be a kind of ice cream, whence the rhyme:

Hokey-pokey,
Penny a lump
The more you eat
The less you jump.

I assume this is a skipping/jumping verse.

John Feather johnfeather at sceptic1.freeserve.co.uk

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