LL-L "Holidays" 2007.12.06 (02) [D/E]

[Lowlands-L List]

L O W L A N D S - L  -  06 December 2007 - Volume 01
Song Contest: lowlands-l.net/contest/ (- 31 Dec. 2007)
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From: Jacqueline Bungenberg de Jong <Dutchmatters at comcast.net>
Subject: LL-L "Holidays" 2007.12.05 (04) [E/Yiddish]

Theo  finally solves a conundrum I have been trying to solve since I was a
child:

<Let's blame the old-germanics.
<They started the new day with sundown.
<So the evening before the present december 6 was also
<the birthday of our holy Nicolas.

<So according the old tradition, presents given on the
<eve of december 5, are given on the birthday  of Sint
<Nicolaas.

Dus daarom vieren we oudjaarsavond! (but English New year's eve is really
more correct)                Dank je wel Theo, je hebt  "een chocolade "T"
verdiend, melk of puur naar keuze" Jacqueline
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From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Holidays

In Low Saxon of Germany it's also Oldjaarsavend ("Old Year's Evening") for
New Years Eve (as opposed to German *Sylvester*).

I hope everyone (except Theo) got a little something from Old Nick because
they had been more good than naughty. Theo gets a special chocolate T from
Lowlands-L according to Jacqueline.

Is this what you do in the Netherlands, give you a chocolate version of the
first letter of your name?

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

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From: Soenke Dibbern <s_dibbern at web.de>
Subject: LL-L "Holidays" 2007.12.05 (01)

An'n Mi., den 05. Dez.'07, hett Lowlands-L List dit Klock 18.12 schreven:

> From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
> Subject: Holidays
>
> When I was a child (untold centuries ago), we would have to brush our
> shoes particularly well and in the evening before, just before going to
> bed, we would place them (originally one, in more affluent times two) on
> a window sill, say a little verse to Santa Claus and in the morning find
> treats and small toys in our shoes.

And that's exactly how we proceed with our little children today, my wife
and me, except for the fact that it's a *boot* (nb, the mystical word
again) that is to be placed onto the *doorstep*. Just by the way.

> From: Ingmar Roerdinkholder <ingmar.roerdinkholder at WORLDONLINE.NL >
> Subject: LL-L "Holidays" 2007.12.05 (01) [E]
>
> Dank u, dank u! But in the Netherlands we celebrate Sinterklaas today
>
>> From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
>> Subject: Holidays
>>
>> But all of us had St. Nicholas in common, all on December 6:
>> Low Saxon *(Sankt) Nyklaas*,
>> German *(Sankt) **Nikolaus*,
>> Polish *Święty Mikołaj (z Miry)*.

Well, in my LS dialect this guy is called "De Sünnerklaas" or "De
Sünderklaas". As a child, I analysed the word as "Sünner-Klaas" and
explained it to myself with German "sonder" (E:"extra/special/other"; LS
"sünner"). The meaning would then be something like "The other/special
Klaas", which made with the "Wiehnachtsmann" ("Santa Claus") close by some
sense. Another explanation for the name I had thought of was German
"Sünder" (E: "sinner", LS: "Sünner"), what made also some sense, given the
punishing he - as we were told - applied to nasty children ("Knecht
Ruprecht" was not present in our local/family tradition). It took several
years of religious education in school before I realised, that the name
was obviously "Sünt Niklaas" or something like that, just pulled together.

Is this "Sün(t)" for "Saint", German "Sankt", a special feature (maybe of
Dutch origin?) of that local dialect, or is this word known also in other
LS areas?

A nice holiday to all of you,
Sönke
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