What language is Christmas in? (Cultural Experiences in Foreign Languages) Language Learning Forum

What language is Christmas in?
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Language Learning Forum : Cultural Experiences in Foreign Languages

26 messages over 4 pages: 1 2 3 4 Next >>

Hampie
Diglot
Senior Member
Sweden
Joined 6447 days ago
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Speaks: Swedish*, English
Studies: Latin, German, Mandarin

Message 9 of 26

09 December 2011 at 12:28pm | IP Logged

Swenglish :). I’m but 22 so I’ve been brought up with Christmas songs and carols in English, as in Swedish, so they
both cater the same emotions in me. Though recently I’ve grown a liking to some English ones that normally never
reach Sweden (because they’re to old to be played on radio perhaps?). Silent night and Oh holy night are both
pretty Pan-European since they’re sung in the major languages, I believe.
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Ari
Heptaglot
Senior Member
Norway
Joined 6370 days ago
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Speaks: Swedish*, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin, Cantonese
Studies: Czech, Latin, German

Message 10 of 26

09 December 2011 at 12:47pm | IP Logged

Magdalene wrote:

Buuuut "Feliz Navidad," which is in Spanish and English, is a pretty famous song and a notorious earworm.

Yeah, it's pretty big in Sweden, too (like all American Christmas songs). I wonder if there are American Christmas songs still popular in Sweden though less often heard in the US? Is Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree big over there? 'Cause here it's very popular.

Also, many of the "traditional" Swedish Christmas songs are just translations of English ones, like Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer and I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus. These used to be heard mostly in Swedish, but now both versions are about equally popular. By the way, I trust everyone has seen the latest xkcd:

I think all of those songs are commonly heard in Sweden, as well, except "Holly Jolly Christmas, maybe.
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Serpent
Octoglot
Senior Member
Russian Federation
serpent-849.livejour
Joined 6385 days ago
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4 sounds
Speaks: Russian*, English, Finnish^C1, Latin, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
Studies: Danish, Romanian, Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Slovenian, Catalan, Czech, Galician, Dutch, Swedish

Message 11 of 26

09 December 2011 at 1:09pm | IP Logged

Ari wrote:

Magdalene wrote:

Buuuut "Feliz Navidad," which is in Spanish and English, is a pretty famous song and a notorious earworm.

and the Finnish ones are often translated from Swedish... hopefully not the same ones that were translated from English in the first place XD

Hard to tell but I think in Finland the Finnish versions are more popular <3 That's in line with Finnish versions of non-Christmassy popular songs. I was so surprised to find out that Guarda che luna (Hopeinen kuu) was in Italian originally!
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Cainntear
Pentaglot
Senior Member
Scotland
linguafrankly.blogsp
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Message 12 of 26

09 December 2011 at 1:13pm | IP Logged

Adeste fideles, laete triumphante, venite veni-i-te in Be-ethlehem....
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vonPeterhof
Tetraglot
Senior Member
Russian FederationRegistered users can see my Skype Name
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Speaks: Russian*, English^C2, Japanese, German
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Message 13 of 26

09 December 2011 at 1:24pm | IP Logged

In Russia the Orthodox Church still uses the Julian calendar, so our Christmas is on the 7th of January. Unlike in the West, Christmas in Russia is a strictly religious holiday, so the languages associated with it are Church Slavonic and Russian. However, most of the Western Christmas traditions (exchanging presents, tree decoration, a bearded gift-giving wizard) do exist, but they are associated with New Year instead. While not many people celebrate Christmas on the 25th, we do hear a lot of English Christmas songs around the New Year's Eve. Hollywood Christmas films are shown by some channels, but they are always dubbed.

Iversen wrote:

But Tivoli in Copenhagen has for once opted for a BLUE Father Xmas, which technically defines him as a Father Winter like the one they have in Russia.

Interesting. Nowadays in Russia most Ded Moroz ("Grandfather Frost" would be a more accurate translation) costumes you see are red rather than blue. The main difference from the Santa Claus costume is the length of the coat - Ded Moroz usually wears a very long coat, rather than a short jacket.
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iguanamon
Pentaglot
Senior Member
Virgin Islands
Speaks: Ladino
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Speaks: English*, Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, Creole (French)

Message 14 of 26

09 December 2011 at 2:02pm | IP Logged

Here in the Caribbean, Christmas is in English, but it's Caribbean English and even Spanglish. I love it. The Christmas winds are blowing and making the weather quite pleasant. Christmas music here in the islands is quite local and a lot of fun. Stanley and the Sleepless Knights are the carriers of the tradition. They serenade the island on the back of a flatbed truck in the pre-dawn hours. You haven't lived until you've been awakened at 3am by the quelbe sounds of Mama Bake Your Johnny Cake Christmas Comin'- my favorite Christmas carol. People go outside and follow behind dancing and singing and, of course, drinking coquito and guavaberry Stanley and The Sleepless Knights Good Mahnin' Stanley and The Sleepless Knights Christmas Serenade

You can have your snow and your White Christmas. I'll have a White Sand Christmas!
How Will Santa Get Here?

Edited by iguanamon on 09 December 2011 at 2:32pm
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Serpent
Octoglot
Senior Member
Russian Federation
serpent-849.livejour
Joined 6385 days ago
9753 posts - 15779 votes

Message 15 of 26

09 December 2011 at 3:57pm | IP Logged

vonPeterhof wrote:

we do hear a lot of English Christmas songs around the New Year's Eve

oh right i forgot haha, i don't listen to the radio and watch only football on TV :D
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mick33
Senior Member
United States
Joined 5712 days ago
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Speaks: English*
Studies: Finnish
Studies: Thai, Polish, Afrikaans, Hindi, Hungarian, Italian, Spanish, Swedish

Message 16 of 26

09 December 2011 at 9:09pm | IP Logged

Ari wrote:

I think all of those songs are commonly heard in Sweden, as well, except "Holly Jolly Christmas, maybe.

Yes, Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" is still big here and it is one of my favorites.

I pretty much agree with the latest xkcd, but it's missing "Carol of the Bells" and I thought "White Christmas" would be higher on the list as both songs are hugely popular where I live.

Edited by mick33 on 10 December 2011 at 12:36am

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