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What language is Christmas in?

 Language Learning Forum : Cultural Experiences in Foreign Languages Post Reply
26 messages over 4 pages: 1 24  Next >>
oziohume
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Belgium
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 Message 17 of 26
10 December 2011 at 1:04am | IP Logged 
In Spain almost every song about Christmas is in Spanish. We still have a lot of
traditional songs here
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hrhenry
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United States
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 Message 18 of 26
10 December 2011 at 1:27am | IP Logged 
From my time in both Mexico and Spain, most of the Christmas songs were Spanish traditional songs that I remember.

Thinking back to my childhood here in the US, even though a lot of protestant carols came from Victorian England, the music seems to be written by German composers, if the attributions given in hymnals are any indication.

R.
==
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NickJS
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 Message 19 of 26
10 December 2011 at 3:28am | IP Logged 
As you expect in England, everything is in English - however I for one really dislike any
sort of Christmas carol, well wouldn't anyone after hearing them a million times on
numerous adverts haha!

I can just imagine some Chinese ones right now!

Edited by NickJS on 10 December 2011 at 3:28am

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Darya0Khoshki
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 Message 20 of 26
10 December 2011 at 3:50am | IP Logged 
English Christmas songs use some Latin here and there.

In the Arabic countries, all the Christmas songs are in Arabic, and you have the more traditional Eastern Orthodox chant kind and the English songs translated into Arabic (not necessarily the same words). They've translated the classic ones like Jingle Bells, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, O Come All Ye Faithful, etc., plus written some of their own.
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Brun Ugle
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 Message 21 of 26
10 December 2011 at 9:05am | IP Logged 
Hey Iguanamon!

Thank you so much for those great Christmas songs! I was feeling a little blue, but I felt so much better after listening to them.


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Jeffers
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United Kingdom
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 Message 22 of 26
10 December 2011 at 1:19pm | IP Logged 
Ari wrote:
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.


What I find interesting about chart is that none of those songs are religious. So it also charts the period when Christmas became the huge secular holiday it is? I know the secular parts of Christmas are a lot older, but once the pop songs took over, the game was up.

EDIT: Looking at the list again, I suppose Little Drummer Boy is religious (sort of). I'm sure some of the others have bits and pieces of Christian symbolism as well. And of course, Christmas trees have non-Christian religious origins.

Edited by Jeffers on 10 December 2011 at 1:23pm

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Jeffers
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United Kingdom
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 Message 23 of 26
10 December 2011 at 1:27pm | IP Logged 
mick33 wrote:

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.


There is no "higher" on this list. It shows what decades currently popular Christmas songs were originally released. That's it.
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Fasulye
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 Message 24 of 26
10 December 2011 at 7:08pm | IP Logged 
Christmas carols are all in German here in Germany! For my private Christmas celebration I will play the guitar and sing some Christmas carols - with some of the carols I have the possiblity to sing the texts either in German or Dutch, if I like. And perhaps I will play my Celine Dion Christmas CD as every year - and she sings her Christmas carols in English.

Fasulye


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