Christmas (derived from Christ's mass) is a celebration of birth of Christ. In early Greek versions of the New Testament the letter X stands for the first letter of Christ. Hence Xmas. The date coincides with winter solstice (longest ...
Christmas (derived from Christ's mass) is a celebration of birth of Christ. In early Greek versions of the New Testament the letter X stands for the first letter of Christ. Hence Xmas. The date coincides with winter solstice (longest night and rebirth of sun from when day lengthens) and winter festivals. The Christmas tree is a relic of tree worship of ancient times. The evergreen plant in the festival stands for renewal of life. Queen Victoria’s husband Prince Albert introduced the Christmas tree in Windsor Castle. The Evergreen tree harks back to decorative symbol of eternal life used by ancient Egyptians.
Santa Claus or Saint Nikolaus (derived from Dutch "Sintaklass") is the gift giver. He drives sleigh barrels drawn by reindeer using nano technology of miniaturising millions of presents into one bag. Rudolph the reindeer has red glowing nose which acts as beacon light during night drive. His images from early times are dressed variously, and his head was bare. It was in the year 1920 artist Haddo Sunblom Working for Coca-Cola company recreated his image as warm happy character in rosy cheeks, a white beard, twinkling eyes and laughter lines. His grandfather style, fat and bishop dress in red robe and white border and collars caught on to public imagination.
In Australia Christmas is warm at 30 degrees Celsius. The Ozs surround themselves with Christmas bush, a native plant having little red flowers. The evening is lit by as many candles as singers under a clear night sky. At many beaches Santa arrives in a surfboat or even on a lifesaving boat.
The English gift giver is Father Christmas who leaves gifts in socks and pillow cases hanging out from the end of the bed. The gifts are not opened before the morning service, or morning mass is done. Christmas dinner includes goose (traditional) or turkey (American tradition). Christmas cake is usually prepared by the end of September and matured regularly by putting brandy.
In Spain the festival has a special dance called Jota. Shoes are filled with straw or barley for the tired camels who must carry the wise men through the night. By morning the shoes are filled with presents, and the camels are gone. The Spanish specially honour the cow, because, when Mary gave birth to Jesus a cow in the stable breathed on the baby to keep him warm.
Polish people on Christmas eve spread hay on their floor under their table cloth to remind themselves of a stable and manger. In Poland Christmas is called Boze Narodzenie. When they make up their table for dinner two extra places are kept for Baby Jesus and any lonely wanderer in case they should knock at the door for shelter. In Alaska boys and girls with lanterns and long poles carry a large figure of a star from door to door.
SANTA CLAUS VILLGE. About half a century ago Santa Claus started frequented the Arctic circle near village Rovaniemi in Finland. Here he found a tranquil place which also allowed him to meet his friends who love him and come to meet him in Christmas. This is Santa’s Scandinavian destination in the ultimate sense. Meet the forever Santa Clause in SANTA CLAUS POST OFFICE. Letters come pouring in addressed to Santa and are sorted in pigeon holes marked with names of countries from whence they come.
Want to share your experience? Please mail your story to writetous@supportelders.com with your name
Our member Ms. Binapani Chatterjee travelled extensively with her mother, sister and few other close relatives to different parts of the world. Her sister studied in Germany. She is well aware of the beautiful places of Europe. She suggested ...
Our member Ms. Binapani Chatterjee travelled extensively with her mother, sister and few other close relatives to different parts of the world. Her sister studied in Germany. She is well aware of the beautiful places of Europe. She suggested to visit Rijeka (pronounced as Riyaka) at Croatia. An inlet of the Adriatic Sea, a low-key destination, less popular with Indian tourists. This only makes it surreal.
It was middle of 2019 Ms. Chatterjee visited Rijeka, the Western Croatian city, by road. Rijeka, major port and industrial, commercial, cultural centre of western Croatia, is located on the Kvarner (a gulf of the Adriatic Sea) and is the country’s major port. Rijeka carries the symbol of water in its name. It literally means River in Croatian language. Driving by the highway from Zagreb, we first climbed high mountains of Julian Alps. Then we took a sharp descent to the plains of Adriatic Sea. Rijeka emerges between the hills where Rjecina river flows into the Adriatic Sea. We have heard about this beautiful European seaside and Rijeka was truly stunning.
They stayed in the 11th floor of a 12 storied hotel where they got the best view of the city and the Adriatic Sea. A walk on Korzo, that runs parallel to the waterfront and gives the opportunity to view the Adriatic Sea, is one of the best things to do in Rijeka. One can soak up Croatian daily life and feel the rhythm and spirit of the city, that will make you love it.
The city's economy largely depends on shipbuilding and maritime transport. They travelled around the city to get the feel of their culture and tradition and more so, it’s scenic beauty. To appreciate Trsat Castle, a thirteenth century Roman Fortress, one of the worth visiting place in Rijeka. One must stand at the crest of the steep hill next to the Rjecina Gorge and have a look in the ancient time architecture. The turquoise blue sky and the spectacular view of Adriatic Sea made it a unforgettable for them.
According to Mrs. Chatterjee - We felt really blessed that we took a pause to discover the charm of this bustling seaside of Croatia.
Want to share your experience? Please mail your story to writetous@supportelders.com with your name
Our member Mr. Ravinder Kumar Puri was associated with the much-known Union Carbide India Limited and he travelled through out the country for his posting. He shared some of his beautiful memories of Bhopal prior ...
Our member Mr. Ravinder Kumar Puri was associated with the much-known Union Carbide India Limited and he travelled through out the country for his posting. He shared some of his beautiful memories of Bhopal prior to the tragedy.
Mr. Puri was posted in Bhopal for 3/4 years during late 70s. The quite sleepy town with people of laid-back attitude, scattered hillocks, river Betwa, two skyline silver coloured lakes everything came alive in his mind while describing. Once a princely state and suzerainty of the Nizam of Hyderabad, people had their inborn “princely” attitude! “We spend a wonderful time there with a stunning garden full of roses, a big bunglow and some beautiful people.” The Union Carbide plant the 2nd in the world after the US plant, completed in front of his eyes. Mr. Puri’s job was to depute people for the factory. “We had to constantly tell and remind staff there that a small amount of the chemical can destroy Bhopal and if the whole chamber burst it can destroy the whole of Madhya Pradesh, so you have to work really cautiously.” But that will turn into reality, he might have never dreamt of. He used to visit the plant every now and then even after he was transferred to Mumbai and eventually to Kolkata and the tragedy happened in 1983. “The devastation is known to all, but we were deeply disturbed because many of our friends and colleagues got affected due to the tragedy.” The highly toxic substance made its way slowly with air around the small towns located near the plant. Though the cause of the disaster remains under debate, but finally it is a single drop of water that entered the gas chamber which caused the devastation.
“We have never been to Bhopal after the tragedy”- may be because of the fear that the air is still intoxicated or maybe they don’t want to see their loving workplace transformed into an abandoned place with a deserted look.
Want to share your experience? Please mail your story to writetous@supportelders.com with your name
By Mousumi Gupta
The only man in the world to be struck by lightning seven times was ex-park ranger Roy C. Sullivan. Kami Rita Sherpa. 22 times climbed Mount Everest. These are records ...
By Mousumi Gupta
The only man in the world to be struck by lightning seven times was ex-park ranger Roy C. Sullivan. Kami Rita Sherpa. 22 times climbed Mount Everest. These are records from Guinness book. But here is someone, though not featured in Guinness book, our member Mrs. Ranju Hore, peculiarly, used to get lost over and over again.
“I was about 5/6 years old then when I was lost in Kolkata roads. I came to Kolkata to attend wedding of one of my relatives. When everyone was busy, I thought of going around and have a look at the city. At that age it was merely a fun going out somewhere without elders in the family. The fun turned out to a nightmare for me when I realized that I couldn’t find my way back to my uncle’s house. It was almost evening and I was feeling extremely tired and hungry. At last I saw two policemen. I approached them and narrated my sad saga. They offered me food and helped me to reach my uncle’s place.” That was only the beginning. She got lost several times in Gariahat market while shopping with her daughter. However by that time she became smart enough to take help from the local people to come back home. Now the latest one. Last year during September-October she went to visit one of her relative to Mississauga, a city neighboring Toronto with her elder brother. Both the siblings after few days of morning walk, thought that they were aware of the streets and parks. One evening when her brother asked her to join at a park, she was confident enough to reach that park without any hassle. She walked for about 15-20 minutes in almost freezing temperature in the dark roads. She could neither find the park nor the house where they were staying and she was lost again. After about half an hour trying to seek help, a kindhearted person helped her back home. “Fortunately, I could remember the address”, she giggled.
Well, that’s what life is all about. You make funny slipups in the past and enjoy the incidents in your safe and sound present, not knowing such mistakes may occur in the future also.
Want to share your experience? Please mail your story to writetous@supportelders.com with your name
Our member, Mr Sushil Ghosh, shares his memories of Aiken, Germany, where he went for his higher studies in structural engineering, with Mousumi Gupta. Our member, Mr Sushil Ghosh, shares his memories of Aiken, Germany, where he went for his higher studies in structural engineering, with Mousumi Gupta. Mr Ghosh fondly remembers his university days and the winter holidays when his friends’ families took turns to invite foreign students to spend five days during Christmas with them. After completing graduation in science, he joined as a research scholar in Maithon Dam project, where he came very close to a German mechanical engineer working there. Mr Ghosh expressed his wish to go to Germany for higher studies. Somehow, the German engineer felt that Mr Ghosh had the capability to do better in life but said “You have to appear for an exam and get selected and then can go there with scholarship.” He took it as a challenge and appeared for the entrance exam, got selected and landed in a small university town in Germany named Aiken. “Landing up there is one thing but getting to know the language was a big problem for all the foreign students as the lectures used to be all in German,” recalls Mr Ghosh. “I used to sleep in the class as I didn’t know even a bit of the language.” A girl in the class, with little knowledge of English, helped him get the class lectures translated into English. The practical-oriented approach helped him cope with his studies in the beginning. Within a short span of time, Mr Ghosh learnt the language and started to converse. During Christmas holidays, the families there would invite them to spend five days with them. That was an initial understanding about their culture, tradition, behaviorism and importance of families in their lives during Christmas. The absolutely different variety of food preparation, participation of every family member in decorating the newly bought Christmas trees-all that was very exciting for him. Even the hosts used to be very proud to let their relatives know that an Indian came to stay with them. He gradually learnt customs and adjusted his lifestyle. He was also invited to Helsinki and Stockholm during Christmas to some of his friends’ houses. Though he worked and stayed in the UK for 35 years, but the “colourful life” according to him and the memories of Aiken are very close to his heart. Pic credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/germany-landscape-scenic-church-103160/ Want to share your experience? Please mail your story to writetous@supportelders.com with your name
