Today, I learned about:
This month, the last one of the year in Western time keeping, has got some interesting facts that you may not know of. So, here they are:
Saint Nicholas’ Day
Today, December 6, is known as Saint Nicholas’ Day. It is a tribute to the Greek Christian bishop Nicholas of Myra, known for miracles and giving gifts secretly, who died on 343-12-06, and is now the patron saint of little children, sailors, merchants and students. In Germany, it is a tradition to put a boot outside of own’s house on the evening of December 5, so that Nikolaus (as he is called in Germany) can stuff it with treats. But do not put out both boots, you may seem too greedy!
Saint Nicholas is of course the origin of the name Santa Claus, who comes in person to deliver gifts on Christmas Eve. See also reference #1 below.
Interesting facts from Finland
Exactly three years ago, on 2017-12-06, I wrote about the centennial of independence of Finland. My mother’s family had roots there, so I was accustomed to hear the greeting “Hyvää joulua” (i.e. Merry Christmas) when the time was right, but I had not idea that the whole month in Finnish had a direct linguistic connection.
Whereas many Western languages base there naming of the months on Latin traditions, in Finnish, which belongs to a different group of languages, they have a totally different scheme. In that sense, the month of December is called “joulukuu”, which literally means “Christmas month”. And as you can see from reference #2 below, the other months of the year are also different, basing their names on different events in nature.
That’s what I learned in school today!
Ref.:
1: Why is Nikolaustag celebrated before Christmas in Germany?
What did you learn in School today? 