Re: OT: Christmas/Holidays

On 12/27/05, Tristan McLeay <conlang@...> wrote:
>
> \>  I specifically said "astronomy" for that reason.  In the Western
> > tradition of astronomy, the seasons begin on the equinoxes and
> > solstices; this is not an American thing but one that predates the
> > European settling of America.  Other traditions, including Eastern
> > astronomy and Western non-astronomical usage, have other definitions.
>
> Okay, I think. I'm still a little confused though, because such official
> sources as the Australian Bureau of Meterology considers summer to begin
> the same day the rest of Oz does, and I can't really see what astronomy
> has to do with the seasons, what with them being weather things.

The seasons, equinoxes and solstices all exist because of the Earth's axial
tilt, hence the astronomical connection.  If you extend the plane of the
equator and the plane of the Earth's orbit around the Sun, they intersect in
a line.  That line, in turn, intersects the Earth's orbit in two points, and
it is when the Earth passes through those points that we have the
equinoxes.   90 degrees out from the equinoxes are the solstices.

The point in the sky where the Sun appears to be when viewed from Earth
during the March equinox is the zero meridian of celestial longitude, used
for reckoning the positions of all objects in the sky (in Western
astronomy).  Thus, the Sun is at 0º celestial longitude at the March
equinox, 90º at the June solstice, 180º at the September equinox, and 270º
at the December solstice.  These are convenient points at which to quarter
the year, and the seasons are a convenient preexisting set of names for
quarters of a year.  So in the northern hemisphere we call the 0-90º
quadrant "spring", the 90º-180º quadrant "summer", etc.

Now, actually using these astronomical divisions in civil reckoning, with
newscasters announcing the "first day of spring" on March 20th, etc., may
well be a Leftpondian quirk.

I specifically said "the Boxing Day public holiday" for that reason.
> Boxing Day was the 26th (the day before yesterday by now).

Ah, right.  We say "observed" for that.  Sunday was Christmas; Monday was
the Federal holiday "Christmas (Observed)"

 (You do of course need to days for Christmas: One for the wife's side and
> one for
> the husband's; I have no idea how you Americans get by with only one.)

We don't all. Only Christmas Day itself (or the closest non-weekend day) is
a Federal holiday, but every private corporation for which I've worked has
also given its employees Christmas Eve off.  Oddly, it has always been an
official half-day only, but there is a tradition of announcing that everyone
gets the other half off too.  I guess they're just reserving the right to
keep people here if needed.


In America I think it's basically a religious festival that's significantly
> more important than most, hence "Happy Holidays!".

Not really.  Christmas is a largely secular holiday in the USA, despite the
moanings and groanings of the religious right.    For many, it is basically
"Thanksgiving with presents".   Most religious non-Christians don't observe
it, but many non-religious types of varied backgrounds do.  That category
includes my wife's family, who are Jewish by heritage but agnostic by
belief; they do not observe any Jewish religious holidays such as Hanukkah
or Passover, but instead celebrate Christmas and even Easter (which is also
somewhat secularized here, via the Easter Bunny and egg hunts and whatnot,
but not as much so as Christmas).

There's still plenty of Christ in Christmas, of course.  Most Christmas
carols have some reference to the baby Jesus, for instance, and Nativity
scenes are ubiquitous.  For some of the secular Christmas observers, the
Christmas Story is just that - a story, not history.  However, most people
over here consider themselves Christians even if they aren't "religious" or
regular church-goers; such people usually make a point of attending
Christmas Eve or Christmas Day services every year.  But it is the secular
aspect which permits Christmas to be a Federal holiday despite the
Establishment clause int he Constitution which prohibits a state religion.

Oh, and the traditional Christmas dinner over here is indeed not bbq.
Either turkey (again), ham, or duck would be comme il fait.

But if any public holiday falls on a non-working day,
> including one that is also a no-trade day, then the gazetted public
> holiday is the next working day.

The usual rule here is the *closest* working day.  Thus if Christmas falls
on a Saturday, the holiday is the previous Friday, not the following Monday.


--
Mark J. Reed <markjreed@...>