h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

So, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, which it is here...

We have sunshine, and the blue/white sky that is so much a part of Auckland. Gerard and Megan are spending this year's holidays with his Nana, and so we're pretty much on our own this time. I thought of Garth earlier, and how we'd wait on previous Christmasses for him to come around and invite us to his, and we'd go there and be insomniacs for the next (up to) 36 hours, on one momentous occasion.

Our cousin Hal died at 79 (not 76, as I'd mistakenly thought) on February 13th, but we found out only from a Christmas card his wife sent, which reached us on Monday 19th December. I am sad that I didn't have very long to know Hal, after discovering his existence in the '80s, through some genealogical research, which bore fruit only in 1991 or '92.

We have been watching Blackadder on DVD, including 'A Christmas Carol', which is real out loud stuff, and also the first series, with the inimitable Peter Cook and Brian Blessed. Just awesome!!!

The babyish shortening of words - pressies, hols etc is a characteristic of the New Zealand dialect of English, which I find most interesting. Being back to language teaching, makes me examine my own language a bit more closely, which is always good. GPG, my current student, is the first non-Asian (or Middle Eastern refugee) I've taught, and it's so interesting to see English from the point of view of a European language.

Now, I want to wish everyone on h2g2 with whom I have conversed this year, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!


I wouldn't be me if I didn't say "Remember, Jesus is the reason for the Season"!!!

Merry christmas Della!

The best of Christmas wishes to you too! <bubbly)

Merry chrimbo!

Thank you, MV, and blessings to you as well!

Merry Christmas Della!

From another seasonal insomniac.

Season's greetings, Della

Sorry can't resist injecting a note of dissent though! I think you'll find Jesus is a rather 'Johnny come lately' reason for the season. Folks in the northern hemisphere had quite happily been celebrating heartily at this time of the year for thousands of years for good rational reasons connected with the 'birth of the sun', rather than the 'son'!

Hi, Andrew! Christmas and New Year blessings to you, too.

That's true, Redpeck, but trivial now, as for centuries (taking Cromwell and his ban on it into account) the English speaking world has been celebrating for reasons other than those you mention.

Happy New Year (Christmas was two days ago, our time) to you too!