Along with Feliz Navidad there's another American song about Merry Christmas in another language. Mele Kalikimaka, is supposedly Merry Christmas in Hawaiian.
I’m kamaʻāina or native Hawaiian, and yes mele kalikimaka is Hawaiian for Merry Christmas. For me it was Bette Midler who sang it all the time. Bing Crosby is also famous for singing it. But from my personal path in life it’s Bette all the way.
Krampus was unheard of when I was a kid and is apparently a new phenomenon in the US. If you were bad back then you were told Santa Claus would leave coal in your Christmas stocking. I understand in Europe that Black Peter was the evil opposite of Father Christmas.
I once came away from a White Elephant with a hard-won T-shirt that had a picture of Dwayne Johnson decorating a Christmas tree that said “Rock Around the Christmas Tree” at the bottom. Also, one year I brought llama socks everyone fought over. It’s always a very weird game.
White elephant is also referred to as "Greed". But in some circles, the gifts are not often joke gifts. There is a spending limit and the better gifts get stolen (within the game of course 😉).
It's always fun (in the competitive sense) to have one or two nice white elephant gifts. You'd be shocked how competitive people get over a bag of pistachios!
It’s fun when there’s a gift everyone wants and it gets stolen several times until the “stealing” has reached its limit. It’s almost like musical chairs except with gifts.
When I was a kid, the "young families" church group did one of these for the adults. The presents were not unwrapped, so you didn't know what you were fighting for. But one package had three rolls of scotch tape attached to the package and everyone looking to wrap gifts for their kids wanted that!
I was just watching this with my husband. And when you mentioned "Krampus" we both looked at each other and said "WHO?" We are both of mostly German origin, but NEITHER of us have heard of Krampus before, and we're both in our 60s.
I believe Krampus was more from southern Germany. My mom was from northern Germany and they have Knecht Ruprecht. He’s similar to Krampus. My mom and her family brought this tradition to the US when they moved here One Christmas my brother and my cousins were put into a large sack and hit with a stick because they had been particularly naughty that year…and they didn’t learn their Christmas poem they were supposed to recite to St. Nikolaus. They thought it was great fun…boys are weird 😁
@@MichelleMartinez-hu5xu Hello from Austria! You are probably right with the assumption that Knecht Ruprecht accompanies St. Nicholas in northern Germany when he is visiting families on December 6. In Southern Germany and Austria St. Nicholas might have been accompanied by two helpers: The kind Knecht Ruprecht, who brings treats and maybe small gifts, and the scary Krampus, who should teach naughty children a lesson (hopefully by only growling and rattling with his chains). The traditions depended on the region, it might have been both or either figure, and nowadays St. Nicholas might do his visits all alone. In some regions though (mostly Tyrol, Salzburg and South Tyrol in Italy), the figure of Krampus to this day still has its pagan/pre-Christian meaning of a scary figure with the purpose to scare away evil winter ghosts and dangers. There are parades of Krampus groups with gruesome masks and costumes, which are loud and crazy spectacles and major attractions to these regions.
@@missharry5727 Yes, in New England too. We had sleds for one or two kids and longer toboggans, with upwardly curled fronts, that could fit 4-6 kids. Looking at that word toboggan, it seems like a native american word. I wonder if the word came back to England?
No one I know even knows about Krampus. Our version of white elephant gift exchange has gifts that are great and everyone wants! The "fighting" over the gifts is hilarious.
It annoyed me how the krampus fad of the 2010s seemed so new to people, when Venture Bros featured him in their Christmas special in 2004. Like what, did you guys not watch that? It was amazing!!
I’m going to a ‘Yankee Swap’ (weird, since we’re all Southerners😆) on Sunday at a friend’s church on Sunday afternoon. I had heard it was stuff you didn’t want but the church ladies are way too nice to do that😆 Merry Christmas everyone🍷✅
When my oldest son first heard "Feliz Navidad" he mistook it for "fleas on my dog" so we changed the lyrics to fit his version. To this day that song brings a smile to my face remembering that.
From now on, that's what I'll hear when that song comes on! LOL! We have family words for things that were from similar circumstances that have come down the generations. But we have a Christmas one that went from my son when he was so little he could barely speak, that spread up the generations. . Instead of "Ho-ho-ho, Merry Christmas!" he said "Oh-oh-oh, my-a keesmus!" ... and still carries on to this day.
@@juliao1255 well when my chorus teacher wanted that line to sound perfect, she told half of us to sing "ex chell" and the other half "egg shell", so that when blended together the words were properly pronounced.
My husband has been deliberately been singing "fleas on my dog" for as long as i have known him, about 43 years. I told him not to quit his day job, while several other people want to throttle him for ruining the song and creating a new earworm simultaneously.
The white elephant gift exchange has so many different rules depending on the group who's doing it. Some versions actually encourage good gifts (with a dollar limit, like $20 max). In many you can steal a gift when it's your turn, forcing the stealee to select another unwrapped gift. So, whenever you're invited to such an event, it's always a good idea to inquire about the house rules beforehand.
I my family we play games to win presents. Usually they are low dollar gifts, but we usually have the general likes of the family in mind when purchasing them.
Very true. It’s hilarious to watch people take what someone had just floated over a few moments before. Best of all, you have to keep it a secret who gave that gift.
@Ivan Herndon I’ve always played the version that allowed stealing the item you want. And gifts were purposely seeded with a few really good items with the rest being crappy. Somehow, we always had fun.
And, you’ll need to bring a sense of humor! We had an annual white elephant gift exchange that had some good gifts and one rotating gift: a pink corset! One year, having received the corset the previous year, I decided to pair it with something people might really want. I hoped to see people actually want the corset in order to get the gift it came with. Unfortunately, that was over 20 years ago, and I can’t remember how it turned out.
I was born and grew up in the US, and I never heard of “Krampus” until 3 years ago (I’m 68). So maybe it’s more regional than you are aware, until the movie, anyway. Or maybe I was just happy and clueless all that time.
Maybe about a decade ago, there was a big surge in smaller cities having a Krampuslauf, which is kind of like a Zombie Parade but everyone is Christmas monsters instead of Halloween monsters.
I grew up in a Swedish-American community. There’s nothing like the holiday tradition of St. Lucia day, where a young woman brings light by wearing a crown of burning candles on her head. Celebrate the Christmas season by nearly setting yourself and others on fire!
As a small child, I was convinced that my father invented the song Santa Claus is Coming to Town, and was amazed whenever I heard anyone else singing it 😂 I wasn't very bright.
That's cute. We all remember similar clueless ideas, but one of my daughters confessed to one years later that both horrified me and made me laugh, but mostly horrify. She thought the guys who set off fireworks on July 4th sacrificed themselves...by exploding. I really really wish she had been able to articulate this instead of carrying such a terrifying idea!
Feliz Navidad, a song over 50 years old written and sung by Jose Feliciano, has been popular in the US since the 70s. Amazingly, it never charted for nearly 3 decades(Adult Contemporary No. 18, January 1998). Even more amazing, the song finally reached the Top Ten in early December 2020 at No. 10 and 2 weeks later reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100.
And if you go to any Christmas music event, like a church pageant, in America, this is very likely going to be the finale song, and it never fails to rouse a crowd of happy people!
@@tazepat001 There's actually 2. One is less awful than the other. They're actually not that terrible, but you gotta take them for they are. Don't expect too much.
@MRGRUMPY53 a lump of coal or a switch in their stocking if you go back to the 1800’s late. But he leaves the switch to the parents. It’s really just an unrealistic possibility to make kids worried so they behave. I am in the Midwest and never heard of Krampus.
It’s fun to see how other countries celebrate Christmas. (Never heard of Krampus growing up and it’s not really a thing in my part of the Midwest now.)
I never heard of it either until a reference to it in a Dragon Ball Z Abridged episode. And then later I see him turning up in the video game Don't Starve Together.
Personally, I think we should let Krampus loose on those snitches, the Elves on the shelves. Funny how "elf" and "shelf" both have the same plural ending.
My husband may have scared my first born with the idea of Krampus. She thought she was particularly bad one time and he mentioned Krampus and she lost it. I tried to assure her he wasn't real but she was convinced because Daddy mentioned it. 😂
my adult kids (30's) and their friends started a tradition a few years ago called Craft Elephant. You make a fairly decent hand made gift and it's still white elephant rules. Choose, steal, etc. but the gifts are pretty remarkable! And very "them". Usually based on their groups experiences that year. They are a very crafty and clever bunch!
The children’s special “Santa Claus is coming to Town” is where many Americans learned that Santa was adopted by elves named Kringle as a child. And that’s why Santa is also Kris Kringle. Those early puppet-toons, starting with Rudolph, were very influential for a time. Thanks for the video
Late on Christmas Day a group of my family members were gathered in the living room. We were having a conversation about the various members who had been hit by cars, some more than once. My uncle piped up “ there was that time mom got run over by a reindeer”. And as the words “ OMG WHEN”! , I realized that I had fallen for it but it was too late to stop speaking. He laughed so hard he nearly fell off the sofa. Made his day.
My favorite thing about Christmas is the Nativity set. I have a Nativity set that has been handed down in my family for several generations. It's handmade clay figures from Sweden and irreplaceable. Every year we put up the Nativity in our china cabinet right next to the crystals that my Mom collects. Also, we sing Christmas Carols just for the fun of it. I do like to look at this Nativity set. Here's another way to say "Merry Christmas" that I hear a lot in my neighborhood: "Joyeux Noël".
I have a beautiful Nativity set that I bought at a craft shop in the airport at Mexico City while waiting for our flight home after Christmas in Oaxaca. It's pottery, hand painted and very Mexican. Sits on the mantlepiece for the whole of the Christmas season.
St. Nicholas Day is December 6th and how I was raised St. Nick fills your stockings and you open them on the sixth and get candy, oranges and small "stocking stuffers" gifts like Christmas socks or very small and cheap toys.
Re: Krampus. My mother was from Germany and my dad was raised in a German-speaking household in Minnesota. I had never once heard the word Krampus until a few years ago when I watched a travel show about Austria. I don’t recall the details, but I seem to remember a pretty scary creature who traveled around with St. Nickolaus. According to the internet, he does exist in Bavaria as well, in the Alpine areas. This makes sense, as Bavaria and Austria are adjacent. My mom was from Saxony and my dad’s family was from Brandenburg, so I figure it is either regional and/or religious (Bavarians and Austrians are Catholic; Saxons and Brandenburgers are Lutheran). I had no idea this creature has become a “thing” here in the US.
In Munich the bad Santa was called Knecht Rupprecht. Krumpos is mostly Austrian. Horrible looking guy. Looks like a devil. I only got visited by St. Nicklaus, the good Santa because I was a good little girl!!!
Hello from Austria! I also had no idea that the figure of Krampus has made it accross the Atlantic! In Southern Germany and Austria St. Nicholas used to be accompanied by two helpers: The kind Knecht Ruprecht, who brings treats and maybe small gifts, and the scary Krampus, who was supposed to teach naughty children a lesson (hopefully by only growling and rattling with his chains). The traditions depended on the region, it might have been both or either figure, and nowadays St. Nicholas might do his visits all alone. In some regions though (mostly Tyrol, Salzburg and South Tyrol in Italy), the figure of Krampus to this day still has its pagan/pre-Christian meaning of a scary figure with the purpose to scare away evil winter ghosts and dangers. There are parades of Krampus groups with gruesome masks and costumes, which are loud and crazy spectacles and major attractions to these regions.
Fun as always but can't help but LOL a bit at his oh-so-proper Castilian pronunciation of "FeliTH Navidath" (4:45). Pretty sure he didn't hear it pronounced that way at a call center in the US! XD
@@samanthab1923 Just saying, as an American who speaks Spanish and has spent quite a bit of time in Spain, if you hear Spanish in the US, it's 99%+ likely NOT to be spoken with a Castilian accent.
@@maryellenthompson8261 Most countries, even Mexico, taught "King's English," rather than "American." I believe Castilian is still what's taught in US schools, rather than New World Spanish.
@@elultimo102 not where I'm from. Our Spanish classes are focused on the Spanish we would encounter in the U.S. There are specific ideas they would tell us only applied in Spain (like the 2nd person plural form of verbs), so we could fully ignore them. This was in high school and college courses.
my mind feasts upon the richness and variety of the English language. Laurence, you delight my mind in ways no other linguist has ever done! i have been here for a large part of your utube career. It was your dives into English that got me hooked. Thank you. You make my world a better place 👍🆙🙏!:-)
"Jingle jangle jingle, you will hear my sleigh bells ring; I am old Kris Kringle, I'm the king of jing-a-ling." From the Rankin-Bass special, _The Ballad of Smokey Bear._
I learned Spanish from mostly people from Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, so when I heard his accent when he said Feliz Navidad, I had a whole moment.
I only heard of Krampus after taking German in school. And then whatever that Dwight equivalent was, from the American Office. I don't remember the name, but he'd go around asking who's "impish" or "admirable."
Merry Christmas 🎄 some of my favorite christmas words are “happy birthday Jesus!”, Noel , Felis navidiad (cause its so fun to say), and christmas snow. I hope we have some snow soon 😊
Felice Navidad..I also learned the meaning from the song when I was in my teens. My husband is from Ireland, with family in England and I had never heard of Boxing Day, until our first Christmas together. Love your show!!
In America "boxing day" is year 'round whenever a world (or regional) heavy (or middle or light) -weight boxing champion puts on his boxing (sparring, punching) gloves (tautly pneumatic hide mittens) and a mouth guard, gets into a (counterintuitively, square) boxing "ring" and defends his title against a contender. On Christmas day (or for some Santa scoffing families, Eve) families and/or friends gather to unwrap, open and glee out over Christmas presents, gifts; for kids, most from Santa Claus. German "Kristkindl" means Christ child, baby; the finial "-l" is an abbreviated Germanic diminutive suffix, variant (as in Yiddish, Jewish German) "-ele," as in "bubele" (little baby) and "madele" (little maid).
Kris Kringle was also the name of the Santa Claus character played by Edmund Gwenn in 'Miracle On 34th Street (1947). Krampus was virtually unknown here until quite recently and his revival may have begun with the cult film from Finland, "Rare Exports' (2010) which has a similar character. I grew up in Ohio and never heard of a white elephant give exchange so it may be more recent or perhaps regional. this was all very fun.
I recall my parents being in white elephant gift exchanges decades ago. Never heard the term "Yankee Swap"...and "Dirty Santa" sounds like a more recent re-naming, like sometime in the last 5 years.
Laurence--you get so worked up! 🙂 My mother, ever the typical Western European descendant, was listening to the radio one day and chuckling to herself. She had just heard Jose Feliciano sing Feliz Navidad. She knew the song and knew what it meant. So I gave her a suspicious look. (Mom had a devilish sense of humor for such a Christian woman.) She said that as she was listening to the song, it sounded like he was saying "Denise Bobby Socks." (Hey, it was an AM radio and reception wasn't great, OKAY?!) At that moment her chuckle burst out into a belly laugh. So on a morning back in the 80s, my mother turned an Hispanic Christmas melody into a white 1950's poodle skirt tribute. Oh, the shame of it all. Well, you know I can't hear Feliz Navidad without singing Denise Bobby Socks at least under my breath--THANKS MOM!! And Thank you Laurence for bringing it up!! You are all welcome to now sing Denise Bobby Socks when ever the tune comes up because you will find you can't not sing it at least once with the new words. Merry Christmas Laurence!
*i adorn my cranium with my own santa hat decorated with clip on lizards the day after thanksgiving and wear it while in public until just after the first of the year...goes well with my mentat eyebrows and shoulder length sideburns*
The UK has the broader use of "white elephant" relating to a large, expensive, high maintenance possession that is difficult to dispose of (for example, in a government project context) still yeah? The gift usage seems to be derived from the broader usage afaict.
Krampus? I've never heard of him. Sounds like a very miserable character, and just the name alone is most unpleasant. The literal English translation of Feliz Navidad is Happy Christmas, so that is aligned with your home country. Enjoyed your 1st Vlogmas video today!
Lawrence, please never change! You delight my time whenever I watch your videos! You are so self-deprecating that it is almost as though you are asking your audience to forgive you for being human. An Englishman who migrated to America. You didn't wish to fight anyone, did you!
I have the exact same reaction to Feliz Navidad, though for a specific reason: A Sesame Street Christmas special from the 70s (80s?) where Big Bird and a young girl skate around an ice rink to the song. The song triggers my inner child and all of the pure joy comes back for a couple of minutes.
I can relate to your Christmas culture shock. I moved to Denmark from the US in September 2005. Real candles on the Christmas tree, dancing around the tree. And the food, so much food. And sweet, warm wine with raisins and sliced almonds
Feliz Navidad: I grew up in Atlanta when Bobby Dodd was the football coach at Georgia Tech. When I first heard the song by Jose Feliciano, I thought he was singing, "Release Bobby Dodd!"
When I was a kid Krampus hadn't made it here yet and bad kids got a lump of coal in their stocking. Then again, people still heated their homes with coal when I was a kid; I suppose it is easier to find a medieval Germanic demon these days though.
My grand parents actually gave my uncle joe coal in his stocking one year. He & my mom, who is younger were at the window looking out for Santa. She slipped & burnt herself on the radiator. They blamed him. 🎄☃️❄️🌟
Coal is definitely still the prevailing gift for naughty children and probably always will be, but I invite us to scare the naughtiest of kids with the Christmas devil AKA Krampus.
Here’s a Christmas word you might hear in Chicago, especially if you are the guest at a Polish-American household: Oplatki (pronounced “oh-PWAT-kee”). It’s a wafer (much like an unconsecrated communion wafer) that you share at table with your fellow guests. As you snap a piece of someone’s oplatki, you wish the a Merry Christmas.
We do a version of white elephant, round robin. Just like you stated numbers are picked, you can “steal” someone’s gift during your turn, and somehow a few years back someone in our family said oh, we are doing it wrong. Just do it as usual, but the person who picked number 1 has the last pick, even if the gift is “dead” or has been stolen 3 times. Over the many years I’ve played this with family I’ve seen tears, anger, jealousy, attitudes, dismay, disgust, and gloating, just the thing’s to celebrate the holidays. I have tried to understand these wild swings of emotions, especially since there was always a dollar limit of either $15 or $25, and frankly to me not worth getting too destroyed by not getting something fantastical. Also, with Krampus, I only learned about that from the TV show Grimm ( great show)
The only White Elephant I have participated in was at work. One year was the stipulation that the gift had to be hand made. Soooo funny. I received a handmade water pipe with a water filter on it. I made a litter box with kitty poop cookies and an authentic kitty litter scoop to serve them from the grapenuts 'litter'. Brushed the 'cookies' with a little oil for that fresh look. Judging by the gasp heard around the room I achieved the reaction I was after. Looking forward to the next Vlogmas, such fun!
@@twillbdone3273 That 'cookie litter' sounds more appropriate for April Fool's Day. There was a time when my friends knew not to let me provide the refreshments if our get-together was on April 1. They were shocked when they bit into their cream puffs to find worms. Gummy worms!
I watch a LOT of British TV and they always say, “Happy Christmas” and we say, “Merry Christmas” in the US. It really irritates my grown son when I say happy instead of merry (which makes me smile).
In our family, the white elephant gift was ideally something you had, but no longer wanted. It made for some hilarious Christmas memories. I particularly remember a cheese head hat one year. We were also allowed to take someone else's gift instead of opening one.
There is a Christmas movie called Krampus that came out in 2015...probably the first time I had ever heard the word..though it seems like I might have seen it in print somewhere. It's an interesting movie if you like black comedy scary films. HA.
I've played the 'white elephant" game at Christmas before and I've never had a rubbish/bad gift nor did I gave one. One of my favorite white elephant gifts was a George Foreman grill...I loved that thing...lol!😁😊 And you didn't have to vnegotiate with people when you wanted someone else's gift, you just took it. I've play this game many times at work, church and with friends and family...you can really ruffle some people's feathers playing this game.. lol! I'm Very Thankful that I've Never ever heard of a krampus. 😳
"I don't have an actual watch." You weren't holding an actual phone, either. The term "white elephant" has an interesting origin. In old Siam (now Thailand), white elephants were considered sacred. Someone who owned a white elephant was required to care for it for the rest of the animal's life. If the king wanted to punish someone, he'd give the person a white elephant. The recipient would have to spend lots of money caring for the animal, and it wasn't even permitted to put the elephant to work. The term has come to mean something expensive and unwanted that's hard to get rid of.
Here in Eastern WA a business was in operation for 75 years named the White elephant. They sold toys, models/model trains, and some sporting goods. They closed for good because of the lockdowns.
You have a much nicer family than ours ;-) In our White Elephants, there's no kind mutual exchanges of gifts - instead, if you don't like yours, you get a chance to steal from someone else, though there's a limit on the times any given gift can be stolen!
This one was absolutely laugh out loud funny I almost spit my coffee across the room!! I have a new daughter-in-law from Britain and the more I can learn about the differences the more fun our upcoming Christmas will be. Thank you so much for these I send them to her routinely as well as the rest of my family
Thanks for bringing back Vlogmas! I suggest you watch "Miracle on 34th Street" with the young Natalie Wood to learn about Kris Kringle! Happy Christmas!
I'm of German and Swedish descent (DUH, I'm a 3rd generation Minnesotan, after my great-grandparents immigrated here as part of two of our largest immigrant groups), but I had never even heard of Krampus until just a few years ago. Could be because we didn't have anything to do with my mother's German relatives, but rather my father's Swedish relatives. To me, Christmas is Swedish meatballs, Swedish potato sausage, lingonberries (similar to cranberries) and Julekage (similar to the German Stollen). I don't even know what a traditional German Christmas dinner might be.
Traditional German Christmas dinner -- Ham, scalloped potatoes, cheesy vegetable bakes, hot drinks, and stollen and gingerbread. And lots more -- German food rocks!
Good video. I learned a few things I did't know. Feliz Navidad is one of my Christmas favorites. You got me in the mood to watch the Christmas episode of the British comedy "The Good Life" 1977.
I looked up Hex Sign, a collection of motifs used by Pennsylvania Dutch (since you said Krampus comes from there), and I was reminded of the distlefink (I say "DIS- sell - fink"). The distlefink is a design that has a bird in it -usually 2 birds-and a heart and branches. They are supposedly created after Golden Finches. One source says the Golden Finch is from Middle High Germany.
I should add, living in Reno Nevada, one thing missing in a Reno Christmas is ‘that Christmas feeling’. But in New York, where my daughter used to live, the Christmas feeling is everywhere. In Maryland, where she lives now, it is everywhere.
Have you, Laurence, listened to any of the Christmas songs written in America in the recent decades? How about "GRANDMA GOT RUN OVER BY A REINDEER!" or that early rock and roll classic tune "ROCKING AROUND THE CHRISTMAS TREE!"
Have you ever heard the Christmas song, Dominic the Christmas Donkey? Absolutely dreadful. But a Christmas standard on radio in Philly. Makes me run screaming from the room.
@@ginnyjollykidd I wonder if those are widely known outside the US? I can't imagine Christmas without Rankin-Bass Christmas shows or the original animated The Grinch Who Stole Christmas with Boris Karloff.
My ancestors have been here since the 1600's and I never until today heard of kramous! There's always something new...Thanks Lawrence! I love..."Have a Merry Christmas.don't shoot your eye out"!
I would like to see a Brit's reaction to any of the Rankin-Bass musical Christmas movies like "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" and "The Year Without a Santa Claus"
We have been playing Bingo for dollar prizes at Christmas for years. It turned into dirty Bingo and gets real competitive. So much fun. I have heard of Krampus.
Well, if you're a fan of "The Office" tv show (American one), the first I ever heard of Krampus was when Dwight dressed up as him, complete with a switch!
Well, Pennsylvania Dutch and Amish people live all along Pennsylvania to the West and into Indiana. Not a hard community to find. Just look for the hex signs on the barns.
I never knew what Krampus was until watching this video either. I've definitely heard it said but never investigated. There's also the "Festivus" from Seinfeld. It was in an episode and caught traction because it's hilarious. Not sure if it started there or someplace else. Great videos!
the origin of the term "white elephant" is the legend of an asian ruler who by fiat owned all of the albino elephants in his kingdom, but if he was particularly miffed at a noble he would make him a gift of one of these white elephants, which he would then have to foot the maintenance bills for without being able to have it doing any work to recoup the expenses. - and of course, he couldn't just refuse the gift, either.
I, too, have to thank Jose Feliciano for teaching me how to be polite and wish Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to my Spanish-speaking patients. I get so happy when their eyes light up when I whip out those phrases. Thank you, Mr. Feliciano! (now the song is stuck in my head...oops...)
Happy Vlogmas! Hope you've had some non-white elephant gift exchanges. Some of the games around them can be entertaining, especially if alcohol is involved.... Tale care & I guess I'll catch you tomorrow!
If you're looking for Vlogmas content, Las Posadas are worth examining. You can probably find some in the greater Chicago area. They take place 16 - Dec through 24 - Dec.
I am more likely to think of the term “white elephant“ as part of the phrase “white elephant sale” and less as what I’m more used to referring to as “dirty Santa.“ still, I can see the connection. And since everyone else seems to be offering their experience (or lack thereof) with Krampus, I will say I have heard of the character, but not a lot.
Never heard of white elephant before, but my work would do a yankee swap or whatever for the christmas party. Never heard of that term before then either. I participated for the first few years, then stopped after I got like a dunkin donuts gift card and some movie theater esque candy boxes one year. A previous year I got some homemade coquito that I didn't drink. And wouldn't you know it, after I stopped buying in people started buying decent gifts for the party. Awesome. Secret Santa though I've always thought of as more of a 1 to 1 deal and no built in present sniping from other people.
Up North here in Canuckistan the word sledge is only ever used in relation to a very heavy long handled steel hammer. We might occasionally say sled but we're much more likely to use the word toboggan. This usually refers to the the flat bottomed wooden variety curled up in the front, but sliding down a snow covered hill on any type of contraption is referred to as "Tobogganing" The type with metal runners on the bottom is referred to as a sleigh, as in the one horse open variety.
@@kenbrown2808 i actually listen to alot of British stuff. Podcasts, books, TV etc. Never heard that term. I was expecting him to say tobagan. I was so dumbfounded when I heard sledge. Learn something new every day though.
I love this video! I did have to look up Krampus. I am a 64 year old American Texan and had never heard of it till you mentioned it. I learned something brand new. THANKS!!!😁😁
Another type of white elephant gift is a particular gift that every year finds a new home with one of the family. Much like your pile, this gift is there. You choose a gift or take someone else's (if you're not the first). If your choice was taken by another, you get to pick again or take someone else's (not the one taken from you) gift. It goes until all gifts are gone. For 10 years we had a 100 piece puzzle of a black cat with one piece missing that was always there. Your only solace to getting it was that you already had the gift to give during that Christmas game next year and the one thing you had to figure out was how to disguise it so someone else would get it. Krumpus was Santa's alter ego for the ones really bad.
Our church did that every year too. Our most famous one that was repeatedly exchanged for over a decade was the ugliest ceramic plate on the face of the earth. It looked like something someone might have made as their first very lopsided project in a ceramics class -- someone who was also color blind and painted it a mess of muddied colors that sort of resembled a cat's hairball. Rumor has it that it was donated to the church thrift shop, so one of the members bought it specifically for the exchange. Then one year it stopped appearing. No one could remember who got it, so we don't know if they actually liked it and kept it, moved away, or died.
1) I had never heard of a "white elephant gift exchange" here in New England. I had heard of a "Yankee swap" from my elderly mother, but my understanding of it was that the gifts were merely inexpensive, not intentionally bad. 2) I had heard of the word "Krampus," but had no idea what it meant (there's very little German culture in New England).
Our office held Yankee Swaps and the gifts were usually what the giver thought was bad/ugly/funny. It was such a great time laughing at everyone's gift. It was amusing to see how many were happy with what they ended up with. However, I am still holding onto the Yankee Swap gift from the last time (pre-COVID) to use in the next one.
I grew up sledding during the winter. I think 'sledging' does sound more appropriate. You should try it this winter in your new home.....not "in" your new home...I mean there's bound to be some cool spots in the Chicago area to do this
Slade, Steeleye Span, Mike Oldfield, Greg Lake, The Pogues and Kirsty McColl, John and Yoko, Wizzard, Paul McCartney, Jonah Lewie. How many more do you want?
The _feliz_ in _feliz Navidad,_ as used in the US, is pronounced with a final S sound. Remember, the phrase was popularized through the song sung by José Feliciano, a Puerto Rican, not a Spaniard with the funny Z sound. Castilian Spanish isn’t really American Spanish.
Along with Feliz Navidad there's another American song about Merry Christmas in another language. Mele Kalikimaka, is supposedly Merry Christmas in Hawaiian.
Sung by Bing Crosby.
I’m kamaʻāina or native Hawaiian, and yes mele kalikimaka is Hawaiian for Merry Christmas. For me it was Bette Midler who sang it all the time. Bing Crosby is also famous for singing it. But from my personal path in life it’s Bette all the way.
I like Jimmy Buffett's version!
Bing Crosby recorded it the year Hawaii became a state. Favorite Christmas movie Donovans Reef.
That's always the very first Christmas song I play every year.
Krampus was unheard of when I was a kid and is apparently a new phenomenon in the US. If you were bad back then you were told Santa Claus would leave coal in your Christmas stocking.
I understand in Europe that Black Peter was the evil opposite of Father Christmas.
Kids are still told that, but I like the idea of Krampus scaring kids too
Yep! My mother is German so I grew up with Krampus.
Black Peter is the servant of Saint Nicholas. He isn't evil.
I grew up with Krampus, but then again that was in Bavaria. (Also, he and Sankt Nikolaus came around on Dec 6, not Christmas eve).
@@solicitr666 My mom is from Bavaria. I miss that part of Germany
I once came away from a White Elephant with a hard-won T-shirt that had a picture of Dwayne Johnson decorating a Christmas tree that said “Rock Around the Christmas Tree” at the bottom. Also, one year I brought llama socks everyone fought over. It’s always a very weird game.
White elephant is also referred to as "Greed". But in some circles, the gifts are not often joke gifts. There is a spending limit and the better gifts get stolen (within the game of course 😉).
It's always fun (in the competitive sense) to have one or two nice white elephant gifts. You'd be shocked how competitive people get over a bag of pistachios!
It can get weirder if wine is served😆🍷
It’s fun when there’s a gift everyone wants and it gets stolen several times until the “stealing” has reached its limit. It’s almost like musical chairs except with gifts.
When I was a kid, the "young families" church group did one of these for the adults. The presents were not unwrapped, so you didn't know what you were fighting for. But one package had three rolls of scotch tape attached to the package and everyone looking to wrap gifts for their kids wanted that!
I was just watching this with my husband. And when you mentioned "Krampus" we both looked at each other and said "WHO?" We are both of mostly German origin, but NEITHER of us have heard of Krampus before, and we're both in our 60s.
Was a new word for me, too!
I never heard of him either.
I believe Krampus was more from southern Germany. My mom was from northern Germany and they have Knecht Ruprecht. He’s similar to Krampus. My mom and her family brought this tradition to the US when they moved here One Christmas my brother and my cousins were put into a large sack and hit with a stick because they had been particularly naughty that year…and they didn’t learn their Christmas poem they were supposed to recite to St. Nikolaus. They thought it was great fun…boys are weird 😁
@@MichelleMartinez-hu5xu Hello from Austria! You are probably right with the assumption that Knecht Ruprecht accompanies St. Nicholas in northern Germany when he is visiting families on December 6. In Southern Germany and Austria St. Nicholas might have been accompanied by two helpers: The kind Knecht Ruprecht, who brings treats and maybe small gifts, and the scary Krampus, who should teach naughty children a lesson (hopefully by only growling and rattling with his chains). The traditions depended on the region, it might have been both or either figure, and nowadays St. Nicholas might do his visits all alone.
In some regions though (mostly Tyrol, Salzburg and South Tyrol in Italy), the figure of Krampus to this day still has its pagan/pre-Christian meaning of a scary figure with the purpose to scare away evil winter ghosts and dangers. There are parades of Krampus groups with gruesome masks and costumes, which are loud and crazy spectacles and major attractions to these regions.
I grew up knowing about Krampus , my mom was born in Germany, 1937
Whenever I hear sledge, I think of the large sleds used by lumberjacks of old during the winter. (Lots of logging history in Minnesota.)
Bingo.
Same in Wisconsin where i grew up. Rather than having to learn Feliz Navidad we had to learn Stille Nacht/ Silent Night.
Children's sledges are also called toboggans in parts of England.
Toboggans were the best, all pile on .
@@missharry5727 Yes, in New England too. We had sleds for one or two kids and longer toboggans, with upwardly curled fronts, that could fit 4-6 kids. Looking at that word toboggan, it seems like a native american word. I wonder if the word came back to England?
No one I know even knows about Krampus. Our version of white elephant gift exchange has gifts that are great and everyone wants! The "fighting" over the gifts is hilarious.
The English name for this "helper" of St. Nicholas is "Black Peter".
Usually a white elephant gift here is something nobody wants lol
Really? Not my experience. I remember learning about it in this Christmas Around the World thing when I was in 2nd grade.
It annoyed me how the krampus fad of the 2010s seemed so new to people, when Venture Bros featured him in their Christmas special in 2004. Like what, did you guys not watch that? It was amazing!!
I’m going to a ‘Yankee Swap’ (weird, since we’re all Southerners😆) on Sunday at a friend’s church on Sunday afternoon. I had heard it was stuff you didn’t want but the church ladies are way too nice to do that😆
Merry Christmas everyone🍷✅
When my oldest son first heard "Feliz Navidad" he mistook it for "fleas on my dog" so we changed the lyrics to fit his version. To this day that song brings a smile to my face remembering that.
My sister thought inexcelsis deo was in eggshell she stays oh!
From now on, that's what I'll hear when that song comes on! LOL! We have family words for things that were from similar circumstances that have come down the generations. But we have a Christmas one that went from my son when he was so little he could barely speak, that spread up the generations. . Instead of "Ho-ho-ho, Merry Christmas!" he said "Oh-oh-oh, my-a keesmus!" ... and still carries on to this day.
@@Eowynnofrohan In first grade I thought it was: In eggshells a day old! (To be fair, I did have severe hearing problems back then.)
@@juliao1255 well when my chorus teacher wanted that line to sound perfect, she told half of us to sing "ex chell" and the other half "egg shell", so that when blended together the words were properly pronounced.
My husband has been deliberately been singing "fleas on my dog" for as long as i have known him, about 43 years. I told him not to quit his day job, while several other people want to throttle him for ruining the song and creating a new earworm simultaneously.
The white elephant gift exchange has so many different rules depending on the group who's doing it. Some versions actually encourage good gifts (with a dollar limit, like $20 max). In many you can steal a gift when it's your turn, forcing the stealee to select another unwrapped gift. So, whenever you're invited to such an event, it's always a good idea to inquire about the house rules beforehand.
I my family we play games to win presents. Usually they are low dollar gifts, but we usually have the general likes of the family in mind when purchasing them.
Very true. It’s hilarious to watch people take what someone had just floated over a few moments before. Best of all, you have to keep it a secret who gave that gift.
@Ivan Herndon I’ve always played the version that allowed stealing the item you want. And gifts were purposely seeded with a few really good items with the rest being crappy. Somehow, we always had fun.
You described exactly how I run mine- and I call it a Yankee Swap. It's fun to play a game and get an actual good gift.
And, you’ll need to bring a sense of humor! We had an annual white elephant gift exchange that had some good gifts and one rotating gift: a pink corset! One year, having received the corset the previous year, I decided to pair it with something people might really want. I hoped to see people actually want the corset in order to get the gift it came with. Unfortunately, that was over 20 years ago, and I can’t remember how it turned out.
I was born and grew up in the US, and I never heard of “Krampus” until 3 years ago (I’m 68). So maybe it’s more regional than you are aware, until the movie, anyway. Or maybe I was just happy and clueless all that time.
I don’t know exactly I first heard of him, but I’d say it was no more than 5 years ago.
Didn't hear of him until the movie a few years ago and wasn't all that impressed.
Today was the first time I ever heard of Krampus
First time I heard of Krampus was on the TV show Grimm. I looked it up after the episode and, by George, it's a real myth!
Maybe about a decade ago, there was a big surge in smaller cities having a Krampuslauf, which is kind of like a Zombie Parade but everyone is Christmas monsters instead of Halloween monsters.
I grew up in a Swedish-American community. There’s nothing like the holiday tradition of St. Lucia day, where a young woman brings light by wearing a crown of burning candles on her head. Celebrate the Christmas season by nearly setting yourself and others on fire!
Ohhh goodness!
My Virginia church did this and got the annual event past the Fire Marshall. It was beautiful and totally non Swedish in the organizers' intention.
That's amazing! Every holiday can be improved by adding physical danger. 😁
That's gorgeous!
I grew up in a very Lutheran community where the Lutheran University enacted this festival every year.
I had never heard of krampus until you spoke it in this video. And I've lived in the US for 67 years. Wow.
As a small child, I was convinced that my father invented the song Santa Claus is Coming to Town, and was amazed whenever I heard anyone else singing it 😂 I wasn't very bright.
kids think in their own way. that’s so cute, i love it. :} 🎄🌺🕯🎁
🤣😂🤣😂 My dad was tall and the other kids asked me he was a giant so I was convinced he was and thought that was awesome. He was only 6 feet tall.
Not so. You were just innocent. The mind of a child is a wonderland of possibilities.
That's cute. We all remember similar clueless ideas, but one of my daughters confessed to one years later that both horrified me and made me laugh, but mostly horrify. She thought the guys who set off fireworks on July 4th sacrificed themselves...by exploding. I really really wish she had been able to articulate this instead of carrying such a terrifying idea!
that's cute
Feliz Navidad, a song over 50 years old written and sung by Jose Feliciano, has been popular in the US since the 70s. Amazingly, it never charted for nearly 3 decades(Adult Contemporary No. 18, January 1998). Even more amazing, the song finally reached the Top Ten in early December 2020 at No. 10 and 2 weeks later reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Still a fuckin banger too this day.... "I WANNA WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART"
*Mele Kalikimaka, me ka hauoli makahiki hou!* Hawai'i's contribution to Christmas music is even older, dating back to 1949! =^[.]^=
Feliz Navidad!
I'm a UKist, and I love this song too! Radio2 in the UK plays it quite often over Christmas.
And if you go to any Christmas music event, like a church pageant, in America, this is very likely going to be the finale song, and it never fails to rouse a crowd of happy people!
Well done, and thank you!
I had never heard of Krampus until he was discussed on this video.
There's a movie about it but it's terrible
@@tazepat001 I’m glad that I missed it then! 😀
@@tazepat001 There's actually 2. One is less awful than the other. They're actually not that terrible, but you gotta take them for they are. Don't expect too much.
Me either.
@MRGRUMPY53 a lump of coal or a switch in their stocking if you go back to the 1800’s late. But he leaves the switch to the parents. It’s really just an unrealistic possibility to make kids worried so they behave. I am in the Midwest and never heard of Krampus.
It’s fun to see how other countries celebrate Christmas. (Never heard of Krampus growing up and it’s not really a thing in my part of the Midwest now.)
Agreed.
I never heard of it either until a reference to it in a Dragon Ball Z Abridged episode. And then later I see him turning up in the video game Don't Starve Together.
Yes never heard of Krampus but heard it spoken about on PBS station. Merry Christmas 🎄
Personally, I think we should let Krampus loose on those snitches, the Elves on the shelves.
Funny how "elf" and "shelf" both have the same plural ending.
My husband may have scared my first born with the idea of Krampus. She thought she was particularly bad one time and he mentioned Krampus and she lost it. I tried to assure her he wasn't real but she was convinced because Daddy mentioned it. 😂
my adult kids (30's) and their friends started a tradition a few years ago called Craft Elephant. You make a fairly decent hand made gift and it's still white elephant rules. Choose, steal, etc. but the gifts are pretty remarkable! And very "them". Usually based on their groups experiences that year. They are a very crafty and clever bunch!
The children’s special “Santa Claus is coming to Town” is where many Americans learned that Santa was adopted by elves named Kringle as a child. And that’s why Santa is also Kris Kringle. Those early puppet-toons, starting with Rudolph, were very influential for a time. Thanks for the video
Rudolph is in no way a "puppet."
Late on Christmas Day a group of my family members were gathered in the living room. We were having a conversation about the various members who had been hit by cars, some more than once. My uncle piped up “ there was that time mom got run over by a reindeer”. And as the words “ OMG WHEN”! , I realized that I had fallen for it but it was too late to stop speaking. He laughed so hard he nearly fell off the sofa. Made his day.
My favorite thing about Christmas is the Nativity set. I have a Nativity set that has been handed down in my family for several generations. It's handmade clay figures from Sweden and irreplaceable. Every year we put up the Nativity in our china cabinet right next to the crystals that my Mom collects. Also, we sing Christmas Carols just for the fun of it. I do like to look at this Nativity set. Here's another way to say "Merry Christmas" that I hear a lot in my neighborhood: "Joyeux Noël".
Also sometimes referred to as a "creche." =^[.]^=
My favorite too. I have to dig out a space for it since I just moved and everything is still a mess. I managed to get the Advent candles up.
@@Raycheetah ::
I usually think of those as as wood carvings of the scene.
@@nancyjanzen5676 I moved 3 U-Hauls full, and the stuff is still buried after two years.
I have a beautiful Nativity set that I bought at a craft shop in the airport at Mexico City while waiting for our flight home after Christmas in Oaxaca. It's pottery, hand painted and very Mexican. Sits on the mantlepiece for the whole of the Christmas season.
St. Nicholas Day is December 6th and how I was raised St. Nick fills your stockings and you open them on the sixth and get candy, oranges and small "stocking stuffers" gifts like Christmas socks or very small and cheap toys.
Re: Krampus. My mother was from Germany and my dad was raised in a German-speaking household in Minnesota. I had never once heard the word Krampus until a few years ago when I watched a travel show about Austria. I don’t recall the details, but I seem to remember a pretty scary creature who traveled around with St. Nickolaus. According to the internet, he does exist in Bavaria as well, in the Alpine areas. This makes sense, as Bavaria and Austria are adjacent. My mom was from Saxony and my dad’s family was from Brandenburg, so I figure it is either regional and/or religious (Bavarians and Austrians are Catholic; Saxons and Brandenburgers are Lutheran). I had no idea this creature has become a “thing” here in the US.
In Munich the bad Santa was called Knecht Rupprecht. Krumpos is mostly Austrian. Horrible looking guy. Looks like a devil. I only got visited by St. Nicklaus, the good Santa because I was a good little girl!!!
@@margareteraab3899 ME TOO! St. Nicklaus never disappointed!
Hello from Austria! I also had no idea that the figure of Krampus has made it accross the Atlantic!
In Southern Germany and Austria St. Nicholas used to be accompanied by two helpers: The kind Knecht Ruprecht, who brings treats and maybe small gifts, and the scary Krampus, who was supposed to teach naughty children a lesson (hopefully by only growling and rattling with his chains). The traditions depended on the region, it might have been both or either figure, and nowadays St. Nicholas might do his visits all alone.
In some regions though (mostly Tyrol, Salzburg and South Tyrol in Italy), the figure of Krampus to this day still has its pagan/pre-Christian meaning of a scary figure with the purpose to scare away evil winter ghosts and dangers. There are parades of Krampus groups with gruesome masks and costumes, which are loud and crazy spectacles and major attractions to these regions.
Oh my goodness! 🤣🤣🤣🤣 I LOVE the Jane Fonda VHS workouts. Pioneering 😍
Boxing Day has always been on some of our calendars. Maybe because Canada is just next door.
Gimme Gimme!! is one of my favorite Christmas words.
Fun as always but can't help but LOL a bit at his oh-so-proper Castilian pronunciation of "FeliTH Navidath" (4:45). Pretty sure he didn't hear it pronounced that way at a call center in the US! XD
Did you know that Russell Crowe was going to speak like that in the Gladiator? He was Spanish. Lol
@@samanthab1923 Just saying, as an American who speaks Spanish and has spent quite a bit of time in Spain, if you hear Spanish in the US, it's 99%+ likely NOT to be spoken with a Castilian accent.
I don’t know why but I learned Castilian Spanish. But that was years ago.
@@maryellenthompson8261 Most countries, even Mexico, taught "King's English," rather than "American." I believe Castilian is still what's taught in US schools, rather than New World Spanish.
@@elultimo102 not where I'm from. Our Spanish classes are focused on the Spanish we would encounter in the U.S. There are specific ideas they would tell us only applied in Spain (like the 2nd person plural form of verbs), so we could fully ignore them. This was in high school and college courses.
my mind feasts upon the richness and variety of the English language. Laurence, you delight my mind in ways no other linguist has ever done! i have been here for a large part of your utube career. It was your dives into English that got me hooked. Thank you. You make my world a better place 👍🆙🙏!:-)
Kris Kringle is the person hired to play Santa Claus at Macy's during the year that A Miracle on 32nd Street was filmed. He's a very nice man.
never knew that dang
Karen Martin. It’s 34th street.
I wonder if that is how the name became well known in the US.
He goes by other names too. And he sleeps with his whiskers on the outside of the blanket....
"Jingle jangle jingle, you will hear my sleigh bells ring; I am old Kris Kringle, I'm the king of jing-a-ling." From the Rankin-Bass special, _The Ballad of Smokey Bear._
Thank you for this! You can't imagine how good it feels to have made it through another year to get to watch another Vlogmas! [literally weeping]
I learned Spanish from mostly people from Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, so when I heard his accent when he said Feliz Navidad, I had a whole moment.
Let's not forget Festivus, that special time of the year when we gather round the Festivus Pole and the airing of grievances shall be heard.
Wrestle your father, Georgie!
underrated comment. You get the gold star today ⭐
I only heard of Krampus after taking German in school. And then whatever that Dwight equivalent was, from the American Office. I don't remember the name, but he'd go around asking who's "impish" or "admirable."
Merry Christmas 🎄 some of my favorite christmas words are “happy birthday Jesus!”, Noel , Felis navidiad (cause its so fun to say), and christmas snow. I hope we have some snow soon 😊
I met Santa!
My sister and I listened to happy birthday Jesus so much when we were little! I hardly ever hear it now.
When I think 'Sledge' I think of the hammer, And oddly enough Peter Gabriel's hit single song from 1986.
Felice Navidad..I also learned the meaning from the song when I was in my teens.
My husband is from Ireland, with family in England and I had never heard of Boxing Day, until our first Christmas together.
Love your show!!
*once saw a meme of a for lease sign with the word Navidad spray painted underneath it...still think that's hilarious*
*Feliz
In America "boxing day" is year 'round whenever a world (or regional) heavy (or middle or light) -weight boxing champion puts on his boxing (sparring, punching) gloves (tautly pneumatic hide mittens) and a mouth guard, gets into a (counterintuitively, square) boxing "ring" and defends his title against a contender. On Christmas day (or for some Santa scoffing families, Eve) families and/or friends gather to unwrap, open and glee out over Christmas presents, gifts; for kids, most from Santa Claus.
German "Kristkindl" means Christ child, baby; the finial "-l" is an abbreviated Germanic diminutive suffix, variant (as in Yiddish, Jewish German) "-ele," as in "bubele" (little baby) and "madele" (little maid).
Kris Kringle was also the name of the Santa Claus character played by Edmund Gwenn in 'Miracle On 34th Street (1947). Krampus was virtually unknown here until quite recently and his revival may have begun with the cult film from Finland, "Rare Exports' (2010) which has a similar character. I grew up in Ohio and never heard of a white elephant give exchange so it may be more recent or perhaps regional. this was all very fun.
I recall my parents being in white elephant gift exchanges decades ago. Never heard the term "Yankee Swap"...and "Dirty Santa" sounds like a more recent re-naming, like sometime in the last 5 years.
I remember white elephant parties when I was kid in the 80’s,
For another look at "Kris Kringle" in American culture, see the marvellous 1947 version of "Miracle on 34th St." Really a great holiday film!
Laurence--you get so worked up! 🙂 My mother, ever the typical Western European descendant, was listening to the radio one day and chuckling to herself. She had just heard Jose Feliciano sing Feliz Navidad. She knew the song and knew what it meant. So I gave her a suspicious look. (Mom had a devilish sense of humor for such a Christian woman.) She said that as she was listening to the song, it sounded like he was saying "Denise Bobby Socks." (Hey, it was an AM radio and reception wasn't great, OKAY?!) At that moment her chuckle burst out into a belly laugh. So on a morning back in the 80s, my mother turned an Hispanic Christmas melody into a white 1950's poodle skirt tribute. Oh, the shame of it all. Well, you know I can't hear Feliz Navidad without singing Denise Bobby Socks at least under my breath--THANKS MOM!! And Thank you Laurence for bringing it up!! You are all welcome to now sing Denise Bobby Socks when ever the tune comes up because you will find you can't not sing it at least once with the new words. Merry Christmas Laurence!
He actually wears those glasses all year long just so they match his Santa hat for Christmas
*i adorn my cranium with my own santa hat decorated with clip on lizards the day after thanksgiving and wear it while in public until just after the first of the year...goes well with my mentat eyebrows and shoulder length sideburns*
@@scottmantooth8785 shoulder length sideburns?!? I would like to see that
What?!
🤔
@@tbwkn At that point, it's just hair.
@@rowynnecrowley1689 isn't it always just hair?
The UK has the broader use of "white elephant" relating to a large, expensive, high maintenance possession that is difficult to dispose of (for example, in a government project context) still yeah?
The gift usage seems to be derived from the broader usage afaict.
Krampus? I've never heard of him. Sounds like a very miserable character, and just the name alone is most unpleasant.
The literal English translation of Feliz Navidad is Happy Christmas, so that is aligned with your home country.
Enjoyed your 1st Vlogmas video today!
Lawrence, please never change! You delight my time whenever I watch your videos! You are so self-deprecating that it is almost as though you are asking your audience to forgive you for being human. An Englishman who migrated to America. You didn't wish to fight anyone, did you!
It is amazing how VLOGMAS has became such a tradition these last 4 or 5 years
NBC had a series called Grimm. They did a great episode about Krampus!
I have the exact same reaction to Feliz Navidad, though for a specific reason: A Sesame Street Christmas special from the 70s (80s?) where Big Bird and a young girl skate around an ice rink to the song. The song triggers my inner child and all of the pure joy comes back for a couple of minutes.
Yesss!!! Christmas Eve on Sesame Street. It's an annual watch in my family lol
I can relate to your Christmas culture shock. I moved to Denmark from the US in September 2005. Real candles on the Christmas tree, dancing around the tree. And the food, so much food. And sweet, warm wine with raisins and sliced almonds
Food for days! I moved to the UK from Denmark and especially missing all the Christmas food.
I am exactly the same regarding Feliz Navidad!
Feliz Navidad: I grew up in Atlanta when Bobby Dodd was the football coach at Georgia Tech. When I first heard the song by Jose Feliciano, I thought he was singing, "Release Bobby Dodd!"
When I was a kid Krampus hadn't made it here yet and bad kids got a lump of coal in their stocking. Then again, people still heated their homes with coal when I was a kid; I suppose it is easier to find a medieval Germanic demon these days though.
My grand parents actually gave my uncle joe coal in his stocking one year. He & my mom, who is younger were at the window looking out for Santa. She slipped & burnt herself on the radiator. They blamed him. 🎄☃️❄️🌟
I prefer the naughty kids just getting nothing.
Coal is definitely still the prevailing gift for naughty children and probably always will be, but I invite us to scare the naughtiest of kids with the Christmas devil AKA Krampus.
@@Ryan-cb1ei Well, Santa is pretty scary himself. "He sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when you're awake..."
Here’s a Christmas word you might hear in Chicago, especially if you are the guest at a Polish-American household: Oplatki (pronounced “oh-PWAT-kee”). It’s a wafer (much like an unconsecrated communion wafer) that you share at table with your fellow guests. As you snap a piece of someone’s oplatki, you wish the a Merry Christmas.
We still do that. I'd rather exchange kolaczki, but whatever. =D
We do a version of white elephant, round robin. Just like you stated numbers are picked, you can “steal” someone’s gift during your turn, and somehow a few years back someone in our family said oh, we are doing it wrong. Just do it as usual, but the person who picked number 1 has the last pick, even if the gift is “dead” or has been stolen 3 times. Over the many years I’ve played this with family I’ve seen tears, anger, jealousy, attitudes, dismay, disgust, and gloating, just the thing’s to celebrate the holidays. I have tried to understand these wild swings of emotions, especially since there was always a dollar limit of either $15 or $25, and frankly to me not worth getting too destroyed by not getting something fantastical. Also, with Krampus, I only learned about that from the TV show Grimm ( great show)
The only White Elephant I have participated in was at work. One year was the stipulation that the gift had to be hand made. Soooo funny. I received a handmade water pipe with a water filter on it. I made a litter box with kitty poop cookies and an authentic kitty litter scoop to serve them from the grapenuts 'litter'. Brushed the 'cookies' with a little oil for that fresh look. Judging by the gasp heard around the room I achieved the reaction I was after. Looking forward to the next Vlogmas, such fun!
I first heard of Krampus from American Dad.
@@twillbdone3273 That 'cookie litter' sounds more appropriate for April Fool's Day. There was a time when my friends knew not to let me provide the refreshments if our get-together was on April 1. They were shocked when they bit into their cream puffs to find worms. Gummy worms!
White Elephant exchange can cause all kinds of reactions, some really bad. HAHA
"completely and utterly a little bit" ... I love it when you use phrase!
I watch a LOT of British TV and they always say, “Happy Christmas” and we say, “Merry Christmas” in the US. It really irritates my grown son when I say happy instead of merry (which makes me smile).
As a teacher I was told that Merry Christmas can be offensive 🙄, so I substituted it with Happy Christmas!
😊🎄
@@jbr2991 What's the difference? Happy Merry mean the same thing. You are as controlled as Pavlovs dog by the woke culture.
@@nancyjanzen5676 Hardly
In our family, the white elephant gift was ideally something you had, but no longer wanted. It made for some hilarious Christmas memories. I particularly remember a cheese head hat one year. We were also allowed to take someone else's gift instead of opening one.
I’m 78 yrs old - and I’ve never heard of Krampus !!!!! Still things for me to learn.
There is a Christmas movie called Krampus that came out in 2015...probably the first time I had ever heard the word..though it seems like I might have seen it in print somewhere. It's an interesting movie if you like black comedy scary films. HA.
I've played the 'white elephant" game at Christmas before and I've never had a rubbish/bad gift nor did I gave one. One of my favorite white elephant gifts was a George Foreman grill...I loved that thing...lol!😁😊 And you didn't have to vnegotiate with people when you wanted someone else's gift, you just took it. I've play this game many times at work, church and with friends and family...you can really ruffle some people's feathers playing this game.. lol!
I'm Very Thankful that I've Never ever heard of a krampus. 😳
"I don't have an actual watch." You weren't holding an actual phone, either.
The term "white elephant" has an interesting origin. In old Siam (now Thailand), white elephants were considered sacred. Someone who owned a white elephant was required to care for it for the rest of the animal's life. If the king wanted to punish someone, he'd give the person a white elephant. The recipient would have to spend lots of money caring for the animal, and it wasn't even permitted to put the elephant to work. The term has come to mean something expensive and unwanted that's hard to get rid of.
Wasn't it more one king sending one as a gift to another king? Not like giving it to a random person who obviously couldn't care for it
That’s really interesting. Thanks!
Here in Eastern WA a business was in operation for 75 years named the White elephant. They sold toys, models/model trains, and some sporting goods. They closed for good because of the lockdowns.
You have a much nicer family than ours ;-) In our White Elephants, there's no kind mutual exchanges of gifts - instead, if you don't like yours, you get a chance to steal from someone else, though there's a limit on the times any given gift can be stolen!
I so appreciate your videos
This one was absolutely laugh out loud funny I almost spit my coffee across the room!!
I have a new daughter-in-law from Britain and the more I can learn about the differences the more fun our upcoming Christmas will be. Thank you so much for these I send them to her routinely as well as the rest of my family
Thanks for bringing back Vlogmas! I suggest you watch "Miracle on 34th Street" with the young Natalie Wood to learn about Kris Kringle! Happy Christmas!
I'm of German and Swedish descent (DUH, I'm a 3rd generation Minnesotan, after my great-grandparents immigrated here as part of two of our largest immigrant groups), but I had never even heard of Krampus until just a few years ago. Could be because we didn't have anything to do with my mother's German relatives, but rather my father's Swedish relatives. To me, Christmas is Swedish meatballs, Swedish potato sausage, lingonberries (similar to cranberries) and Julekage (similar to the German Stollen). I don't even know what a traditional German Christmas dinner might be.
Krampus is Bavarian/ Austrian.
Traditional German Christmas dinner -- Ham, scalloped potatoes, cheesy vegetable bakes, hot drinks, and stollen and gingerbread. And lots more -- German food rocks!
I’m a 65 year old American and I’ve never heard of Krampus.
Reveresed: Supmark
Sup Mark?
As in "What's up Mark?"
🤔
Good video. I learned a few things I did't know. Feliz Navidad is one of my Christmas favorites. You got me in the mood to watch the Christmas episode of the British comedy "The Good Life" 1977.
I looked up Hex Sign, a collection of motifs used by Pennsylvania Dutch (since you said Krampus comes from there), and I was reminded of the distlefink (I say "DIS- sell - fink"). The distlefink is a design that has a bird in it -usually 2 birds-and a heart and branches. They are supposedly created after Golden Finches. One source says the Golden Finch is from Middle High Germany.
Yup 😍💗
I also have a distlefink cookie stamp! 😍
I should add, living in Reno Nevada, one thing missing in a Reno Christmas is ‘that Christmas feeling’. But in New York, where my daughter used to live, the Christmas feeling is everywhere. In Maryland, where she lives now, it is everywhere.
I live in Reno also and there’s no Xmas feeling
Merry Christmas, and Happy Vlogmas everyone!!!
Have you, Laurence, listened to any of the Christmas songs written in America in the recent decades? How about "GRANDMA GOT RUN OVER BY A REINDEER!" or that early rock and roll classic tune "ROCKING AROUND THE CHRISTMAS TREE!"
Oh, Laurence! Thank you for explaining that we use the term "Kris Kringle" just to give Santa an identity crisis!!! I'm still ROTFL!!!!
Have you ever heard the Christmas song, Dominic the Christmas Donkey? Absolutely dreadful. But a Christmas standard on radio in Philly. Makes me run screaming from the room.
If you’ve seen the clay stop motion Christmas movies, that Santa’s legal name is Kris Kringle, and santa is sorta like his stage name
Kris Kringle is also the name of the Santa character in the movie "Miracle on 34th Street."
I think you're speaking of the Rankin - Bass productions, particularly _Santa Claus Is Coming to Town._ A cast of amazing voiceover talent, there!
Santa Claus - Father Christmas - St. Nicholas who originally wore green not red.
@@ginnyjollykidd I wonder if those are widely known outside the US? I can't imagine Christmas without Rankin-Bass Christmas shows or the original animated The Grinch Who Stole Christmas with Boris Karloff.
@@tonys1636 The modern US image of Santa, is a product of Coca Cola magazine ads in the post-war era.
My ancestors have been here since the 1600's and I never until today heard of kramous!
There's always something new...Thanks Lawrence!
I love..."Have a Merry Christmas.don't shoot your eye out"!
I would like to see a Brit's reaction to any of the Rankin-Bass musical Christmas movies like "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" and "The Year Without a Santa Claus"
The Christmas season can now begin!!! Vlogmas rings in the yule season.
We have been playing Bingo for dollar prizes at Christmas for years. It turned into dirty Bingo and gets real competitive. So much fun. I have heard of Krampus.
I so want to do that.
Well, if you're a fan of "The Office" tv show (American one), the first I ever heard of Krampus was when Dwight dressed up as him, complete with a switch!
Oooh education, I've never heard of krampus. Perhaps it's an Indiana thing.
Well, Pennsylvania Dutch and Amish people live all along Pennsylvania to the West and into Indiana. Not a hard community to find. Just look for the hex signs on the barns.
I never knew what Krampus was until watching this video either. I've definitely heard it said but never investigated. There's also the "Festivus" from Seinfeld. It was in an episode and caught traction because it's hilarious. Not sure if it started there or someplace else.
Great videos!
the origin of the term "white elephant" is the legend of an asian ruler who by fiat owned all of the albino elephants in his kingdom, but if he was particularly miffed at a noble he would make him a gift of one of these white elephants, which he would then have to foot the maintenance bills for without being able to have it doing any work to recoup the expenses. - and of course, he couldn't just refuse the gift, either.
This has been "Today I Found Out".
Yup, yup, yup. 😄💗
@@rowynnecrowley1689 "we learn something new every day, so once you've learned something you can take the rest of the day off"
I, too, have to thank Jose Feliciano for teaching me how to be polite and wish Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to my Spanish-speaking patients. I get so happy when their eyes light up when I whip out those phrases. Thank you, Mr. Feliciano! (now the song is stuck in my head...oops...)
Happy Vlogmas! Hope you've had some non-white elephant gift exchanges. Some of the games around them can be entertaining, especially if alcohol is involved.... Tale care & I guess I'll catch you tomorrow!
If you're looking for Vlogmas content, Las Posadas are worth examining. You can probably find some in the greater Chicago area.
They take place 16 - Dec through 24 - Dec.
Mark I dare you to find an actual Hispanic that uses Latinx. Even Univision refuses to use it.
I am more likely to think of the term “white elephant“ as part of the phrase “white elephant sale” and less as what I’m more used to referring to as “dirty Santa.“ still, I can see the connection. And since everyone else seems to be offering their experience (or lack thereof) with Krampus, I will say I have heard of the character, but not a lot.
Never heard of white elephant before, but my work would do a yankee swap or whatever for the christmas party. Never heard of that term before then either. I participated for the first few years, then stopped after I got like a dunkin donuts gift card and some movie theater esque candy boxes one year. A previous year I got some homemade coquito that I didn't drink. And wouldn't you know it, after I stopped buying in people started buying decent gifts for the party. Awesome. Secret Santa though I've always thought of as more of a 1 to 1 deal and no built in present sniping from other people.
I love that song!!!!! Felix Navidad is a great song!!’
Up North here in Canuckistan the word sledge is only ever used in relation to a very heavy long handled steel hammer. We might occasionally say sled but we're much more likely to use the word toboggan. This usually refers to the the flat bottomed wooden variety curled up in the front, but sliding down a snow covered hill on any type of contraption is referred to as "Tobogganing" The type with metal runners on the bottom is referred to as a sleigh, as in the one horse open variety.
I've never heard sledge, ever. Except a sledge hammer.
apparently you've never read british authors, because they will always refer to a sled as a sledge or a sleigh.
@@kenbrown2808 i actually listen to alot of British stuff. Podcasts, books, TV etc. Never heard that term. I was expecting him to say tobagan. I was so dumbfounded when I heard sledge. Learn something new every day though.
@@aaroneverett296 we must just consume completely different british media, then, because I've rarely seen tobaggan and often seen sledge.
@@kenbrown2808 haha, fair and enough. Can you Send me something calling it a sledge?
@@aaroneverett296 the lion the witch and the wardrobe comes to mind, immediately.
I love this video! I did have to look up Krampus. I am a 64 year old American Texan and had never heard of it till you mentioned it. I learned something brand new. THANKS!!!😁😁
In my 60 years I have never, ever, ever heard of Krampus
Ok, when the elbows started flying during your dance, I lost it! And I may never find it again…..🤗🐝❤️
I never get sick of good Christmas songs.
That said, I am sick of "Winter Wonderland", and they haven't even played it yet.
If I hear "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas" one more time I may toss my candy canes.
Another type of white elephant gift is a particular gift that every year finds a new home with one of the family. Much like your pile, this gift is there. You choose a gift or take someone else's (if you're not the first). If your choice was taken by another, you get to pick again or take someone else's (not the one taken from you) gift. It goes until all gifts are gone. For 10 years we had a 100 piece puzzle of a black cat with one piece missing that was always there. Your only solace to getting it was that you already had the gift to give during that Christmas game next year and the one thing you had to figure out was how to disguise it so someone else would get it.
Krumpus was Santa's alter ego for the ones really bad.
Our church did that every year too. Our most famous one that was repeatedly exchanged for over a decade was the ugliest ceramic plate on the face of the earth. It looked like something someone might have made as their first very lopsided project in a ceramics class -- someone who was also color blind and painted it a mess of muddied colors that sort of resembled a cat's hairball. Rumor has it that it was donated to the church thrift shop, so one of the members bought it specifically for the exchange. Then one year it stopped appearing. No one could remember who got it, so we don't know if they actually liked it and kept it, moved away, or died.
1) I had never heard of a "white elephant gift exchange" here in New England. I had heard of a "Yankee swap" from my elderly mother, but my understanding of it was that the gifts were merely inexpensive, not intentionally bad.
2) I had heard of the word "Krampus," but had no idea what it meant (there's very little German culture in New England).
Our office held Yankee Swaps and the gifts were usually what the giver thought was bad/ugly/funny. It was such a great time laughing at everyone's gift. It was amusing to see how many were happy with what they ended up with. However, I am still holding onto the Yankee Swap gift from the last time (pre-COVID) to use in the next one.
I grew up sledding during the winter. I think 'sledging' does sound more appropriate. You should try it this winter in your new home.....not "in" your new home...I mean there's bound to be some cool spots in the Chicago area to do this
Sledding for me as a child often involved my uncle and an Alaskan malamute named Kip who would pull me and the sled back up the hill.
As an American, my favorite holiday words are of English origin: Bah! Humbug!
Boy I'm shure glad You Cleared up one Christmas mystery... I thought the lyric was "ALL FLEEAS HAV A DOG" thanks a munch!
Hahaha, my sister an I, (til we learned the proper word) always sang "fleas on my dog"
🤦♂️
"the gift that keeps on giving...if you're a masochist." 😂😂😂
Kids toys that make noise or talk!
Kids toys that make noise
Feliz navidad is actually one of the best Xmas songs around 🇬🇧
Been in the US of A for my entire 38 years... wtF is a krampus
I am pretty sure the name of the Macy’s Santa in Miracle on 34th street was Kris Kringle.
Since most Christmas songs tend to be American (minus Wham! and a couple ex-Beatles) - what are considered classic Christmas songs in England?
Do They Know it's Christmas? 🎄
Slade, Steeleye Span, Mike Oldfield, Greg Lake, The Pogues and Kirsty McColl, John and Yoko, Wizzard, Paul McCartney, Jonah Lewie.
How many more do you want?
@@samanthab1923 Definitely - thought that was a mostly Brit affair but did include American and Irish artists.
English traditional Christmas carols, of course, like "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen".
@@jillhobson6128 I'll have to look those up since I've heard very few of them!
The _feliz_ in _feliz Navidad,_ as used in the US, is pronounced with a final S sound. Remember, the phrase was popularized through the song sung by José Feliciano, a Puerto Rican, not a Spaniard with the funny Z sound. Castilian Spanish isn’t really American Spanish.