Oh, who doesn't love it, the Christmas season?
The contemplative stroll through the Christmas market without sinking into a sea of elbows and bags. The effortless and fixed stop at the grill stand to get a gourmet bratwurst and then rinse it down with a well-tempered mulled wine. The timely, well-organized and stress-free shopping of creative gifts for our loved ones and of course the obligatory, daily opening of the Advent calendar door.
We finally have a short time to stop, to let a little candy melt on our tongue or to learn a fun fact about language. Do you like it? We too! And that’s why you’ll find interesting facts about all the languages of the world behind every door of our advent calendar. Have you always wanted to know how to wish your neighbor “Merry Christmas!” in Klingon? If so, just open a door of our advent calendar every day and say “Ahh!”
1
In the USA, “Father Christmas” and “Santa Claus” are synonymous. The term “Santa Claus” comes from the Dutch name “Sinterklaas,” a figure based on St. Nicholas.
3
1. Advent – The word “Advent” comes from the Latin “adventus,” which means “arrival”, and refers to the time before Christmas, which is associated with a religious countdown.
5
People have a genetic predisposition to certain languages. For example, a newborn can distinguish any sound in the world, but over time, it loses the ability to distinguish sounds that do not occur in its native language.
7
Chinese (Mandarin/Cantonese) has as many as 50,000 characters.
9
In Austria, the “Plätzchenjause” is a tradition in which you meet for coffee and cookies during the Advent season.
11
The tradition of decorating a Christmas tree dates back to the 16th century in Germany.
13
The famous German word “Schadenfreude” has no direct equivalent in many other languages.
15
Spanish is one of the fastest spoken languages in the world, with an average of around 7.82 syllables per second.
17
3. Advent – The evergreen branches that adorn the wreath stand for eternal life and hope.
19
There is no “accent-free” spoken language, and this also applies to sign language.
21
In Iceland there is a tradition called “Jólabókaflóð” (Christmas book flood), where books are exchanged as gifts and the evening is spent reading.
23
The longest documented Christmas party lasted 30 days in 1957 in Caracas, Venezuela.
2
About half of the world’s population is bilingual – a fascinating phenomenon that highlights the diversity of human communication.
4
There are words in certain languages that are difficult or even impossible to translate into English.
6
In Germany, “Saint Nicholas” comes today and brings a blog about terminology during the Christmas season in his bag.
Saint Nicholas was here! Click here for the blog: Wanted: Santa Claus Corporate Identity
8
The term “Xmas” has its origin in Greek, where the “X” stands for the letter “Chi”, which is part of the Greek word for Christ.
10
2nd Advent – The Advent wreath was introduced in Germany in the 19th century and has since become an international Christmas tradition.
12
Halftime: We have a small gift for you.🎁
14
The oldest languages with written certificates are Hebrew, Sanskrit, Sumerian and Basque.
16
Today, in Spanish-speaking countries, the Novena begins , families meet, read the Christmas story and sing Villancicos.
18
The popular Christmas song “Jingle Bells” was actually composed for Thanksgiving and originally had no Christmas reference.
20
Chinese, English and Emoji – the most commonly used “languages” on smartphones worldwide.
22
The word “Christmas” comes from Middle High German and means “holy night.”
24
In the Star Trak universe, “QISmaS botIvjaj ‘ej dis chu’ botIvjaj” is said to wish you a merry Christmas.
Finally, a little extra:
These were our 24 facts, so colorful and clear, about languages and customs, like stars, wonderful.
Now that the Advent wreath shines so finely, light your fourth candle, all pure.
May the flame of peace light up, dispel darkness, enlighten hearts.
Let’s party, laugh, dance in the light, Merry Christmas, bright and simple.
Happy Christmas and a happy year, full of joy, peace, so wonderful.
Conclusion: blc wishes 
Merry Christmas 
