moneypenny20

On the other hand, it could just be a work of fiction and have as much validity as Twilight

Juliecabs

Jad n Rich - well, you should be here now.
Any update?

TeamEmbo

I wasn't being patronizing or talking utter bollox.

The whole point of Christmas is to celebrate the birth of Christ. Constantine decided that would be done on 25 December. Whether there is snow or holly or yule logs or sun and surf is irrelevant. If you've grown up celebrating Christmas with a bbq and trip to the beach that will be the norm for you and probably something you'll feel nostalgic about if you're no longer living in the southern hemisphere. The OP I guess like most of us this forum grew up with Christmas being cold, dark wintery nights, log fires, mulled wine and snowy scenes and that's nostalgic and I wish her a truly lovely Christmas the way she remembers.

Neither is right or wrong - snow or no snow - Christmas is about the birth of Christ so I don't see how stating that is patronising

loz

Even Father Christmas is designed after the coca cola bottle...[/QUOTE]

You try finding a PROPER Father Christmas and see the blank stares you get when you tell them Coca Cola were responsible for his appearance we all have grown up with

rae

i did not say you were, take a deep breath, i was refering to the comments made by el knobbo who you corrected, the as per post below bit.

Jules Europe

That`s el maestro to you.

By the way, its written as "referring" and not "refering" You must feel rather stupid having a foreigner constantly correct you in your own language. By the way, that one was on the house, no additional charge there.

In the interests of the thread, I shall now stop having a go at you and let you get on with things in your own little way.

kporte

Any chance you two can bicker by PM so another persons thread doesn't get closed?

Aviator

I am puzzled why a Spaniard would come onto and feel qualified to contribute to a British expats web site? Perhaps enlighten us.

Jules Europe

It`s not so difficult to understand really and it`s mostly to practice my English. Also, after 8 years of living in the UK (not the supposed 3 weeks/6months that a certain someone seems to suggest) So it does qualify me to have some kind of opinion about everyday life in the UK. Quite often a foreigner has a very different perspective and knowledge of a country compared to a native, I`m sure your stay in Canada qualifies you to have a decent knowledge of what goes on there as well.

I also belong to other forums, of which one is a Spanish based forum (Spanish language) it`s mostly about Spanish expats living in other European countries and also other parts of the world. On this forum, are a number of foreigners also, among them are Brits, Germans, Dutch and Scandinavians to name just a few, some write Spanish very well, others no so. Point being, I don`t think I ever seen any of them ever questioned, of why they were on there.

merleoberon

I believe this to be an urban myth. The first examples of illustrations of St Nicholas decked out in red with white fur trim and black belt appeared in 1906whereas Coca Cola's first advert featuring this image of Santa holding a bottle of Coke was not published until 1931. It is said that the illustrator used by coca cola used existing images of santa to market coke during the winter when they sold less. so the traditional image of santa was not created by coca cola, but they certainly milked it to their advantage and with the power of advertising, it has come to be strongly associated with it - they probably also started the urban myth!!

I am also on the side of a cold white christmas - although I accept by going back to the UK that it will probably be more of cold wet christmas!! but i would prefer to drink mulled wine round my living flame fire in the dark than stand on a fly ridden beach while the hairdryer wind blows sand in my warm flat champagne, munching salty snacks taken from a large plastic box. this year is a special one for me as it is the last i will spend in oz but a happy christmas to all no matter where you are celebrating it

Aviator

Seems a fair enough reason to me.

loz

There are many illustrations of St Nicholas before this date shown in varying coloured costumes, blue, green, brown and red. Different countries and cultures adopted their own versions but Coca Cola seems to have shaped the way people see him nowadays.

St Nicholas was actually St. Nicholas of Myra (now Kale in Turkey) and was born in Patara in about 300. He died round about 350 and after his death was made the patron saint of sailors. Many legends surround him with regard to how he became the person delivering gifts at Christmas and in many European countries they still exchange gifts on the date he is supposed to have dropped gold coins down the chimney of a poor family in order to enable their daughters to marry. The date being December 6th.

Fascinating subject and his burial place is well worth a visit.

Loz x

merleoberon

yes - i've read some of it. i find it very interesting to read legend and folklore and how much of it we see in modern society without realising it. coca cola certainly are the masters of brand recognition!!

Nu-Shooz

Oh jeez....too many right and your wrongs on here.

Jad have a fab trip, yes it's freezing, but it's also winter and nearly Christmas

moneypenny20

Is Cumbria still badly flooded? Last I heard it was mild and throwing it down and you could only get in and out via one bridge and I've got a mate taking a cottage up there for Christmas