tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post2701587996939685495..comments2024-03-28T16:11:36.465+00:00Comments on Separated by a Common Language: creches, cribs and cotslynneguisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-71969154016838732422012-10-23T21:47:05.386+01:002012-10-23T21:47:05.386+01:00We call in a Nativity, I thought that the manger w...We call in a Nativity, I thought that the manger was the feed bin that baby Jesus uses for a crib. <br /><br />I listened to the english version of away in a manger, and I have heard this version before in church (Catholic), to me it just sounds like a slowed down version of the same melody.<br />Mindynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-9714687314749120602010-12-04T02:11:42.552+00:002010-12-04T02:11:42.552+00:00Passionately as I hate "Away in a Manger"...Passionately as I hate "Away in a Manger", I'd say that the assertion that it's the first carols kids learn is probably about right. But kids never think about the words of songs they learn so early, even if they're comprehensible in the first place (and there are hymns I sang as a child whose literal meaning still mystifies me when I think about it). I can honestly say the paradox of "no manger for a manger" had never even occurred to me. It's just words, it doesn't occur to you to think they mean anything.Harry Campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01675794936870568336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-13766906490069005102008-01-06T21:29:00.000+00:002008-01-06T21:29:00.000+00:00Backing up dearieme: here in Ireland, we always ca...Backing up dearieme: here in Ireland, we always call it a "crib", and never a "Christmas crib". Never used crib for any other purpose till MTV Cribs arrived. You can find moving cribs, live animal cribs, etc. There's one in every Catholic Church, and most houses (far more than advent calendars). Two things to remember: (1) don't install Babyjesus till Christmas Night (Dec 24; Dec 25 is Christmas Day Night) (2) don't install the Threewisemen till Epiphany (Jan 6).<BR/><BR/>I would have spelt "Chrimbo" as "Crimbo": <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sambo" REL="nofollow">Wikipedia</A> and Google agree. Why retain the Greek CH when most of the rest of the word is gone? In Ireland, a sandwich is similarly a "sambo", <A HERFE="en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sambo_(racial_term)">which can cause funny looks from foreigners</A>.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-87662058825160218222008-01-04T20:32:00.000+00:002008-01-04T20:32:00.000+00:00I had never heard of creche as anything but child ...I had never heard of creche as anything but child care until this entry, either. At home we never had a nativity scene, but if we had had then that is what it would have been called. We always had one on our advent calendar, though.<BR/><BR/>First carol was also Away in a Manger and I also have no actual memory of learning it, but the same is true of Still the Night (same tune, different words, comparing to Silent Night: "Still the night, holy the night/sleeps the child, hid from sight/Mary and Joseph in stable bare/watch o'er the child so beloved and fair/sleeping in heavenly peace/sleeping in heavenly peace." Apologies for any mistakes in that, it's been a long time, although that repetition of "child" strikes me as a tad unlikely, or poorly written.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-4264225961329751232008-01-03T20:00:00.000+00:002008-01-03T20:00:00.000+00:00Lucy Kellaway of the Financial Times has beaten me...Lucy Kellaway of the Financial Times has beaten me to the gun. My nomination for WotY is "going forward". It has been annoying me for at least seven years. Is it an AmE export to the UK, or t'other way round?<BR/><BR/>One commentor googled it, and found it in a poem by Wordsworth, but I don't think WW's usage was as vacuous as that of present-day biz-speak.Trinovante39https://www.blogger.com/profile/02097649637045322001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-3158947074819501892008-01-03T17:32:00.000+00:002008-01-03T17:32:00.000+00:00Never too old to learn something new! From the US...Never too old to learn something new! From the US South, I never heard of the word "creche". I assumed from an early age that a manger was simply a makeshift bed of hay as the only material available in an animal pen. It was never defined, we just assumed it as contextual. The diarama, as others have said, was referred to as a nativity or manger scene. Lastly, the alternate tune for "Away in a Manger" was used in our Presbyterian church this Christmas eve. Seems the Baptists prefer the more traditional US tune. Yes, it was one of the first songs learned, especially by church goers ... so much so that I really do not remember when I learned it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-3593146855913984202008-01-03T02:01:00.000+00:002008-01-03T02:01:00.000+00:00@alex_case: As an Australian I'd never say "Chrimb...@alex_case: As an Australian I'd never say "Chrimbo" and have only ever encountered that in British forums. The preferred Australian abbreviation is "Chrissie"<BR/><BR/>On the subject of "creche" - I've never seen that used here in anything but the child-care sense.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-84117987147632405762008-01-03T01:46:00.000+00:002008-01-03T01:46:00.000+00:00I use "nativity scene", but I would understand "cr...I use "nativity scene", but I would understand "crè" though I don't think I have actually heard it used in English. Here in Canada Nativity scenes are common in both Protestant and Catholic homes, in my experience.<BR/><BR/>I am familiar with both versions of "Away in a Manger", and I had no idea one was more British and the other more American. <BR/><BR/>malimar - Personally I wouldn't classify "Jingle Bells" as a Christmas carol...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-24229447400587318322008-01-02T22:36:00.000+00:002008-01-02T22:36:00.000+00:00No one here in New Jersey would blink at the use o...No one here in New Jersey would blink at the use of "creche." Both creche and nativitiy are commonly used here.Sterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08856854126127258353noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-942242740764728222008-01-01T18:43:00.000+00:002008-01-01T18:43:00.000+00:00I just went through the files for the past few yea...I just went through the files for the past few years at the San Antonio (Texas) Express-News, and the only usages of "creche" are either in wire stories or in contexts that treat it as a foreign word that must be explained. Otherwise, the diorama or live representation of the Holy Family with shepherds and animals is always called a "Nativity scene" or just a "Nativity" (sometimes lowercase for each).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-38278050067239515902007-12-30T23:42:00.000+00:002007-12-30T23:42:00.000+00:00Although I've said "Chrimbo" many times, in the UK...Although I've said "Chrimbo" many times, in the UK it's always said in the slightly knowing way you use when you are saying something that is borrowed, so I've always assumed it was originally Australian English.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-7277152878009705922007-12-25T07:52:00.000+00:002007-12-25T07:52:00.000+00:00Incidentally, I don't know about anybody else, but...Incidentally, I don't know about anybody else, but the first Christmas carol I learned was "Jingle Bells". I don't think I ever actually learned "Away in a Manger" at all. I certainly don't know anything beyond the first verse. Assuming there's more than one verse.<BR/><BR/>But then, I went to a secular public (AmE) school and was raised by Unitarian Universalists, so it's perfectly natural for the Jesus-centric carols to have been omitted.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-49152456221003955072007-12-25T07:48:00.000+00:002007-12-25T07:48:00.000+00:00In America, I've always heard the general Mary-Jes...In America, I've always heard the general Mary-Jesus-Joseph-wisemen-shepherds-animals-stable-scene referred to as a Nativity or Nativity scene. I only ever heard the word 'manger' referring to that (and the combination of that with the 'away in a manger' song led me to assume that 'manger' was just another word for 'stable' or 'barn', as opposed to its actual meaning of 'feed trough').<BR/><BR/>And the only time I've really encountered the word 'creche' was in a completely unrelated context, in the game Black & White, where the creche is a building you construct for children to grow up in.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-88963212751236100722007-12-24T21:27:00.000+00:002007-12-24T21:27:00.000+00:00we always had a 'crib', it's a fairly integral par...we always had a 'crib', it's a fairly integral part of our Xmas celebrations at my house, this is largely due to my mum who was raised Catholic, so perhaps that's why. And 'Away in a Manger' was, in fact, the first carol I was taught, I remember singing it over and over again the year I was three.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-59133540678526830632007-12-24T17:20:00.000+00:002007-12-24T17:20:00.000+00:00My Canadian/Catholic mother always had the manger ...My Canadian/Catholic mother always had the manger or crib up all the way through Advent, with me putting straw when I was good to make it soft for babyjesus, taking it out if bad. Talk about guilt. My Aunt Evelyn, of a slight higher socio-economic level and still living in Ontario (mom was a naturalized American) did call it a Creche, which mom thought was affected. <BR/><BR/>I'm sure I was taught Away in a Manger first in school, as a very simple carol tailored for children. Still don't like it. I learned O Come O Come Emmanuel first - in church -as it is THE advent song. <BR/><BR/>Laughed aloud at the "in a manger no manger" line. Quite right.Zhoenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03515663141425057088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-29704912661035607362007-12-24T15:21:00.000+00:002007-12-24T15:21:00.000+00:00The only use of "crib" that I can remember from a ...The only use of "crib" that I can remember from a Scottish childhood is as a verb, meaning to copy someone else's homework. If you've got a British usage that seems to be predominantly Roman Catholic, a reasonable guess is that it's originally an Irish usage. Anyway, Merry Christmas.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-48846460809057405232007-12-24T14:28:00.000+00:002007-12-24T14:28:00.000+00:00Hitting two taboos with one post, so to speak, I i...Hitting two taboos with one post, so to speak, I insert both religion and (Am) politics into the <A HREF="http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/justinwebb/2007/12/we_keep_talking.html" REL="nofollow">mix</A>jhmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15024302748759726815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-60255228739494237822007-12-24T13:53:00.000+00:002007-12-24T13:53:00.000+00:00"Merry Christmhanakwanzaka (or wahtever)"—cribbed ..."Merry Christmhanakwanzaka (or wahtever)"<BR/><BR/>—cribbed from Locus Magazine<BR/><BR/>I prefer the more radical Happy Solstice!jhmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15024302748759726815noreply@blogger.com