26 December 2004

THE QUEEN’S MESSAGE TO THE FOREIGN SECRETARY FOLLOWING THE EARTHQUAKE IN ASIA

“I was deeply saddened to learn of the dreadful situation in Asia following this morning’s earthquake. Please would you convey my concern and condolences to the governments of all the countries that have been affected, and my sympathies to the families of all those who have been killed, and to those who have been injured.”

- ELIZABETH R

I’m sure you know of the tragic earthquake/tsunami that hit Indonesia and surrounding areas. I am providing a link to the “Save The Children” site where you can make donations to aid the people. Please do so immediately.

http://savethechildren.org/radio_asia_earthquake.asp?stationpub=hp_asia_overview

A guid New Year to ane an` a` and mony may ye see!



While New Year’s Eve is celebrated around the world, the Scots have a long rich heritage associated with this event – and have their own name for it, Hogmanay.

There are many theories about the derivation of the word “Hogmanay”. The Scandinavian word for the feast preceding Yule was “Hoggo-nott” while the Flemish words (many have come into Scots) “hoog min dag” means “great love day”. Hogmanay could also be traced back to the Anglo-Saxon, Haleg monath, Holy Month, or the Gaelic, oge maidne, new morning. But the most likely source seems to be the French. “Homme est né” or “Man is born” while in France the last day of the year when gifts were exchanged was “aguillaneuf” while in Normandy presents given at that time were “hoguignetes”. Take your pick!

In Scotland a similar practice to that in Normandy was recorded, rather disapprovingly, by the Church.

“It is ordinary among some Plebians in the South of Scotland, to go about from door to door upon New Year`s Eve, crying Hagmane.” Scotch Presbyterian Eloquence, 1693.

Hogmanay Traditional Celebrations Historians believe that we inherited the celebration from the Vikings who, coming from even further north than ourselves, paid even more attention to the passing of the shortest day. In Shetland, where the Viking influence was strongest, New Year is called Yules, from the Scandinavian word.

It may not be widely known but Christmas was not celebrated as a festival and virtually banned in Scotland for around 400 years, from the end of the 17th century to the 1950s. The reason for this has its roots in the Protestant Reformation when the Kirk portrayed Christmas as a Popish or Catholic feast and therefore had to be banned. Many Scots had to work over Christmas and their winter solstice holiday was therefore at New Year when family and friends gathered for a party and exchange presents, especially for the children, which came to be called hogmanays.

The modern Santa Claus is a composite character made up from the merging of two quite separate figures. The first of these is Saint Nicholas of Myra, a bishop of Byzantine Anatolia (now in modern-day Turkey) famous for his generous gifts to the poor. In Europe he is still portrayed as a bearded bishop in canonical robes. The second character is Father Christmas, which remains the British name for Santa Claus. Father Christmas dates back at least as far as the 17th century in Britain, and pictures of him survive from that era, portraying him as a well-nourished bearded man dressed in a long, green, fur-lined robe. He typified the spirit of good cheer at Christmas, and was reflected in the ‘Spirit of Christmas Present’ in Charles Dickens’ famous story, A Christmas Carol.

Some elements of this part of the tradition of Father Christmas could be traced back to the Germanic god Wodan (Odin). The appearance is similar to some portrayals of this god, who brought gifts in the winter season of Yule, and rides a flying horse through the sky.

When the Dutch still owned the land that later became New York, they brought the Saint Nicholas’ eve legend with them to the Americas, but without the red mantle and other symbols. The name Santa Claus is derived from the character’s Dutch name, Sinterklaas.

In the United States, the tradition is to leave Santa a glass of milk and cookies; in Britain, he is given sherry and mince pies instead. British children also leave out a carrot for Santa’s reindeer, and were traditionally told that if they are not good all year round, that they will receive coal in their stockings.

From Wikipedia.org

WARNING

There are people who are posing as me. I just received an email from “myself” this morning. The address is “support@mandysroyalty.org”, but there is no such address used here at MBR. Just a friendly warning to anyone out there. The correct – and ONLY – email address for me is listed on my website.

Hope you are all having a wonderful Christmas season!

The latest stats are coming in here at Mandy’s British Royalty! The top 10 countries who have visited are (most to least):

United States (us) - Pages:4012; Hits:26789; Bandwidth: 385.36 MB

Great Britain (gb) 591; 4910; 76.58 MB

European Union (eu) 536; 3888; 55.80 MB

Canada (ca) 414; 3244; 46.81 MB

Australia (au) 305; 2926; 45.92 MB

Germany (de) 157; 1171; 18.93 MB

Hong Kong (hk) 64; 459; 6.18 MB

France (fr) 64; 466; 6.18 MB

Netherlands (nl) 60; 379; 5.20 MB

Spain (es) 57; 332; 4.54 MB

Other countries who visited frequently:

New Zealand

Russian Federation

China

Singapore

India

Portugal

Sweden

Philippines

Finland

Austria

Brazil

Indonesia

South Korea

Czech Republic

Other

Here at Mandy’s British Royalty, there’s an outlet for artists. Anyone interested in submitting work with a (positive) royal theme is welcomed here, and their work will be featured on the website.

I have a new artist coming up in January of 2005. Someone who has true natural talent, and has been looking for a way to promote her art for some time. Her work, along with a profile, will be available in the New Year.