English Language FAQ

A Christmas Carol  (1843) has been one of the most influential novels every written. It introduced many memorable words, phrases and idioms into the English language .  Many of these are used in Stave One Bah Humbug!   interjection . An exclamation of irritation or disgust.  Dead as doornail  - obviously/conclusively dead. Ghost of Christmas Past :   noun.   A person or thing from a past you might choose to forget  Gruel  - a thin liquid food of oatmeal - used to refer to cheap/poor food.  Scrooge:   noun . Someone with cold/mean/miserly attitude. Also someone who transforms from bad to good. Tight fisted  - ungenerous  Famous quotations A Christmas Carol is also one of the most widely quoted texts in literature. Here are some widely used examples from the opening description of Scrooge: Marley was dead, to begin with … Old Marley was as dead as a doornail. Oh! but he was …tight -fisted The cold within him froze his old features. He carried his own low temperature alwa

Nativity derives from the Latin 'natal' meaning birth. 

We want some figgy pudding So bring it right here! Figgy or fig pudding is a generic term covering a number of medieval dishes served at Christmas. These could be sweet or savory and usually included figs,  honey seasonal fruits and nuts. Later, figs were often omitted while large measures of rum or other distilled alcohol became obligatory We Wish You a Merry Christmas Figgy pudding has entered popular culture via the carol. This originated in the west of England and was revived in the Edwardian period by composer, conductor and organist Arthur Warrell (1883-1939).  We Wish You a Merry Christmas is from the wassailing tradition, where villagers visit the gentry demanding ale to celebrate the season.  This combines jollity with a  barely concealed menace hinted at in the words: We won’t go until we get some So bring it out here! Doubtless Mr Warrell played down the drunken rudeness in his five part madrigal version for the University of Bistol.  If your guests 'won't go u

In old French a 'carole' was circle dance accompanied by singing. Carols written and sung for all four  seasons. They were linked to the agricultural calendar, with harvest carols for example.  Though predating Christianity, carols were adapted by the church.  Christmas carols originated from pagan mid-winter festivals but developed into the modern tradition 19th Century.  When Dickens called his story A Christmas Carol he was referring to the tradition of story telling through song - with the five staves mimicking verses. Though there is a recognizably Christian theme of redemption, there are no specifically Biblical references. The ghosts, for example, are clearly secular. Carol services  Popular carols come from very disparate sources. The Coventry Carol, one of the oldest and darkest, is a 16th Century commemoration of the Slaughter of the Innocents. While Shepherds Watch Their Flocks from the same period is more suitable for the Nativity play market, but protestants cheerf

‘The arrival of a notable person or thing’ Oxford English Dictionary. Photo by  Grant Whitty  on  Unsplash Advent  derives from the Latin root, adventus. This approximates as ‘arrival’ through advenire , with ad meaning ‘to’ and venire ‘come’. When used in general English, advent describes a 'starting point' as in the advent of  mobile phones.  The word itself is not biblical - the first reference to it in Christian teaching is in the late sixth century. By around the year 800 CE mid winter festivals were adapted to the Christian calendar. Advent became an umbrella term to describe the immediate period leading up to the celebration of the birth of Christ on Christmas Day.  An extend version of the post is available here   (3 minut Medium free read) Where does the world Nativity come from?