O Tannenbaum, o tannenbaum, what the heck are you?

JUNE CASAGRANDE

It’s that time of year again. Time to start speaking and even singing

words that might have died a century ago were it not for the long arm

of Charles Dickens and the surprising longevity of certain songs --

words we use without knowing or even caring what they mean. Of

course, the season I speak of is yule, with all its merry wassailing

and jolly tannenbaums, and even its humbugs, leading right up until

the eve ye sing of “Auld Lang Syne.”

We love these crazy words because they carry a strong sense of the

season. The fact that they are so obsolete that we often don’t even

know what we’re saying makes them magical somehow. It’s like when

you’re a kid and have no sense of direction inside Disneyland and how

disillusioning it is when you reach the age that you can point north

from your place in line for Space Mountain. I guess ignorance can be

pleasantly intoxicating. But we’re not here today to discuss the

recent presidential election, so, back on the topic of holiday

language, here are some reflections on all the merry, jolly, joyous

mumbo-jumbo.

The word “yule” is a lot like the word “nuptials” -- pretty much

everyone can see that these are just words people dust off when they

want to sound fancy or when they need to use synonyms to avoid

repetitiveness. Yup, “yule” is pretty much synonymous with

“Christmas,” the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary tells us.

“Yuletide,” therefore must mean, that’s right, “Christmastide.”

OK, maybe that one’s not as obvious, especially in Newport-Mesa,

where many might think the word has something to do with navigating

the annual boat parade. No, “tides” aren’t all about sailing and

surfing. The now-obsolete Middle English word referred to, “a space

of time,” “an ecclesiastical anniversary or festival,” or the season

of such a festival. “Christmastide,” also obsolete, was a little more

specific.

Again relying on Merriam-Webster Online: “Christmastide” is “the

festival season from Christmas Eve till after New Year’s Day or

especially in England till Epiphany.” Here, at the risk of getting

too far off on a tangent, I mention that Epiphany is “Jan. 6 observed

as a church festival in commemoration of the coming of the Magi as

the first manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles or in the Eastern

Church in commemoration of the baptism of Christ.” That’s more than

even I wanted to know.

So if “yule” is just a fun way to say “Christmas,” then “wassail”

must be just another word for “carol,” right? Well, no. When you come

“a-wassailing,” you might be caroling, but the wassail part means

something different. A wassail is a toast to someone’s health, a hot

drink made with wine, beer or cider or “riotous drinking.” Again, any

relevance to the Christmas Boat Parade is purely coincidental.

Online dictionaries aren’t as keen on the word “tannenbaum,” and

neither is my beat-up, old American Heritage Dictionary. But as far

as I can tell from my highly unscientific sources on Google and

Yahoo!, “tannenbaum” is just German for “Christmas tree,” which will

make me feel less stupid this year when I sing:

“O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum

wie treu sind deine Blatter!

Du grunst nicht nur zur Sommerzeit

Nein auch im Winter, wenn es schneit.”

But perhaps the most famously misunderstood holiday phrase is

“Auld Lang Syne.” At precisely midnight on Jan. 1, hundreds of

millions of tipsy people swear to themselves that, this year, they

will look that one up in the dictionary. Then, at precisely 12:01

a.m. on Jan. 1, those same hundreds of millions of people instantly

forget this first resolution amid the shock of realizing they don’t

know the names of the people they just kissed.

So I did your homework for you, early even. “Auld Lang Syne” is an

expression from old Scottish that meant, literally, “long time since”

and as a figure of speech meant, “the good old days.”

There was only one holiday expression so archaic, so obsolete,

that I was unable to figure out what it’s supposed to mean: “Peace on

Earth.” What the heck is that?

* JUNE CASAGRANDE is a freelance writer. She can be reached at

[email protected].