CROSSROADSCROSSROA DS Language StudioÊs Newsletter December,December , 201
20 1 5Popularhistorical myth puts
the birth ofJesus at December
25th 1CE.
However, mostmoderntheologians(includingthe Catholicchurch)agree that if
thehistoricalJesusever reallydidexist, then hewas
most likely bornaroundSeptember 3BCE.
If this really is the case, then what is thebasis for Xmas as we know it?
In pre-Christian Rome, the festival of
Saturnalia was celebrated between December
17th and 25th. During this time the Roman law
courts would close down, and virtually
anything was permitted. No matter what theatrocity committed during the eight-day
festival, you could not be prosecuted for it. AsEllapart of the festival, each Roman community
was expected to nominate one person as asymbolic “enemy of Rome.” At the end of theJanis day festival the “enemy” would be taken
eightaway and slaughtered, heralding the end tothe festive period.
Otherpracticesfrom
Saturnalia
includedwidespread
intoxication(especially Dec 25th), multiple forms of
debauchery and the consumption ofhuman shaped biscuits (a precursor tothe gingerbread-man cookie we eat
at Xmas today).

Around the 4th Century CE the early Christianchurch was on a crusade to convert pagans to theirreligion. In order to encourage conversion, thepagans were allowed to continue to celebrate
Saturnalia, as long as it now became a date assigned
to the birth of Jesus. Early Xmas festivities
incorporated wholesale the practices of Saturnalia
including drinking, sexual indulgence, singing
naked in the streets (the beginnings of Xmas
caroling), etc.
As time went by Saturnalia took on moresignificance in Christian celebrations but many inthe church were unhappy about this. In 17thCentury America, Xmas was banned because of its
pagan origins. Being caught celebrating Xmas waspunishable by a term of imprisonment. Even today
there are branches of the Christian church inEurope that do not celebrate Xmas on Dec 25th
because of its origins.
There are other pagan practices that over theyears became part of Xmas. For example, the use ofXmas trees was established in Germany in the 17thCentury, but its origins can be traced back muchearlier to the Asherah cult in Egypt. The Asherah
worshipped trees and once a year would bring theminto their homes. In the conversion of the Asherah
people to Christianity the Asherah Pole (tree) wasmerged with Xmas celebrations. How about thepractice of gift giving? In early Rome, Emperors
would insist that the Jewish community bring themgifts on December 25th. Failure to do so could result
in death. Over time this became part of Xmas andevolved into the practice of giving children gifts in
the 19th century.
Here in the 21st Century, Xmas is moving awayfrom its beginnings in paganism and religion toNET LESSONS: Too busy to come to CROSSROADS? become what is now mostly celebrated as a secularholiday built around the worship of something…. Try our lessons on the net!
completely modern — consumerism. One can't help
Here’s a good site to follow up on the history of Xmas:
but wonder what Xmas might look like in another
http://www.history.com/topics/christmas/history-of-christmas
few hundred years.
Article by MarkJoshua Says: I have always wondered, and worried, about just what it is that holds
some people back from becoming good communicators in English. The truth is that there
are many and varied reasons why some students progress faster than others. In addition
to not wanting to openly make mistakes, some Japanese students only feel comfortable
expressing facts and not ideas. If you are one of these students, do consider the following
quote: “Saying what we think widens a conversation far more than saying what we know”.
Junko Says: The TOEIC trainees I have been teaching recently took the test just after I
had completed going over the first 4 listening sections with them. Some of them said it was
the first time they had some success in Part 1 of the test. Part 1 asks questions about picturesand I realized the reason they did well was because the pictures helped them understand thequestions without needing Japanese translations. The images made it possible for them tounderstand the English immediately, and they chose correct answers without delay.
Mark Says It's hard to believe that it is December already and that
I have been working at Crossroads for almost one year. The timehas (mostly) flown by. Now I'm looking forward to the upcomingholiday season and spending some extra time with my daughter.
What do you have planned for the holiday season?
Colm Says: When arriving at Crossroads studio a few days ago, a lady
held the elevator open for me and pressed the button for the 5 th floor
before I had a chance to speak. This got me thinking of elevator etiquetteacross the world. In the West, it usually involves respecting personal
space, small talk and awkward whistling. In many Asian countries, it’s adesperate pile-on with people suffocating each other. I got lucky.
Danielle dit; Le froid s'est installé à Matsuyama depuis peu. J'ai toujours
l'impression que l'hiver ici arrive sans prévenir. Du jour au lendemain, letemps passe du beau et chaud au froid hivernal. Donc j'ai souvent l'impression
qu'il fait très froid alors que la température n'est pas si basse. Il est temps deressortir les pulls et les gros manteaux.
ACROSS
1 excess of immoral activities
6 allowed
7 shockingly cruel or inhuman
10 accused of breaking the law
11 almost, but not quite all, complete or whole
12 result from consuming too much alcohol
14 killed (usually for food)
15 traditional story lacking proof of fact
16 preceding and indicating something to comeDOWN
2 change from one state to another3 made or formed into one
4 selected for a special purpose
5 someone learned in religious theory
8 merge or unite into one
9 select someone for a position or honour
13 unorthodox system of religious beliefs and customs

12

3
4

5
67

8
910

11

12

13

14
15
16

(print version here)Ren’s “My stay in China” - Part 11Owls
haveareputation for beingvery “wise”. Forcenturies, from folk
tales
toHarryPotter, they have
impressed us as
being the wisest ofanimals.
Incartoons and otherillustrations,they
are often depictedcarrying or readingbooks to emphasize their intelligence,as well as to encourage people to study.
The University of Bath in England hastaken this concept a step further. In Julythis year, the university awarded an owl
with its own library card.
Yoda, the owl, with his handler Marcus,
is on campus twice a week at Bath. His job
is to scare away seagulls - in “anenvironmentally friendly” way. And “inrecognition of his valuable service to thecampus,” the Library Management
decided to issue Yoda with his own librarycard.
What next, anhonoree degree inSeagull
Management??

Dalian was once colonized by Japan, so
you can see some Japanese culture there.
On the first day, I walked around thedowntown area of the city; then I saw
something interesting. Some Chinese military
Chinese soldiers
men came out of a building connected to theWith a Russian Tourist
army. They walked over to a tall pole that had
a Chinese national flag hanging on it andstarted pulling the flag down. It lookedinteresting and many Chinese pedestrians
also gathered to watch.
On the second day, I went to a suburb
called Gaodi 230 which is one and a half
hours away by bus. The place was once abattlefield where Japanese and Russian
troops fought. There, I met some Russian Monument at Gaodi 230
tourists who asked me to pose for
Teachers and Students
photos with them. One of them spoke
fluent Chinese. We chatted for awhile in Chinese, which seemedstrange for the other Chinese people
around us, who started to stare.
In May, my private Chinese school had an Scenery atShidu
exciting event. We went to a suburb namedShidu, also in Beijing. The tourists were mainly
Chinese teachers and Japanese students, butsome Europeans and Americans also joined. Theteachers had to speak Japanese, English and, ofcourse, Chinese. It seemed challenging for theteachers. Shidu is endowed with natural beauty.
First we took a canoe tour, and after lunch, weenjoyed hiking and riding on a Chinese bambooboat. This activity took up the whole day; we departed at 7:30am andcame back at 8:00pm. But we were able to eat dinner and go to a pub
together after. It was quite a hard day, but everybody was happy.

Last Month’s Puzzle Solution 1DOWN
going back to an earlier time

PA
PR
PT
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PH
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DR
RC
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AGL
A R C H A E O L O G I S T
M
UUS
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IGNS
NH
V A N I S H
ENM
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O B S E R V A T O R YEESYTUIRITETSATLITY
V A R YNEGACROSS
12 one who studies
prehistoric peoples
cultures13 disappear without trace
14 a building used to study
the stars
16 in some way different

2 close to correct
3 exactly
4 all the way through5 people who lived in times past
6 relative position or rank
7 fix or adjust
8 the sun's farthest distance from the equator
9 provide evidence by example
10 the greatest distance
11 the power to order or control others
15 becoming greater in height

Don’t forget… Our SPECIAL 1+1 Campaign offer! Up to 50% off!!
See our notice board, or ask Junko in our office, for the details.