December CROSSROADS Language Studio’s Newsletter 2003

Santa Claus – He’s cute, he’s round andhe smiles a lot. He lives at the North
Pole, where he and his elf friends maketoys for all the children who have been
good during the year. Then, onChristmas Eve he jumps into his
magical flying sleigh (pulled by the
lovely Rudolph and other deer), sneaks
into people’s houses via the chimney,and delivers lots of presents forthe children.
Where on earth did this cheerful
little chap come from?
The name Santa Claus actually comesfrom the D u t c h word ‘Sinter Klass’,
which means Father Christmas, and in
Britain people still call him FatherChristmas, rather than Santa.
Santa has a rather muddled past, withhis appearance and nature being
influenced by old English nature gods,
Roman gods, Nordic gods and Coca Cola!
However, he is mainly based upon a 4th
century bishop from Turkey called

St Nicholas, who was famous for hischarity and kindness to children. He
liked to throw bags of gold throughpeople’s windows, and one time when
he threw some gold into a house the bag
landed in a young lady’s stocking,which had been hung out to dry. This
story led to the tradition of children
hanging out their stockings on
Christmas Eve.
The idea of Santa Claus became
popular across most of Europe
and North America, and in the 19th
century many drawings were made ofhim, showing him as a fat little elf inred.
Then Coca Cola decided to makeSanta human-sized (rather than elfsized) for a series of advertisements in
1931.
No one is really sure why he is soround and has such a big beard,
although beards are often associatedwith wisdom in traditional stories, androundness with contentment.
What do you think?

(These words are in color in the storyJoshua Says: Last month the World Cup Ruby competition was contestedin Australia. Japan entered a team. Now, I am not a great Ruby fan, butwhat interested me most about this competition was the enthusiastic
support the Australian fans gave to the under-dogs from Japan; as time goesby, it seems, our two countries are becoming closer as friends and neighbors!

Junko Says: I’d like to welcome Grace to the staff, and I hope she enjoys
her time with Crossroads. It’s a chilly time to arrive in Matsuyama, but I
think this season is one of the best in Japan, and as Grace is from Canada
perhaps she’s used to cold weather. I’m sure all the staff and students will
try to make Grace feel like Matsuyama is her new home now!

Joanna Says:

Welcome, Grace! I hope you bought your scarves andgloves! Actually, it’s not too cold and so I’m not yet dreading the shower inthe morning. However, it is cold enough to really be able to enjoy curling up
in bed with a hot water bottle, while listening to the cold wind and rainhowling outside. Of course, winter is a great time for knitting so I’ll haveplenty to do in my free time over the next few months!

Grace Says: Hello everyone! I am the new Canadian English teacher from
Montreal. Montreal is the bilingual city of Canada where English and French
are spoken daily. Hopefully, my multi-linguistic skills will be a contributing
factor in the teaching process. I am indeed looking forward to my start at
Crossroads. Meeting my fellow co-workers, staff and students will be a pleasure,as will finding some time to explore Matsuyama and its surroundings. See you
all soon!

Greg Says: It’s been a bit of a strange month for me, because I had
chicken pox! At first I thought I was just stressed! But then the doctor told
me it was actually ‘the pox’, and I had to stay at home for a week trying not
to scratch the spots. At one point they were so itchy that I had to wear gloves
to stop myself from scratching too much. I’m much better now though –thank goodness!

Tamara Says: Well, my students made it very difficult for me to leave
Japan, but I’m finally back in Canada! Thank you to everyone for the wonderfulsurprise party, and all the kind words and gifts. I was a bit nervous about seeing
my family and friends again after so long, but everything has been wonderful!
The weather is not so wonderful though! The other day it was -25degrees celcius!
I have to wear lots of clothes to keep warm! Happy Christmas to all!

Yuka Says: 2003 is coming to a close and now is the busiest time of year.
There are a lot of things to be done, and everywhere is crowded. I like this timeof year because it seems that people become more gentle and kind during theChristmas season. I’m having a hard time finding presents though, so this year
I will tell my family that Christmas is about giving love and joy, and not about
getting gifts.

Shouta (in China) says: I am having a good time in Shanghai, and recently I
took part in the Shanghai marathon with many friends. I enjoy going to parties
at night, with my new friends, who are from many different countries, like
Korea and America.
Michiko says: Recently Saori and I appeared on NHK, doing a cookery lesson (in English!)with Joanna. I was quite nervous but we succeeded in making a chicken curry together. I was
too embarrassed to tell my friends and family about it, but they all saw it, and I got lots ofphone calls the next day! I couldn’t watch myself on TV, but I did succeed in making chicken
curry again at home the week after!

Congratulations to:…Naoko on becoming a new mum!
…Saori and Michiko on their TV debut!

Many verbs are made from the word
‘break’. Here are a few of them for you topractice.
To break up – When couples stop datingeach other:

NET LESSONS: Are you too busy to cometo CROSSROADS for English lessons? Tryour lessons on the internet!
It’s CROSSROADS in your home! You get
CROSSROADS’ great teachers, materials, evenclassmates, on-line! Call for details.

NET SITE OF THE MONTH: Check out
international, sport, and movie news in
English at this site;
http://www.guardian.co.uk
NET NOTEBOOK: Take a look at the internet
activity notebook in our open-house. You’ll findgames, news and English learning sites.

“Bob and Tina broke up yesterday”
To break down – When something stops
working:“My car broke down yesterday”
To break into – When someone goes into
somewhere or something illegally.
“Someone broke into my car last night”

Phone: 0120-21-7594
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