Merry Christmas and Happy New Year -Story of Santa Claus
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                                                                                                        19 December, 2009
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Wishing you and your family Merry Christmas* and  ÂÂ
A very healthy, happy and prosperous New Year
* In 1960s and 1970s when India became a popular haunt with Western Hippies looking for Charas ( Marijuana ) to be mast aka stoned , the greeting was changed to Merry Charasmast and Hippy New Year.
Below is a piece on Santa Claus and evolution of Christmas celebrations around the world .I tried to visit as many places as possible associated with Santa Claus , Christ and Mary supposedly buried in Turkey, then known as Asia Minor.
The piece was written for my grand daughter Tara Singh Breuer , now nine years and residing with her parents in their home overlooking Waterloo fields in Brussels.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/DL25Ag02.html
"If one drives from the Turkish city of Fethiye to Antalya, littered with hotels and resorts for millions of tourists who throng its Mediterranean coast, which was known as Lycia in ancient times, after passing innumerable ancient ruins, one reaches the town of Demre, known as Myra in olden days.
In the center of the town one will come across the Church of St Nicholas, the patron saint of children, sailors and the poor and one of the most popular saints in Christianity now associated with the celebration of Christmas. Many legends have been woven around Nicholas, who was the bishop of this church in the 4th century AD and where he died in 342. He was born in about 280 AD in the town of Patara, which the traveler would have passed about 100 kilometers earlier."
Some of you might have read this piece before , so I have added some info about the origins of  the New Year celebrations, now almost universal and the greetings in local languages around the world . Basically , the celebrations began from crop harvesting season by our ancestors and the celebration of the life gifted by mother earth and the Sun , a dominant god in almost all ancient religions and cultures ,and both worshipped in various forms including the fertility cult by all early agricultural societies .
New Year Celebrations ÂÂ
In countries using the Gregorian calendar , the New Year is usually celebrated on January 1. Although by tradition, the Roman calendar began from the first day of March but it was in January (the eleventh month) that the Consuls of ancient Rome assumed the government. Julius Caesar, in 47 BC, created the Julian calendar  It was modified in 44 BC at the time of Mark Antony, then by the emperor Augustus Caesar in 8BC .And finally by Pope Gregory XIII in 1585 , the current calendar which begins on January 1.
Subsequently, it acquired  a religious significance during the Middle Ages and in later centuries. Following the domination of the West and the dissemination of its system to the rest of the world during the twentieth century, January 1 celebrations have become almost universal, even in countries with their own hoary ancient New Year traditions and celebrations (e.g., China , India , Iran etc).
Jamshedi Navroz: Celebration of Life - Jamshedi Navroz ÂÂ
One of the oldest tradition of new year are those of Iran's Zoroastrians or Parsis in India .Their prophet Zarathushtra accorded as much sanctity to nature as to human existence. The Sun became the celestial emblem of the Fire which was kept burning within the homes and fire-temples on earth as an eternal tribute to the spirit of the Creator, Ahura Mazda.ÂÂ
A benediction to the spirit of the Sun proclaims: "When the Sun rises, the land created by Ahura Mazda becomes purified. If the Sun were not to rise, evil forces would devastate all that exists.'' During winter the power of the Sun decreases, the nights are long and cold, nature slumbers.
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Then on March 21, the Sun enters the sign of Aries and this day is known as the Spring or Vernal Equinox. From this day on the power of the Sun waxes, the days get longer and nature rejoices. King Jamshed of the Peshdadian dynasty in ancient Iran introduced the Sun-calendar with the day of the Vernal Equinox as the first day of the year - Naoroz (new day).
Jamshedi Navroz is celebrated not only by the Zoroastrians, but also by Muslims in Iran, Afghanistan, Kurdistan and some parts of the former Soviet Union. Entire families go to the countryside to be close to nature, to celebrate the coming of spring. Iranians prepare a table with seven articles beginning with the letter 'S': Sib (apple), sabzi (vegetable), sirkey (vinegar), soomac (powder), sir (garlic), sikke (coin), senjed (olive).
Both Zoroastrians and Aryans, being of the same stock ie Indo- Iranians, worshipped fire. Parsees in India still do so . Hindus also worship Agni (fire); during Hawans for marriages and other religious and social functions. Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan , north of Iran, told me that in ancient times his country was known as Aagban, Aagbaan etc. which could perhaps mean forest of fire or an arrow of fire. Near Azerbaijan's capital Baku is Atishgah , a temple with a burning fire from natural gas seeping out from earth's crevices .It was believed to have many miraculous powers which brought happiness and wellbeing to visitors and devotees .Located on the silk route, a number of Indian traders- Parsees, Punjabis, Gujaratis and others visited it and built rooms for their stay and for their horses .
In south east Turkey , where the Kurds, an Iranian related people are in majority but their language and culture are suppressed, celebrate Nawroz with great fanfare as a mark of defiance against the unitary Turkish state , whose secular elite celebrates the New Year with European style balls and feasts .
India in its diversity .
A culturally rich and diverse country ,India ,where different regions follow different traditions and cultures the New Year celebrations also manifold. Like other ancient civilizations ,the New Year celebrations are associated with harvesting of crops. Almost every Indian state has its own history and traditions behind the celebrations .So the people celebrate New Year as per their regional calendar with vibrant colors with their own distinctive features .It also provides many lazy Indians in bureaucracy to take another day off from work.
New Year dates of many religions coincide with each other. Baisakhi falls on April 13 or 14 every year and so does Bihu in Assam, Nabo Barsho in Bengal, Puthandu in Tamil Nadu and Pooram Vishu in Kerala. In an agriculturally rich country New Year in different regions of  India are usually celebrated to mark the time for harvesting of crops. In some places, the religious minded people celebrate it to honor Lord Brahma , creator of the universe . Whatever be the reason, the day begins with pooja at homes and temples followed by specific customs and rituals. At the time of New Year, every house is adorned with auspicious flowers, leaves and lights. People also present traditional New Year gifts to their dear ones and share rich meals with families and friends to mark the auspicious day.
- Bohag Bihu - Assamese New Year
- Nabo Barsho - Bengali New Year
- Bestu Varas - Gujarati New Year
- Vishu - Malayalam New Year
- Gudi Padwa - Marathi New Year
- Diwali - Marwari New Year
- Baisakhi - Punjabi New Year
- Losoong - Sikkimese New Year
- Puthandu - Tamil New Year
- Ugadi - Telugu New Year
In north India's agriculturally prominent and prosperous states of Punjab and Haryana , the festival of Lohri "The Bonfire Festival" is celebrated on 13th January every year. The festival marks the solar equinox when the Sun starts moving towards Uttarayan (North). People specially the farming community of Punjab celebrate it with great gusto, zeal and enthusiasm. Bonfires, songs and dance , til Jaggery and peanuts are an essence of Lohri celebrations. In north India , specially in Punjab which  prides itself on its food grain production , its most significant festival is Baisakhi (also called Vaisakhi) .This harvest festival is celebrated on the thirteenth day of April according to the solar calendar.
Pongal is a four-days-long harvest festival in Tamil Nadu, in south India. It falls generally on the 14th or the 15th of January and is the quintessential 'Tamil Festival' . It is a festival of thanksgiving to nature for celebrating the life cycles that give us grain. It takes its name from the Tamil word meaning "to boil" .It is held in the month of Thai (January-February) when rice and other cereals, sugar-cane, and turmeric (an essential ingredient in Tamil cooking) are harvested.
Tamilians say 'Thai pirandhaal vazhi pirakkum', and believe that knotty family problems will be solved with the advent of Thai. This is also traditionally a month of weddings. This is no surprise in a largely agricultural community - the riches gained from a good harvest form the economic basis for expensive family occasions like weddings.
This first day is celebrated as Bhogi festival in honor of Lord Indra, the supreme ruler of clouds that give rains. Homage is paid to Lord Indra for the abundance of harvest, thereby bringing plenty and prosperity to the land. Another ritual observed on this day is Bhogi Mantalu, when useless household articles are thrown into a fire made of wood and cow-dung cakes. Girls dance around the bonfire, singing songs in praise of the gods, the spring and the harvest. The significance of the bonfire, in which is burnt the agricultural wastes and firewood is to keep warm during the last lap of winter.
Chinese New Year or Spring Festival
Chinese New Year or Spring Festival is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays .It is often called the Lunar New Year, especially by people in mainland China and Taiwan. The festival traditionally begins on the first day of the first month (Chinese: æ£月; pinyin: zhÄ“ng yuè) in the Chinese calendar and ends on the 15th; this day is called Lantern Festival. Chinese New Year's Eve is known as ChúxÄ«. It literally means "Year-pass Eve". The Lunisolar Chinese calendar determines New Year dates. The calendar is also used in countries that have adopted or have been influenced by Han culture (notably the Koreans, Japanese and Vietnamese) and may have a common ancestry with the similar New Years festivals outside East Asia .
Chinese New Year falls on different dates each year between January 21 and February 20. In the Chinese calendar , winter solstice must happen in the 11th month, so the Chinese New Year usually falls in the second new moon after the winter solstice (rarely in the third ) In traditional Chinese Culture, lichun is a solar term marking the start of spring, which occurs about February 4.
According to legends, the beginning of Chinese New Year started with a fight against a mythical monster called the Nien (Chinese: 年; pinyin: nián), who would appear on the first day of New Year to devour livestock, crops, and even villagers, especially children. To protect themselves, the villagers would put food in front of their doors at the beginning of every year believing that a food satisfied Nien would spare them .  Once, people saw that the Nien was scared away by a little child wearing red. So, when the New Year is about to commence the villagers hang red lanterns and red spring scrolls on windows and doors. They also use firecrackers to frighten away the Nien. The Nien was eventually captured by Hongjun Laozu, an ancient Taoist monk and became the latter's mount.
The New Year Greetings around the world
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| Language | Happy New Year |
| Afghani | Saale Nao Mubbarak |
| Afrikaans | Gelukkige nuwe jaar |
| Albanian | Gezuar Vitin e Ri |
| Arabic | Antum salimoun |
| Armenian | Snorhavor Nor Tari |
| Assyrian | Sheta Brikhta |
| Azeri | Yeni Iliniz Mubarek! |
| Bengali | Shuvo Nabo Barsho |
| Cambodian | Soursdey Chhnam Tmei |
| Catalan | FELIÇ ANY NOU |
| Chinese | Chu Shen Tan / Xin Nian Kuai Le |
| Corsican Language | Pace e Salute |
| Croatian | Sretna Nova godina! |
| Cymraeg (Welsh) | Blwyddyn Newydd Dda |
| Czechoslovakia | Scastny Novy Rok |
| Danish | Godt Nytår |
| Dhivehi | Ufaaveri Aa Aharakah Edhen |
| Dutch | GELUKKIG NIEUWJAAR! |
| Eskimo | Kiortame pivdluaritlo |
| Esperanto | Felican Novan Jaron |
| Estonians | Head uut aastat! |
| Ethiopian | MELKAM ADDIS AMET YIHUNELIWO! |
| Finnish | Onnellista Uutta Vuotta |
| French | Bonne Annee |
| Gaelic | Bliadhna mhath ur |
| German | Prosit Neujahr |
| Greek | Kenourios Chronos |
| Gujarati | Nutan Varshbhinandan |
| Hawaiian | Hauoli Makahiki Hou |
| Hebrew | L'Shannah Tovah |
| Hindi | Nav varsh ka shubkamnayein |
| Hong Kong (Cantonese) | Sun Leen Fai Lok |
| Hungarian | Boldog Ooy Ayvet |
| Indonesian | Selamat Tahun Baru |
| Iranian | Saleh now mobarak |
| Iraqi | Sanah Jadidah |
| Irish | Bliain nua fe mhaise dhuit |
| Italian | Felice anno nuovo |
| Japanese | Akimashite Omedetto Gozaimasu |
| Kabyle | Asegwas Amegaz |
| Kannada | Hosa Varushadha Shubhashayagalu |
| Kisii | SOMWAKA OMOYIA OMUYA |
| Khmer | Sua Sdei tfnam tmei |
| Korea | Saehae Bock Mani ba deu sei yo! |
| Kurdish | NEWROZ PIROZBE |
| Lithuanian | Laimingu Naujuju Metu |
| Laotian | Sabai dee pee mai |
| Macedonian | Srekjna Nova Godina |
| Malay | Selamat Tahun Baru |
| Marathi | Nveen Varshachy Shubhechcha |
| Malayalam | Puthuvatsara Aashamsakal |
| Maltese | Is-Sena t- Tajba |
| Nepal | Nawa Barsha ko Shuvakamana |
| Norwegian | Godt Nyttår |
| Papua New Guinea | Nupela yia i go long yu |
| Pashto | Nawai Kall Mo Mubarak Shah |
| Persian | Saleh now ra tabrik migouyam |
| Philippines | Manigong Bagong Taon |
| Polish | Szczesliwego Nowego Roku |
| Portuguese | Feliz Ano Novo |
| Punjabi | Nave sal di mubarakan |
| Romanian | AN NOU FERICIT also la multsi An |
| Russian | S Novim Godom |
| Samoa | Manuia le Tausaga Fou |
| Serbo-Croatian | Sretna nova godina |
| Sindhi | Nayou Saal Mubbarak Hoje |
| Singhalese | Subha Aluth Awrudhak Vewa |
| Siraiki |
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