In the Western world (whatever that may mean) the Christmas season is virtually inescapable. We have come to accept certain images quite matter-of-factly. The white Christmas stereotype, which doesn't make much sense in Australia or Argentina, is one of those Eurocentric references. The truth is Christmas is full of amusing contradictions. For example, some of the most beloved Christmas song (like the aforementioned "White Christmas") were written by Jewish composers. The alleged date of the birth of Christ, which was officially established in the 4th century, is most likely wrong. According to most scholars, Jesus was probably born between 6 and 4 B.C. Anyhow, for those of you that have a weakness for that sort of thing here you have an entertaining list of bizarre facts about Christmas.
Of course, Christmas is not a universal festivity. In Arab states and some Asian countries, for instance, Christmas is still foreign and exotic, not unlike Ramadan or the Chinese New Year in Spain. Speaking of China, how many times have we heard that someone's niece is learning "Chinese"? We all kind of understand what people mean by that, but strictly speaking that is not accurate at all. As I have often said in the classroom, there several languages which certain people keep calling "Chinese". I'm referring to Mandarin, Wu, Cantonese, Jin, Gang, Hakka, Min, Xiang, Ping, etc... All of them are mutually unintelligible. So is it really okay to lump them together? Something analogous happens to Arabic. Anyway, the cartoon below is quite the eye-opener:
