When I look in the stats, there are a gazillion referrals from Google images which aren't telling me much. What, more people are looking for pictures of falafel since Saturday? I don't get it. So where are you people coming from?
And by the way, this is what Israelis call "New Years".I thought you'd want to know.
In case you're wondering, we're firmly entrenched at #1 for a search of "Gaza chumus Bar Rafaeli". And "Hamas yiyeh b'seder". And "Tel Aviv ehhhhhhh Rick roll". And I just spent 10 minutes of my life trying different combinations. "Pushing terror shawarma" sadly didn't make the cut.
That's all I got. Life's continuing as normal. In fact, just the other day at work, my co-worker brought her four year-0ld and his friend into the office to play while she was getting stuff done. Suddenly, this happened.
Co-worker, "Hoh-lee sheet!"
Kid, supposedly out of earshot: "Mah zeh hoh-lee sheet?"
Me: (laughs hysterically)
Happy New Year!
10 comments:
Apparently, the patron saint of the 31st of December is Saint Silvester.
Why do Israelis name this day according to a Christian saint is beyond me...
By the way, I bumped into your blog from another blog.
And didn't he kill Jews or something? Ayn li koach...somebody do some research.
If I'm not mistaken, Mother's Day is called Tweety Bird.
I got a whole long e-mail about how Saint Silvester killed Jews. So why not just call in New Year?
Actually Mother's Day is called "M day" (yom ha eM)
I cracked up at your cartoon.
When I first came to Israel in 1980, I remember Israelis asking me if I celebrate Sylvester. I had no clue what they were talking about at that time.
I think (a guess) it has something to do with wanting to emulate what is European and cool.
Funny no one calls it "Jesus' Brit Milah- or Yom HaBrit???...I can't figure out why this date is a new year- Rosh Hashanah - as far as seasons go, makes more sense to me--At any rate--PEACE--MS
From Simpletoremember.com (http://www.simpletoremember.com/vitals/NewYearsHistory.htm)
"The Israeli term for New Year's night celebrations, 'Sylvester,' was the name of the 'Saint' and Roman Pope who reigned during the Council of Nicaea (325 C.E.).
The year before the Council of Nicaea convened, Sylvester convinced Constantine to prohibit Jews from living in Jerusalem.
At the Council of Nicaea, Sylvester arranged for the passage of a host of viciously anti-Semitic legislation.
All Catholic 'saints' are awarded a day on which Christians celebrate and pay tribute to that saint's memory. December 31 is Saint Sylvester Day - hence celebrations on the night of December 31 are dedicated to Sylvester's memory."
Thanks to wikipedia and my boyfriend trying to convince me of something that I couldn't believe it to be true, here is what they say:
"Some churches celebrate the Feast of the Circumcision of Christ on January 1, based on the belief that Jesus was born on December 25, and that, according to Jewish tradition, his circumcision would have taken place on the eighth day of his life (which would be January 1)."
Who knew we were celebrating a brit mila?? Don't ask me about Sylvestor but then again, your other readers did the research so there you go...
Enjoy whatever form of celebration you do tonight!
Just to let you know Benji . . .
Your blog is number one for "ech omrim" searches as well.
Have a wonderful day!
Oy, maybe you shouldn't have called your blog "what war zone", it must be confusing to many ;-)
Not me though: I'm smart. Ehhh, I mean: I visit your site regularly since several weeks already.
Oh but you really ARE #1 google-search for "b'ima sheli"! I cannot believe it, b'ima sheli!
Sylvester / Sylvestre (in French), didn't know he was a pope... in French we usually say "beuverie du nouvel an". Down to the facts.
Happy beuverie everyone!
I did a quick research regarding the role of the Pope Sylvester I in the 4th Century persecution of Jews. All claims that Sylvester I convinced the Emperor Constantine I to ban the Jews from living in Jerusalem seem to be based on the same December 23, 1996 article from the U.S. News and World Report (http://www.simpletoremember.com/vitals/NewYearsHistory.htm). So far I could not find any historical sources that would substantiate this claim, and would appreciate if somebody would point such source to me.
Moreover, it seems that the Jews were banned from living in Jerusalem by the Emperor Hadrian, following the Second Jewish Revolt (almost two centuries before the reign of Sylvester I and Constantine I). Apparently, Constantine I actually allowed the Jews to enter Jerusalem on Tish’a Be-Av.
In Israel I have often heard the claim that celebrating the New Year’s Eve is a tribute to a fierce persecutor of the Jews named Sylvester (this claim being raised mostly by the religious, and typically presented in a generic context of anti-secular resentment). This is then often repeated by secular Jews (for no understandable reasons) without verification. The 4th Century seems indeed to be characterized by strong anti-Jewish sentiments among the so-called “Fathers of the Church”, but we just know too little about the Pope Sylvester I to attribute the persecutions directly to him. It also seems that the Emperor Constantine I disliked the Jews enough and did not need anybody to incite him against the Jews. In any case, the claim that the Jews were banned from living in Jerusalem by Constantine I seems to be simply incorrect.
I am Jewish and Israeli.
Nahum
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