2014年12月18日 星期四

Jingle Bells

Jingle Bells, one of the most popular Christmas songs, also has a Taiwanese version. Since there is no White Christmas in Taiwan, ever, so the sleigh-ride-inspired lyrics have been reasonably changed to Santa Claus and his presents:


Not many in Taiwan knew who Santa was, not until the 1950s anyway. Then all of a sudden, pictures of a jolly Santa Claus appeared everywhere. In 1963, Christmas Day became a national holiday; although it was officially the Constitution Day. It was scrapped in 2001, now observed only in Protestant and Catholic schools.

According to Medford Historical Society (see photos below), the birthplace of Jingle Bells is Medford, Massachusetts, a tiny town 6 miles northwest of Boston, off I-93, and 7,694 miles from Tamsui:
A plaque seen on 19 High Street, Medford Square
Simpson Tavern ca 1884, now an empty brick storefront
James Pierpont composed the song at Simpson Tavern and first performed it in 1850. He later moved to Savannah, Georgia, and published the song in 1857 (hence the persistent misunderstanding that the song was first written there). He passed away in Savannah, although was buried back in his hometown, Medford.
Sleigh races on Salem St in East Medford, ca 1883
Temporal and spatial connection through a song? You bet. Merry Christmas, everyone!

at

5 則留言:

  1. 匿名2014年12月20日 上午9:57

    Merry Christmas EyeDoc.
    I saw that plaque on boston.com a few days ago too (~!) About 10 ~15 years ago in Taiwan there was sort of a rejuvenation of the Christmas spirit, people doing carols, music, lights, even having the day off, but now-a-days there is really nothing here that reminds anyone that is Christmas time. (except for a few Catholic churches), It is just another work day to most people. . ~ best wishes - marc

    回覆刪除
  2. EyeDoc2014年12月20日 上午11:49

    Hi Marc, Merry Christmas!

    I must have passed by 19 High Street in Medford Square a million times until boston.com pointed out the existence of that plaque. And we regularly travel on Salem Street to a Taiwanese restaurant in Malden, never know it was where sleigh races took place. There are numerous such historical gems around here, almost like Tamsui.

    Too bad they cancelled Christmas in Taiwan. I still remember my very first Christmas present, a water color set, received when I was in the 4th grade.

    Best regards,

    HM

    回覆刪除
  3. 匿名2014年12月20日 下午5:16

    HM, sorry we didn't have more time to talk on your last visit. I think there were too many interesting people at our dinner table.

    I forget to mention two other nice things about Taiwan this time of year... the delicious mandarin oranges and the amazing poinsettias everywhere. - marc

    btw - lookup the Wayside Inn and the Beekman Arms on Amazon - you will find two good books written by my bro. The Beekman Arms is in Rhinbeck NY, nearby where I grew up.

    回覆刪除
  4. EyeDoc2014年12月20日 晚上9:20

    That was my second dinner in that evening. I did enjoy listening in on the conversation, though.

    Glad to know poinsettias are still popular, kids were warned that they were poisonous when first appeared (in the 50s, I think). Which is not true at all. Oranges are always in season right before Lunar New Year. The original bigger version of mandarin oranges 椪柑 was decimated by a disease，probably has not recovered yet.

    I'll look up the books. Thanks.

    回覆刪除
  5. EyeDoc2014年12月20日 晚上9:31

    Come to think of it, there was an argument over how Christmas should be translated. The initial version 聖誕節 conflicted with many 聖 deities in Taiwan, it was therefore changed to 耶誕節. 耶 is short for 耶穌 Jesus, pronounced Ye-su in mandarin as in German without the s. Taiwanese pronunciation is Ya-so, seems to be in that way since the publication of the first Holy Bible in Taiwanese language. Not sure how that got started.

    回覆刪除