tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sat Dec 04 21:23:33 1999
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Re: qISmaS
> Yeah... I mean, the Hebrew term for Christmas is <Hag ha-molad> (the H like
> Klingon H, the h like English h). Nothing that sounds at all like
> /krIsm@s/. If you want to *transliterate* it, yes, as above works okay.
> Is that what Klingons studying Terran culture call it? I wouldn't presume
> to say.
Interesting point. The Hebrew term "molad" refers to the moment that the Moon lies right between the
Earth and the Sun, a.k.a. the "birth of the new moon." It becomes very important when trying to
convert to Hebrew dates (something I was just working on yesterday, as luck would have it!). Not
sure how "Holiday of the birth of the new moon" is the name for Christmas by any way other than
someone localizing the term rather than just transcribing the sounds. So there is some precedent for
Klingon terms that are the Klingon impression of a Terran holiday.
>
> What's the English word for Purim (the Jewish holiday)? Or for that matter
> orangutan and taco? (but by the same token you can't always assume
> transliteration)
The term means "lots" based on the lots that were thrown. But there is enough strange imagery in any
holiday that the Klingon term might not in any way be related to the Terran name (the Hebrew name
for Christmas being a great example).
michka