for some unexpicable reasons, in italy we get 80's movies (Trading Places (1983) is the top) and asterix cartoons.
I used to wait eagerly for those, to be frank.
Those films in Italy are like Justin Bieber in the music world: almost everyone loves to hate them, I never perused neither of the two (nor I know anyone who does), and they evidently have captured a certain market segment.
Trading Places otoh is broadcasted every single year, so given how it's hard to grow up without a television at home I definitely agree how that's a staple for italian broadcast programming that's part of popculture
I'm pretty sure it's more like 35+ years. Soviet Union has been gone for 23 years now.
It's a Soviet love story where a guy gets so drunk with his buddies that he ends up getting on the plane instead of his friend and goes to another city. Wakes up in the airport, calls a cab, gives him his street address and is dropped off at an identical street with identical apartment building and opens the door with his key, to someone else's apartment.
Unless you lived during those times, it's hard to understand how everything could be nearly identical, but the equality of that was a key soviet ideal. The movie pokes fun at how ridiculous that really is, but at the same time has a love story form in those conditions.
I doubt that narrative would have been allowed even a decade earlier.
The content isn't what's bizarre to me, it's the synchronicity. Everyone watches it together at the same time all around the country. Sort of like a cross between the Macy's parade and A Charle Brown Christmas.
That said, it's a lot of fun.
Source: Lived in Sweden for a few years, watched Kalle Anka with Swedish friends every year.
Kalle Anka provides a excellent time where the parents can take a break after eating the Christmas dinner, drink coffee, and prepare for the event of delivering and opening presents with the children. A break, where everyone is expected lean back, to sit still and be calm.
You happen to speak Swedish? My mother tongue is Finnish, and I had never heard of the Kalle Anka thing, but all my Swedish speaking friends said they have always watched it (and still do).
I was walking down "Christmas Tree Lane" in Alameda a couple days ago and remarking to my mates on how popular culture turns into "Christmas Tradition". Many "Christmas Standards" are merely popular music from days past.
There was a very impressive "Nightmare Before Christmas" display synced to music. (The song "What's This?") Some smart alec walking by commented "someone sure loves their arduino."
If anything should become a new Christmas tradition, I think it should be this David Sedaris essay:
It's also a nice commentary on how traditions change and can become bizarre.
EDIT: I sometimes ask people, "You know that way you feel when you do the Donald Duck voice? Do you think ducks feel like that all the time?" I'm pretty convinced that most people who can do that voice can't do it without a smile in their eyes. When I looked up the definition of "ducky," I found that one of the meanings was, "charming; delightful."
The fact that it ends with the boy kneeling, sobbing over the melted remains of his magical snowman friend explains a lot about why Britons are so cynical I think.
When I was a lad [mid to late 1970s] the BBC Christmas Day movie, every year was The Wizard of Oz. I don't think you've had that kind of 'fixture' in the schedules for a long time now.
My wife and I are in Barcelona at the moment, and yesterday we learned about Caga tió, or "Shitting log", Catalan's version of Santa Claus. It's literally a log with a smiley face.
Each family buys or makes their log and covers the rear with a blanket. Children then hit the log with sticks until it poos presents, often while singing one of several songs.
Alright, so now it's time for weird Christmas things and things about weird Christmas traditions from Scandinavia, here's a (joke? yeah probably) video about some from Norway:
Iceland publishes more books per capita than any other country in the world, with five titles published for every 1,000 Icelanders. But what's really unusual is the timing: Historically, a majority of books in Iceland are sold from late September to early November. It's a national tradition, and it has a name: Jolabokaflod, or the "Christmas Book Flood."
"The culture of giving books as presents is very deeply rooted in how families perceive Christmas as a holiday," says Kristjan B. Jonasson, president of the Iceland Publishers Association. "Normally, we give the presents on the night of the 24th and people spend the night reading. In many ways, it's the backbone of the publishing sector here in Iceland."
It's also interesting that the segment has become a point of heavy discussion of political correctness and genderification and at this point has been censored in many parts
Last year a bl*ck doll was cut, as the stereotype was frowned upon (the airhead blonde doll was kept, and the fat white men) http://www.thelocal.se/20121214/45080
and this year a feminist gender consulting agency counted 293 male vs 22 female characters in the cartoon, and the twitterati went through the roof.
They cut the blonde this year too, and the jewish stereotype.
But that particular scene is so full of political incorrectness, besides being a big sweat shop, I think if they cut all of it there would be nothing left :)
In Poland for every Christmas we're watching "Home Alone". People were filling online petitions when one of main TV stations threatened to drop it last year.
We have the same tradition in Denmark. We exchange presents on December 24th in the evening and during that morning and day the tv is filled with the same cartoons every year. We also have "Disneys Store Juleshow" (Disneys grand Christmas show) with lots of old short cartoons (Donald and his nephews in the snowball fight) and some new clips from Disneys movies. (Cinderellas dress creation, lady and the tramp spaghetti scene, snow white and the party in the hut, and this year; let it go from frozen). That's usually the thing that gets me in the Christmas mood on the 24th :)
55 comments
[ 4.4 ms ] story [ 116 ms ] threadhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTJdmmSTvw8
http://www.fastcompany.com/3040263/its-not-christmas-in-japa...
[1] http://elpais.com/elpais/2014/11/20/icon/1416504630_403302.h...
Trading Places otoh is broadcasted every single year, so given how it's hard to grow up without a television at home I definitely agree how that's a staple for italian broadcast programming that's part of popculture
Here's the film: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073179/
It's a Soviet love story where a guy gets so drunk with his buddies that he ends up getting on the plane instead of his friend and goes to another city. Wakes up in the airport, calls a cab, gives him his street address and is dropped off at an identical street with identical apartment building and opens the door with his key, to someone else's apartment.
Unless you lived during those times, it's hard to understand how everything could be nearly identical, but the equality of that was a key soviet ideal. The movie pokes fun at how ridiculous that really is, but at the same time has a love story form in those conditions.
I doubt that narrative would have been allowed even a decade earlier.
That said, it's a lot of fun.
Source: Lived in Sweden for a few years, watched Kalle Anka with Swedish friends every year.
Now that's Christmas magic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kicdSI_-XpE
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinner_for_One
There was a very impressive "Nightmare Before Christmas" display synced to music. (The song "What's This?") Some smart alec walking by commented "someone sure loves their arduino."
If anything should become a new Christmas tradition, I think it should be this David Sedaris essay:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYdpte1W0vk
It's also a nice commentary on how traditions change and can become bizarre.
EDIT: I sometimes ask people, "You know that way you feel when you do the Donald Duck voice? Do you think ducks feel like that all the time?" I'm pretty convinced that most people who can do that voice can't do it without a smile in their eyes. When I looked up the definition of "ducky," I found that one of the meanings was, "charming; delightful."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Snowman#Animated_film
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfiqrkV_ZqI
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ti%C3%B3_de_Nadal
Each family buys or makes their log and covers the rear with a blanket. Children then hit the log with sticks until it poos presents, often while singing one of several songs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dB_N7-HXTlI
Certainly one of the highlights of our trip.
Spain seems to have multiple poop based Christmas traditions.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j50fA_7TbSI
I won't spoil it by saying anything more... enjoy
Iceland publishes more books per capita than any other country in the world, with five titles published for every 1,000 Icelanders. But what's really unusual is the timing: Historically, a majority of books in Iceland are sold from late September to early November. It's a national tradition, and it has a name: Jolabokaflod, or the "Christmas Book Flood."
"The culture of giving books as presents is very deeply rooted in how families perceive Christmas as a holiday," says Kristjan B. Jonasson, president of the Iceland Publishers Association. "Normally, we give the presents on the night of the 24th and people spend the night reading. In many ways, it's the backbone of the publishing sector here in Iceland."
http://www.npr.org/2012/12/25/167537939/literary-iceland-rev...
Last year a bl*ck doll was cut, as the stereotype was frowned upon (the airhead blonde doll was kept, and the fat white men) http://www.thelocal.se/20121214/45080
and this year a feminist gender consulting agency counted 293 male vs 22 female characters in the cartoon, and the twitterati went through the roof.
http://svenska.yle.fi/artikel/2014/12/24/hejdlos-mansdominan...
How many years until the chinese dolls go?
http://dynamic.hs.fi/arkku/tiedostot/236485051591abb0d7c0235...
Source: Being a swede.