Et oui, nous sommes le 6 décembre, jour de la fête de Saint-Nicolas!
Also called Nikolaos of Myra, Saint-Nicolas was a Greek Bishop of Myra (Demre, in Lycia, part of modern-day Turkey) and became a legendary saint of the 4th century. He had a reputation for secret gift-giving, such as putting coins in the shoes of those who left them out for him, and later became the model for Santa Claus, whose modern name comes from the Dutch Sinterklaas.
Dans ma famille, mi-belge, mi-française, mais au lifestyle à 100% québécois (!), ce fut jadis une tradition de laisser nos petits souliers devant la porte de notre chambre et d’espérer toute la nuit que nous avions été assez sages tout au long de l’année afin de mériter une récompense le lendemain matin. My mother used to tell my three sisters and I that the bad children would receive coal that would dirty their shoes, and the good ones would get goodies like oranges, nuts, and chocolate. Of course, we only got some sweets, little angels as we were! 
Je ne sais pas si vous êtes comme moi, mais j’accorde une grande importance aux noms des célébrations, des personnes et des lieux qui m’entourent. Par exemple, le 6 décembre, je sais que ce sera une bonne journée, car c’est ma fête, la fête de tous les Nicolas de ce monde! Je me lève le matin en me disant: ouiiiiiii, c’est la St-Nicolas, ne me faites pas … Doupidoupidouuuuu!!!
Then, there are the street names. When I saw that Isabellastraβe was located very close to my flat, I thought: Yeeaaaahhhh, I have a good feeling about this place! Any name referring to your own name, your previous street address, your former dog’s nickname or your best friend’s ex-boyfriend will convey a good or bad feeling to your day.
Or will simply spice up your daily conversation.
When you learn a new language, you discover that you sometimes have words in common with your own language. C’est juste que la signification diffère légèrement…. Et peut causer des fous rires généralisés! Bon, pardonnez mon manque de raffinement à venir, mais c’est la St-Nicolas, alors je peux bien faire et dire ce que je veux, na na na!!!
In German, a trip or a journey is a Fahrt. So, every time my British boyfriend sees an add from the Deutsche Bahn (la compagnie de train allemande) encouraging its customers to enjoy their Groβe Fahrt, he can’t help it, I can’t help it: we start laughing! There was also that cute children movie that has been a big hit this summer in Germany:
And there are the street and square names like Bummstraβe, Scheidplatz, and Willibaldplatz… Oooh, it’s just funny!!!
J’en aurais long à raconter à propos des différences rigolotes entre le Québec et la Bavière, mais je préfère garder du mystère et vous révéler mes histoires fofolles au compte-gouttes!
Be sure to come back tomorrow to read more about my
Folles Aventures Européennes!
