Awesomeness

[darcydodo]

blackherring is entirely and utterly talented. She's made wonderful postcards of the Hebrew alphabet. Go look at them, you are commanded.

Besides, some of them have dragons.

Yes, I'm predictable.

Comments

[emidala.livejournal.com]

gorgeous. I want these for my name day!

[darcydodo]

What's a name day? Is that the saint's day whose name you have? *is ignorant*

[emidala.livejournal.com]

sort of (that's how it is in the orthodox church: in greece, your name day is more important than your birthday), except that there are no saints in the swedish church. :)

in the swedish calendar, every day has two to three names (except for the "big" days, such as adam and eva). emma is july 23 (the day after my birthday, how convenient). kerstin (my first middle name) is july 24 (purely accidental... but annoying). my third name (minerva) has no actual name day, but in the spirit of good socialist equality, there is a day for "all the other names" (ie, non-swedish names) when people who are called ali and giorgos and chen can celebrate. very convenient! :)

[darcydodo]

No saints? What about Saint Lucia??

So, what, it's equivalently a few more birthdays? Do you get presents and cake and ice cream? :)

[emidala.livejournal.com]

she is not celebrated as a saint. she does have her day (dec 13), but it is a remnant from our catholic past. :)

if you're lucky, you'll get cake, and if you are super lucky and an only child, you get presents. it's more a thing when people say "oh, happy nameday" and that's it. I find it charming, though, and like to make as much as possible out of it - perhaps it is a way for me to preserve my scandinavian-ness while in exile!

[darcydodo]

And St Olaf is no longer a saint, either? Does this mean he's simply reverted to being Olaf the Fat? :)

Speaking of Sweden, livredor (who also knows Adam J) has a job interview in Sweden, I think next week. Do you have any advice for her?

[emidala.livejournal.com]

they are saints, but saints are not celebrated. in a way, they're just a remnant from pre-lutheran times: we don't really care about them (or remember them!).

what sort of interview? is it for a position in academia, and if so, in which field and where?

[darcydodo]

I just realized this post is unlocked, unlike all of my others, so maybe I should retreat to a locked post somewhere to continue this discussion.

[emidala.livejournal.com]

then lock it - or email me. I'd be happy to help! :)