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With Easter just gone, here are some Easter terms that you see in crossword clues. The names of these special dates remind us of days gone by when life was very much slower. Most people were peasants working in the fields, living in close communities and had a strong faith.
Shrove Tuesday, the old name for Pancake Day, is the day before Lent. The word shrove means having been shriven or having made a confession and been absolved. In the past, this was the day that games and sports were played and all meat, eggs and milk were used up, in preparation for the 40 days of Lent, which meant going without meat and dairy food. So they made pancakes and ate them.
The next day is Ash Wednesday, first day of Lent, when ashes are worn on the forehead as a sign of humility and sorrow.
Maundy Thursday, known as the Day of the Last Supper, comes from the Latin mandatum, meaning commandment, and refers to the ceremony in which the priest washes the feet of the poor people. The following day is Good Friday, or Holy Friday, when Jesus died. You may ask what was good about it? It may be that it was once called Gods Friday and changed over the years, just as good-bye used to be God be with you.
The word Easter is clued in our crosswords as Paschal festival. Paschal comes from Pesach or Passover, the Jewish festival celebrating the escape of the Israelites from Egypt.
Children today could be forgiven for thinking that Easter is the time of year when chocolate ripens, is harvested, and is suddenly available in huge quantities in supermarkets in the shape of rabbits, chicks and eggs.
Enjoy the chocolate but if you want to get a more lasting or healthy present, dont forget a Lovatts subscription it wont rot your teeth but it will boost your brain!
Happy Easter!
Dear Christine.
A little grouch about winning a Gremlin Fridge Magnet. I would love to win one but feel I have NO chance whatsoever.Why?
A friend of mine in Sydney received her May Big issue on Wednesday 22nd April, yet my copy arrived in Adelaide on Tuesday 28th April, a difference of 6 days!
I spotted a Gremlin in your last Variety magazine but was behind the eight ball as the magazine arrived days after an Interstate person had already claimed the magnet.
On that occasion I also sent you an e-mail pointing out what had occurred but I never received a reply. I’d be pleased if you could look into a method where each subscriber has an equal chance.
With kind regards.
G. (Danny) van Doorn
Subscriber.
Dear Danny
Thanks for your email. Im sorry about the Gremlin situation. All our magazines are dispatched from a Sydney mail centre and as mail doesnt always operate over weekends, then gaps of up to a week are unavoidable, particularly across such a huge country as ours.
However, we do ensure all subscribers, regardless of the state they live in, receive their copy before it is available in shops, to allow sufficient time to get comp entries in, but theres no way we could ensure that they all arrive at exactly the same time all around Australia.
We try really hard to avoid Gremlins appearing in our magazines at all, however when we are made aware of a Gremlin we feel it is very important to alert readers as soon as possible.
Im sorry you didnt get a response to your email regarding the crimp etymology, we always try to answer all queries and I dont remember reading this one, so it must have slipped through the cracks.
According to the Oxford Dictionary, which is where I usually take the etymology from, crimp comes from the Old English geocrympan, from the Dutch krimpen shrink, wrinkle . These words are connected in a way – think of the word wither, it means become shrunken and wrinkled and when you think of the bottom of a tube of toothpaste, it has lines on it (wrinkles) and its squeezed tightly together as if its shrunk.
However, you may well be right, rimpel is closer to the word crimp I suppose even the Oxford cant be right all the time.
You obviously know your Dutch vocabulary and theres a close link between our English language and Dutch – many words have crossed back and forth between the two languages. I love to get feedback, so thanks for your interesting information and if you send me your address, Ill send you a Gremlin magnet for spotting this flaw.
Happy puzzling!
Christine