Holidays

'I wish you all the very best': Holiday message from Principal Wisdom Tettey

lanthierj — Mon, 11 Dec 2023 18:24:13 +0000

'I wish you all the very best': Holiday message from Principal Wisdom Tettey lanthierj Mon, 12/11/2023 - 13:24

Topic

Our Community

UTogether

Wisdom Tettey

Holidays

U of T Scarborough

Subheadline

'I want to thank you most sincerely for everything that you've done to sustain our mission'

In his annual holiday message, Wisdom Tettey, ��Ƶ vice-president and principal, U of T Scarborough, thanks the entire university community for helping advance the university’s mission and urges everyone to enjoy a much needed break.

“I want to wish you the very best of the holiday season and entreat all of you to take advantage of the break to renew, to refresh and to enjoy the season with loved ones and friends.”

Tettey says he is looking forward to continuing U of T Scarborough’s commitment to sustainability and inclusive excellence in the new year.

“So until we meet again, I wish you all the very best. Happy holidays and a very happy new year filled with excitement, possibilities and positive energy.”

In holiday message, President Meric Gertler celebrates community's work on sustainability

lanthierj — Thu, 07 Dec 2023 12:56:42 +0000

In holiday message, President Meric Gertler celebrates community's work on sustainability lanthierj Thu, 12/07/2023 - 07:56

Topic

Our Community

UTogether

Office of the President

President Meric Gertler

Subheadline

‘Your scholarship, innovation and leadership are making a huge difference'

In his annual holiday message released today, ��Ƶ President Meric Gertler celebrates the work of students, faculty, librarians, staff and alumni to build a “sustainable, equitable and inclusive” future – across the three campuses and around the world.

“We’re partnering with remote communities to track and fight climate change, we’re creating clean energy solutions, remediating pollution – and so much more,” he says in the video, noting that QS Top Universities recently ranked U of T first in the world for sustainability, “recognizing our ability to tackle the world’s greatest environmental, social and governance challenges.”

In a year marked by deeply upsetting global events, the president also calls on members of the community to build bridges, foster mutual respect and understanding, and advance the search for peace.

“And during the upcoming break, let’s take time to rest and recharge with family and friends,” the president says.

“I wish you all the best in the year to come.”

From Santa Claus to KFC: Tracing the origins of modern Christmas traditions

lanthierj — Tue, 20 Dec 2022 12:33:42 +0000

From Santa Claus to KFC: Tracing the origins of modern Christmas traditions

lanthierj Tue, 12/20/2022 - 07:33

Cutline

A statue of Colonel Sanders in Santa outfit is pictured on December 23, 2020 in Tokyo, Japan (photo by Yuichi Yamazaki/Getty Images)

Topic

Research & Innovation

U of T Mississauga

Every year, families who celebrate Christmas decorate their tree and hang stockings in anticipation of the arrival of Santa Claus. But what does this have to do with the religious holiday itself?

Exactly how a celebration of the birth of Jesus became what it is today is difficult to trace, yet there are some clues to the cultural origins of modern Christmas celebrations, says U of T Mississauga history of religions professor Kyle Smith. While it’s hard to identify a single moment it all began, the second half of the 19th century is when some significant changes in the celebration of Christmas occurred, he says.

“Dutch immigrants to the United States, specifically to New York, are really important for the history of Christmas,” Smith says.

As immigrants from the Netherlands, Germany and other parts of Europe arrived in New York, they brought with them their own Christmas traditions. Because North America and Europe are situated in the Northern Hemisphere, where December is a cold month, those traditions reflect that.

Santa Claus is an obvious feature in modern Christmas celebrations. His origins relate to the Catholic St. Nicholas of Myra. In the Catholic Church, St. Nicholas’ feast day is Dec. 6, close to Christmas time. Known as a “gift giver,” he’s been venerated since late antiquity.

But the story of how the saint became Santa involves Dutch immigrants. The Dutch had their own tradition of a figure named Sinterklaas – based on St. Nicholas. Sinterklaas visits families during their Christmas feasts to offer gifts, as per Dutch tradition.

Nineteenth-century American book illustration for poem Twas the Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore (1779-1863) (Photo by Corbis via Getty Images)

As the Dutch arrived in New York – where an explosive literary culture took hold of the idea of Sinterklaas – stories and images of Santa Claus began to spread. Works penned in the United States by Washington Irving and Clement Clark Moore (‘Twas the Night Before Christmas) and in England by Charles Dickens (A Christmas Carol), among several other writers and illustrators, helped lead to Christmas taking a newer, commercialized form.

“It has to do with European immigration to the United States and this sort of creation happening in New York through a number of different writers and illustrators,” Smith says.

Moore’s stories developed ideas of Santa being an elf with reindeer who comes down the chimney. While Dickens’ stories, notably A Christmas Carol, drove the celebrations to be focused on children’s gifts and domestic feasts.

Santa Claus in Camp (published in Harper's Weekly,
January 3, 1863) (image from Library of Congress)

Santa Claus, as he is known today, first appeared in Harper’s Magazine in 1863 in an illustration by Thomas Nast. He’s shown as a plump elf with a beard and a hat, and of course, is a gift-giver.

“It’s completely fair to claim that Santa Claus is an American invention,” Smith says.

But one of the first Santa Claus parades took place in Toronto in 1905, and was held as a promotional event by Timothy Eaton for his department stores.

Stockings would have been one of the promoted products, another modern Christmas tradition alongside the tree and Santa Claus. Their origins, however, are a bit grimmer; they stem from a story of St. Nicholas as a bishop in the 4th century in Myra, in present-day Demre on the Mediterranean coast of Türkiye.

“There was this father who had three daughters, and he was very poor,” Smith says. “In order to feed himself he was on the verge of having to sell all three daughters.

“Supposedly, Nicholas comes and throws three bags of gold either through the window or through the chimney. And according to the story, the daughters hang their stockings to dry and one of the sacks of gold falls into the stocking.”

The story has seen different versions and alterations through the centuries.

Picture shows St. Nicholas from an etching by Muller after a painting by Boutet de Monvel. Undated. (Image by Bettman/Getty Images)

The origin of the Christmas tree is also elusive. Smith says there’s a long history of people in Europe bringing greenery into their homes during the cold winter months and decorating them. But the modern Christmas tree as we know it, he says, originates from 19th century Germany. That’s why it’s usually a fir tree or a pine tree, and almost never a palm tree. But the exact origins remain extremely difficult to pinpoint.

“There’s no aha moment to say, ‘Oh that’s a Christmas tree,’” Smith says.

Before the modern celebrations, Christmas involved dancing, costuming and feasting.

“We don’t necessarily associate dance parties and costuming, but that is what the Christmas celebration was very much so in medieval Europe,” he says.

In 12th-century London, a big feast would have been thrown by lords and nobles to express generosity, featuring such offerings as goats, chickens and barrels of wine.

The feasting tradition changed into a gift-giving tradition in the 19th century. Christmas marketing and advertising shifted from primarily being about food in the early 19th century to being about toys in the late 19th century.

Some modern celebrations have taken on unexpected turns. For example, in Japan, where there are few Christians, a popular Christmas celebration is to order KFC takeout.

“It clearly has nothing to do with Christianity or the nativity of Jesus, but it’s become this cultural thing,” Smith says. “That’s a result of 150 years of the spread of American commercialism. Christmas is exported to places that have zero cultural and historical connection to the celebration.”

With all the pomp around Christmas, it’s important to note that for most of Christian history, Easter was considered a far more important holiday.

“We have no idea when Jesus was born,” Smith says.

He explains there are no textual records that identify a year, month, day or season when Jesus of Nazareth was born. The date of Dec. 25 stems from winter solstice celebrations held by Romans. While the solstice is now on Dec. 21, it was on Dec. 25 before Julius Caesar reformed the Roman calendar in 44 BCE.

It wasn’t until 325 CE at the First Council of Nicaea that Christmas was decreed to be on Dec. 25. It fit pre-existing celebrations at the time of the winter solstice, including the pagan Feast of the Unconquered Sun.

But the idea of Jesus being born on Dec. 25 stuck.

“The most compelling theory is the whole point of the idea of the Messiah coming into the world at its darkest hour,” Smith says.

In the Northern Hemisphere, that is.

'Good health and happy holidays': A message from Alexandra Gillespie

lanthierj — Wed, 07 Dec 2022 20:18:19 +0000

'Good health and happy holidays': A message from Alexandra Gillespie lanthierj Wed, 12/07/2022 - 15:18

Topic

As the holiday season approaches, Alexandra Gillespie, ��Ƶ vice-president and principal, U of T Mississauga, urges students, faculty, staff, librarians and alumni to find time to “rest, relax and enjoy the company of friends.”

In her message, Gillespie reflects on how the community has come together again on campus, following the biggest back-to-school ever.

In the past few months, she notes, U of T Mississauga has raised a tipi for Indigenous ceremony and connection, opened a nation-leading student robotics lab, expanded a network for diabetes care and is preparing to open one of the greenest lab spaces in North America.

Most importantly, U of T Mississauga has welcomed an extraordinary group of students who continue to “create new knowledge and new collaborations and to find new ways to lift each other up,” she says.

“I’m deeply grateful to be part of this community and to have the opportunity to work, learn, and give back with you,” says Gillespie. “On behalf of U of T Mississauga, I wish you good health and happy holidays.”

'Heartfelt gratitude': A holiday message from Wisdom Tettey

lanthierj — Wed, 07 Dec 2022 19:28:50 +0000

'Heartfelt gratitude': A holiday message from Wisdom Tettey lanthierj Wed, 12/07/2022 - 14:28

Topic

In his annual message, Wisdom Tettey, ��Ƶ vice-president and principal, U of T Scarborough, extends his “heartfelt gratitude” to the community for upholding a shared commitment to inclusive excellence.

There was a lot to be thankful for this year, Tettey says.

Among the highlights he cites: U of T Scarborough hosted its first homecoming this fall, welcoming more than 5,000 alumni and community members to campus. There was exciting progress made on the Scarborough Academy of Medicine and Integrated Health (SAMIH), a world-class facility that will help train health-care professionals in Scarborough for the first time. U of T Scarborough also hosted the second National Dialogues and Action, and received a healthy campus designation under the Okanagan Charter.

“You have shown we are able to defy gravity and make the seemingly impossible possible when we work in unison,” Tettey says.

President Meric Gertler wishes U of T community 'all the best in the year to come'

lanthierj — Wed, 07 Dec 2022 17:23:24 +0000

President Meric Gertler wishes U of T community 'all the best in the year to come' lanthierj Wed, 12/07/2022 - 12:23

Topic

Our Community

Holidays

President Meric Gertler

St. George campus

U of T Mississauga

U of T Scarborough

As 2022 draws to a close, there’s “a sense of energy and enthusiasm” across the ��Ƶ’s three campuses, President Meric Gertler says.

In his annual holiday message, the president looks back on a year that saw the return of in-person graduation celebrations at Convocation Hall and the biggest back-to-school season in U of T’s history – and reflects on how it feels to be together once again.

“The past year has also brought its share of challenges for all of us,” President Gertler says. “But thanks to you, the ��Ƶ is a tremendous source of hope.”

He congratulates members of the U of T community on their accomplishments and thanks them for their contributions – from tackling the climate crisis and “addressing urgent needs in the city around us,” to offering refuge to scholars fleeing war and oppression.

“I wish you and your loved ones a wonderful holiday season, and all the best in the year to come.”

President Meric Gertler wishes U of T community 'a healthy and happy holiday season’

lanthierj — Fri, 10 Dec 2021 20:15:34 +0000

President Meric Gertler wishes U of T community 'a healthy and happy holiday season’ lanthierj Fri, 12/10/2021 - 15:15

Topic

Our Community

Holidays

Our Community

President Meric Gertler

St. George

U of T Mississauga

U of T Scarborough

In an eventful year that included a safe return to in-person activities, members of the ��Ƶ community are being reminded to take pride in all they have accomplished in 2021.

In his annual holiday message, President Meric Gertler congratulates faculty, staff, students, alumni, partners and friends – and thanks them for their contributions to the fight against COVID-19, anti-Black racism, climate change and more.

“Congratulations on your many individual accomplishments and thank you for your contributions to our collective success,” the president says.

“I wish you a healthy and happy holiday season with family and friends, and all the best in the new year.”

'Good health and happiness': A holiday message from U of T President Meric Gertler

Christopher.Sorensen — Wed, 09 Dec 2020 17:00:32 +0000

'Good health and happiness': A holiday message from U of T President Meric Gertler Christopher.Sorensen Wed, 12/09/2020 - 12:00

Topic

As 2020 draws to a close, members of the ��Ƶ community have much to be proud of, U of T President Meric Gertler says.

In his annual holiday message, President Gertler praises the resilience and leadership of the university’s students, faculty, staff and alumni, saying that although holiday gatherings may be limited this year, reasons for celebrating are not.

“Let's remember how much we've accomplished in this extraordinary time, individually and collectively,” President Gertler says. “Let's continue to support each other and let's take advantage of the holiday season, to rest and recharge.

“We wish you, and your loved ones, good health and happiness now and in the year to come.”

Happy Holidays – see you in January!

Christopher.Sorensen — Fri, 20 Dec 2019 21:29:49 +0000

Happy Holidays – see you in January! Christopher.Sorensen Fri, 12/20/2019 - 16:29

Topic

The ��Ƶ will be closed from Monday, Dec. 23 to Friday, Jan. 3, 2020 – and U of T News will be closed as well.

We will return to our regular publishing schedule on Jan. 6, 2020.

See you then!

– the U of T News team

U of T President Meric Gertler wishes U of T community happy holidays (video)

geoff.vendeville — Tue, 03 Dec 2019 20:35:19 +0000

U of T President Meric Gertler wishes U of T community happy holidays (video) geoff.vendeville Tue, 12/03/2019 - 15:35

Topic

Meric Gertler, the president of the ��Ƶ, is wishing the entire U of T community happy holidays in his annual video message to students, staff and faculty before the winter break.

He also looks back on some of the big moments of the past year, including breaking ground on the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Centre, the country-wide celebration of the Toronto Raptors' first NBA championship and the hard work that contributed to U of T once again being ranked the top university in Canada and among the top 10 public universities in the world.

“As we look ahead to 2020, I would like to thank you for your contribution to our shared success and I congratulate you on your many individual accomplishments,” President Gertler said.

“I wish you a peaceful holiday season and health and happiness in the year to come.”