Nollaig shona daoibh go léir!
Here we are then, Christmas Day. I thought I’d do a quick yule blog in between finishing a rather late breakfast and starting the preparations for dinner*.
Let me just wish you all a Merry Christmas, Nollaig Shona, Nadolig Llawen, Fröhliche Weihnachten, Joyeux Noël, Buon Natale, Feliz Navidad, Feliç Nadal, Glædelig Jul, etc…
And in the words of a traditional Irish toast:
Go mbeirimid beo ar an am seo arís!
(“May we live to see this time next year”)
*Roast beef Chateaubriand, with red wine gravy, honey-roast carrots and parsnips, sprouts, and roast potatoes. Preceded by smoked salmon with asparagus and followed by Christmas pudding and, later on, cheese and port.
Update: et voilà
P.S. I couldn’t resist sharing this cartoon from the Christmas issue of Private Eye:
P.P.S. I find it interesting, from a linguistic point of view, how the French “Noel” (or “Noël”) and Irish “Nollaig” evolved from the Latin “Natalis”.
The spelling of “Noël” with a diaeresis over the “e” indicates that the two vowels are pronounced separately rather than as a diphthong. This may be a relic of the missing consonant in “Natalis”.
Perhaps the Welsh “Nadolig” is some sort of Celtic missing link…
In the Dark 
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