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Holiday - This word derives from haligdaeg, a 14th Century Old English term deriving from halig, “holy,” and daeg, “day.” Back then the word meant both “religious festival” and “day of recreation.” By the 16th Century the word had taken on its present-day meaning.

Hairsbreadth or hair’s-breadth - A small space, distance or margin, referring to the width of a hair. The word breadth has its origins in 1523, coming from the Old English “bread” probably an analogy to length because bread loafs were sometimes long. The thickness of a hair is generally between 60-90 microns (millionths of a meter) in European populations, but can average 120 microns in some Asian populations. Pretty small!

Sloe gin - A sweet reddish liquor consisting of green spirits flavored chiefly with sloes. As a kind of gin, the term came on the scene about 1895. What are sloes? A small dark astringent fruit of the blackthorn.

Auld lang syne - This phrase comes from the Old Scot dialect, meaning “old long ago.” Two versions of the poem set to music remain; at one time there may have been others. Allan Ramsay’s version was set down by Samuel Johnson in 1788, and Robert Burns’ version in 1796; however it is Robert Burns’ poem that became enshrined by generations of New Year’s Eve revelers down through the ages as the quintessential song of friendship and fond memories.

Baubles - This word got its start around 1320. It derives from the Old French baubel meaning “child’s toy” or “trinket.” It probably derives from bel, from the Latin bellus, meaning “pretty.”

Bubbly - Bubble derives from the 14th Century, 1398 to be exact, coming from the Middle Dutch bobble and/or the Middle Late German bubbeln. The first reference to bubbly as champagne came in 1920, shortened from bubbly water (1910).

Adieu - The word comes from the phrase, “a dieu (vous) commant,” meaning “I commend you to God.” It is Old French and date from around 1374. The word was originally said by the person leaving. The person staying behind would answer by saying “farewell.”

Note: The fact that baubles, bubbly and adieu come from the 14th Century reminds me of Ken Follett’s new novel, World Without End, about events taking place in Kingsbridge, England, beginning in 1327. My fiance was given the book as a gift. I plan to abscond with it and take it into a room just off the bell tower and not emerge until it is New Year’s Eve 1400.

Cheers - By the Middle Ages, the Anglo-Norman chere, meaning “face” had morphed into a word meaning positive outlook and demeanor. A “cheer” as a shout of encouragement first came into usage about 1720. Cheers as a salute or toast when taking a drink is British and became popular after World War I, in 1919. The television show Cheers premiered in 1982.

Gift - This word is a gift from the Old Norse word, gift, earlier on from the German mitgift, which means “dowry.” The Old English gift meant the same thing, “dowry or marriage gift by the groom.” Obviously in those days, when it came to a wedding, giving went both ways. The meaning we have of gift being a natural talent dates from around 1300.

Sparkle - Making its first appearance around 1200, sparkle comes from the Middle English verb, sparke, to light a fire. Sparkle was first used to describe a carbonated wine in 1422. The first use of this word to describe a kind of fireworks came in 1879.

I hope your Holidays have a sparkle that comes from inner peace and joy. And with that I bid you an adieu until January 2008. Cheers!