Although there are stories about the Grinch and Scrooge at Christmas time, it seems to me that the holiday season brings out the best in human beings. Sharing our time and ourselves is the best present that anyone can give or receive. And this Website does just that.

Sometimes the simple act of sharing becomes an avocation or a life-long hobby, which allows us to create something worthwhile. At times, this creation becomes so exciting that it somehow influences our own lives as much as it enhances the lives of others.

An Intriguing Web Site

A few years ago while working on a holiday story about the international flavor of the Internet, I discovered an intriguing Web site that translated “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year” into over 350 languages. It was a happy little site with dancing penguins and smiling reindeer. The site also recognizes three other holidays, Chanukah, Kwanzaa. and Eid. The site carries special wishes, regardless of religious or ethnical affiliation, that all will experience peace and hope during this season and throughout the coming year.

A Wealth of Information

As I perused the site, I found that it also contained a wealth of information. Click on any language and you see a pop-up box that gives the history of the language, its current use, and the geographic regions where that particular language is spoken, including national flags, anthems, and country maps. You can reference a chart showing the world’s top twenty spoken languages and population estimates for those countries where the language has official status. My first thought was that someone had spent a lot of time producing this Web site. Why would anyone go to this much trouble? How did this all come about? I decided to find out. A quick e-mail to the site’s creator, Paul R. Peek, gave me the answer, and I would like to share it with all of you.

An Enlightening Response

From Mr. Paul R. Peek

Dear Sandy,

Many thanks for your kind memo regarding the Merry Christmas site, which we have put together. Well, corny as it may sound, it was our way of doing somewhat of an alternative Christmas card. When this started four years ago, I came up with about (30) languages by looking through various sites, etc. As I thought about it, I decided it would make a hobby for yours truly.

Through the year, I write to embassies, church groups and missions, foreign companies, universities, etc. in various countries. I explain what I am doing and reference the site. By doing this, I have now reached about 350 languages. It is quite good, but not when one remembers that there are over 6000 languages in contemporary use on our planet. Therefore, I have lots of room to grow and intend to continue. As of this writing, I am putting in 100 - 200 hours each year compiling new languages and trying to verify for accuracy. Added to that is the time to put together the other games, lists, references, etc. which you will find. The maps are all taken from the Central Intelligence Agency. The flags come from various sources.

All in all, it has turned out to be most enjoyable. At present, we have approximately 5000 people per day view the site and receive lots of email from around the world. It has been great.

Hope this helps to answer your questions. Please feel free to link as you see fit. Thanks again, and may this season bring you the greatest of all gifts . . . Peace!

Paul

The Greatest Gift of All

Things evolve in wondrous ways. The Internet is not just a communications medium. It is also providing the technical mechanism that allows us to share. Visit Mr. Peek’s Web site and see for yourself. Since its inception more than five years ago, he has continued to add languages, little games, and information of the various languages covered. He now has over 360 languages to carry the greeting, “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.”

You can help Paul in his efforts if you know of a language that he has not covered. He is also looking for people to send him audio files so he can add pronunciations of the various greetings. So if you know a different language or would like to record the correct pronunciation of any of the greetings, you can find out how to help at his site.

The message is the same no matter how the words are pronounced and no matter what holiday you celebrate. I join Paul in hoping this holiday season brings you the greatest gift of all, Peace.

Good News!!  You can get the latest Tech News and Alerts from CompuKiss here.