16 Apr
1999
16 Apr
'99
9:33 a.m.
"Kar" is derivated from the Oldhighgerman
word of chara/kara with
an meaning of grief/mourning - so the Karwoche is the week of
mourning for Christ / the mourning period. While this word is
no longer in use in German (and no derivate, AFAIK), it is still
present in English as 'care' (Didn't I already mention that English
preserved a lot mor ol German words than German itself ? So learning
English is kind of learning old German.)
I hope this wil end your life long search for the meaning of Kar.
Many thanks.
Perhaps one day I'll learn Anglo-saxon. This is apparently rather like learning
German...
P.S.: Now solve the riddle of Ostern/Eastern.
Oh no, now I'm getting even further off topic! Historically, Christianity has
had a habit of placing Christian festivals next to pagan ones so as to help
subsume them. A classic example is the winter solstice, which has had Christmas
(Weihnachten) dumped on it. But the name of the North European solstice
festival, Yule, has survived in many languages' names for Christmas.
In the case of the Pascha, the date was based on the Passover - the Jewish
festival at the spring equinox. This put in close to pagan equinoctial
festivals, and the pagan name, Easter/Ostern, has survived in English and
German. The usual explanation is that it derives from the name of a pagan
goddess, Aostre.
Good enough?
Philip.