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| Sunday, 17 October 2004 |
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Junior Observer |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Origin of nursery rhymes Have you ever recited a nursery rhyme and wondered what it was all about and how it would have originated?
This was originally a Scandinavian tale. Jack and Jill, two very naughty children decided to go up the hill to steal a bucket of dew that the moon god Mani had left there. The moon came out from behind a cloud and asked his friend the wind to blow them away. The wind did as the moon had asked. While Jack and Jill were at the bottom of the hill tending to Jack's broken head, the moon captured them. Hence the image of two children with a bucket suspended from a rod between them on the surface of the full moon. Another suggestion is that Jill was originally written as Gill and the other character in the rhyme was a corrupt King named Jack. He played with the standard for the unit of measurement 'Gill' to receive more gold. He was found out and his Kingdom was lost, thus the line "Jack fell down and broke his crown." The Gill was not used after that and thus the line "the Gill came tumbling after". Yet another suggests that Jack and Jill referred to another beheading - Louis XVI, and of course Marie Antoinette would be the Jill who came tumbling after. I. Louis XVI was considered weak, ignorant, and distracted in comparison to former kings. In 1770, he married Marie Antoinette who heavily influenced his decisions thereafter. Jack and Jill. II. Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette became the King and Queen of France in 1774. Went up the hill. III. In the mid-1770s, France was amidst a financial crisis, and heavy taxation caused a nationwide withdrawal from royal patriotism. To reduce the flames of rebellion arising among the people, Louis XVI remitted some of the heaviest taxes and began financial and judicial reforms (like water from a pail). To fetch a pail of water. IV. The French middle-class would not allow for large enough reforms to be implemented. In July of 1789, the Parisian populace razed the Bastille, and imprisoned the king and royal family in the palace of the Tuileries. Jack fell down. V. In 1792, when the National Convention declared France a republic, the king was tried for treason, convicted, and sentenced to death. Louis XVI was guillotined (beheaded) in Paris on January 21, 1793. And broke his crown. VI. After being separated from her son, Marie Antoinette was sent before the revolutionary tribunal, and sentenced to death for treason. She was guillotined in Paris on October 16, 1793. (A tumbling head) And Jill came tumbling after Another says that it is a true story about a couple in Scotland by the name of Jack and Jill. Jack went up a hill to get a pail of water, he slipped and fell and was killed. Jill,so broken-hearted died not too long after. Yet another says that this rhyme was about two powerful religious leaders who served under King Henry VIII of England. It says: "In 1518, the two leaders - a cardinal and a bishop - tried to settle a feud between France and Rome. They failed, and a war broke out. The cardinal sent British troops to fight against France and raised taxes to pay for the war." The people of England hated the two leaders and it is said that this rhyme was invented to make fun of them. - Internet
The Kitty with no mouth We all know of cartoon characters such as Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Snoopy, the dog, who without being just cartoon characters, arrived in the market in various other forms. Such characters have become stuffed toys, balloons and logos printed onto everything from clothes and accessories to key tags and other tools.
Since then, it has become a household name around the world, capturing the hearts of millions of kids as well as adults. The first in the product line was a small vinyl (a type of plastic) purse bearing the Hello Kitty design. The massive success of this product prompted the company to launch 30 other products, most of them stationery goods. Different regions also came up with different designs to identify the region. Hello Kitty proved to be just as successful in other Asian countries, but cracking the US and European markets was more difficult. Sanrio Company had to work hard for more than five years before it eventually succeeded in these two markets. Now there are thousands of products bearing the Hello Kitty logo. Sanrio sells these through 1700 locations in Japan and 1200 other locations worldwide. The designers believe that its success could be due to the lack of any expressions on the kitten's face as it has no mouth. It is said to be the only major character in the world drawn with no mouth. Whatever the reason may be, Hello Kitty has definitely become a big star. |
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Nursery rhymes were not originally written to teach or entertain
children. They were used to make fun of the famous and noble. The rhyme
writers would have been punished if they openly made fun of the king or
queen so they wrote rhymes to tell the tales and used 'nick-names' for the
characters they were portraying. This week we tell you how the nursery
rhyme 'Jack and Jill' originated.
Another such cartoon character which made it really big in the
marketing world, and which is much closer to us in Sri Lanka is Hello
Kitty, which originated in Japan. Hello Kitty, the cute kitten with no
mouth, was developed by Sanrio Company in 1974.
