# Does Santa Claus arrive also in the southern hemisphere on the 25th dec.? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 29, 2002, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-santa-claus-arrive-also-in-the-southern-hemisphere-on-the-25th-dec/111319 "2002-05-29T08:02:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2002, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-santa-claus-arrive-also-in-the-southern-hemisphere-on-the-25th-dec/111319/21 "2002-05-30T05:20:05Z")
TLD – Nice subtitles for us English-speakers (obligatory winkie smiley omitted, I’m not gonna do it, darn it), but what, pray tell, is a “singlet?” ---
**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2002, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-santa-claus-arrive-also-in-the-southern-hemisphere-on-the-25th-dec/111319/22 "2002-05-30T07:20:41Z")
A “singlet” is an undershirt, what the English would call a vest. ---
**Author:** ![elisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/96bed5/32.png) [@elisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elisa)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2002, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-santa-claus-arrive-also-in-the-southern-hemisphere-on-the-25th-dec/111319/23 "2002-05-30T08:25:21Z")
Thank You everybody! How nice the song is. I’ve just a last question: I saw in the link sent to me from Olentzero (by the way, how did you learn italian?)the followins sentences: “Christmas shopping is often done in shorts and t-shirts. At many beaches, Santa Claus arrives on a surfboard, or even on a surf lifesaving boat.” Is it a Joke or does really anyone go surfing dressed in red and white? I hope the reindeers can swim… e. ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2002, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-santa-claus-arrive-also-in-the-southern-hemisphere-on-the-25th-dec/111319/24 "2002-05-30T13:28:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TheLoadedDog \* > **The 2001 Christmas barbie at my place was particularly memorable because of the bushfires ringing Sydney. We were peering through the smoke haze, the sun was deep red, and blackened leaves were falling like rain.** [Nat King Cole] Sydney roasting on an open fire… [/NKC] **elisa** - I taught myself Italian. Languages are a hobby of mine. 🙂 I think if Santa comes in on a surfboard, it’s not in full polar uniform, but probably a pair of red and white board shorts. ---
**Author:** ![Morgainelf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Morgainelf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgainelf)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2002, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-santa-claus-arrive-also-in-the-southern-hemisphere-on-the-25th-dec/111319/25 "2002-05-30T14:03:25Z")
In Louisiana, St. Nick’s sleigh is pulled by alligators. [See?](http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0882890026.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2002, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-santa-claus-arrive-also-in-the-southern-hemisphere-on-the-25th-dec/111319/26 "2002-05-30T20:15:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by hawthorne \* > \*\*A “singlet” is an undershirt, what the English would call a vest. \*\* I have suspected this, since encountering the word “singlet” (solely) in the short stories of W. Somerset Maugham, but I’m still confused. Maugham was English, why did _he_ use “singlet” instead of “vest”? Is there no further distinction between the two terms? ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2002, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-santa-claus-arrive-also-in-the-southern-hemisphere-on-the-25th-dec/111319/27 "2002-05-30T22:30:50Z")
[Is There a Santa Claus?](http://funnies.paco.to/santa.html) ---
**Author:** ![Motog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85e7bf/32.png) [@Motog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motog)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2002, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-santa-claus-arrive-also-in-the-southern-hemisphere-on-the-25th-dec/111319/28 "2002-05-30T22:51:09Z")
**tracer** You’re no fun at all ---
**Author:** ![Tsubaki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@Tsubaki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tsubaki)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2002, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-santa-claus-arrive-also-in-the-southern-hemisphere-on-the-25th-dec/111319/29 "2002-05-30T22:59:44Z")
Dashing through the sand, In our bathers and our thongs, Running through the waves, Singing Christmas songs. Visiting our friends, Laughing all the way. Swatting flies and eating pies On a sunny Christmas Day. Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way. Oh what fun it is to ride on a surfboard, not a sleigh Hey! Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way Oh what fun it is to ride on a surfboard, not a sleigh. (But I like **TLD** ’s version better). ---
**Author:** ![LolaCocaCola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7cd45c/32.png) [@LolaCocaCola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaCocaCola)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2002, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-santa-claus-arrive-also-in-the-southern-hemisphere-on-the-25th-dec/111319/30 "2002-05-31T00:16:52Z")
“singlet” in the US is a tank top/“wife beater” ---
**Author:** ![elisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/96bed5/32.png) [@elisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elisa)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2002, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-santa-claus-arrive-also-in-the-southern-hemisphere-on-the-25th-dec/111319/31 "2002-05-31T08:21:31Z")
And what about South Africa or Brasil? Do people celebrate Xmas in the same way of europe and Usa? ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2002, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-santa-claus-arrive-also-in-the-southern-hemisphere-on-the-25th-dec/111319/32 "2002-05-31T14:46:23Z")
If they celebrate Christmas like they celebrate Carneval down in Brasil, I’m heading south next December. ---
**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2002, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-santa-claus-arrive-also-in-the-southern-hemisphere-on-the-25th-dec/111319/33 "2002-05-31T14:49:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kaylasdad99 \* > I have suspected this, since encountering the word “singlet” (solely) in the short stories of W. Somerset Maugham, but I’m still confused. Maugham was English, why did _he_ use “singlet” instead of “vest”? > > Is there no further distinction between the two terms? This is an intriguing question, and one I’ve yet to find a satisfactory answer to. It’s not an Australianism, even though that where the word seems to have the greatest currency. My 'Strayn Colloquialism Dictionary’s only mention of the word was as part of “useful as a hip pocket in a singlet” (meaning as useful as a one-legged man at an arse-kicking party). First off, here is a picture of the iconic Aussie singlet as worn by [Chesty Bond](http://www.bonds.com.au/). It appears that _both_ singlet and vest mean may mean much the same garment in the UK, although like you kaylasdad99, I’d never heard a Pom call one a “singlet”. Maugham is not the only British user of “singlet”. The OED (which is not a free site so I can’t give you a link) has for “singlet”: “An unlined woollen garment (knitted or woven), now usually close-fitting and worn as an undershirt or jersey.” Quotations date from 1746 and the term is _not_ labelled _obs_. As for “vest”, it’s “c. A knitted or woven undergarment for the upper part of the body, worn next to the skin.” Quotes only go back to 1851. As for other sources, see [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com) for [singlet](http://www.dictionary.com/search?q=singlet) and [vest](http://www.dictionary.com/search?q=vest). "[Tank top"](http://www.dictionary.com/search?q=tank%20top) appears distinguishable, but only on the basis that it may not chiefly be underwear. None of this really seems to address the issue of the difference between a vest and a singlet. Not tightness of fit, the occasional presence of buttons, material (_jersey_ seems to mean either a soft cloth or a clinging one), nor sleevelessness. Perhaps vests are longer. It is curious that in no case I’ve seen does the definition of one refer to the other. No mention of regional use is made, but that’s what I’d guess. ---
**Author:** ![Pommyaussie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/45deac/32.png) [@Pommyaussie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pommyaussie)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2002, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-santa-claus-arrive-also-in-the-southern-hemisphere-on-the-25th-dec/111319/34 "2002-05-31T15:56:58Z")
Well there is a man’s garment called a doublet but I can’t find any historical connection between the singlet and the doublet, they’re both similar insofar as they cover the torso so maybe it was just an original term which was replaced by vest? See [www.crimsongypsy.com/gallery6.html](http://www.crimsongypsy.com/gallery6.html) BTW Marks & Spencers in the UK always sold ‘Singlets’ rather than ‘Vests’. And in Aus a waistcoat is generally referred to as a vest. Gets confusing! ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2002, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-santa-claus-arrive-also-in-the-southern-hemisphere-on-the-25th-dec/111319/35 "2002-06-01T02:05:20Z")
The classic Australian _Chesty Bond_ singlet in **hawthorne** ’s link is also known as a [Jackie Howe](http://or.essortment.com/legendsshearing_rvha.htm) after the famous Queensland shearer. The dark blue variety of this singlet is the standard uniform of truck drivers. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2002, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-santa-claus-arrive-also-in-the-southern-hemisphere-on-the-25th-dec/111319/36 "2002-06-01T02:10:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Pommyaussie \* > \*\*And in Aus a waistcoat is generally referred to as a vest. Gets confusing! \*\* I’m not too sure about that. This Aussie has always thought of a _waistcoat_ as the tailored, button-fronted, sleeveless part of a three-piece suit, and a _vest_ as being a sleeveless jumper, usually woollen, but always without an open front (it’s a pullover type thing). ---
**Author:** ![Caught\_Work](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/919ad9/32.png) [@Caught\_Work](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caught_Work)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2002, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-santa-claus-arrive-also-in-the-southern-hemisphere-on-the-25th-dec/111319/37 "2002-06-01T02:23:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TheLoadedDog \* > \*\*\<\\> > The dark blue variety of this singlet is the standard uniform of truck drivers. \*\* Or the traditional (perceived) garb of a hard-core lesbian playing the guy. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2002, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-santa-claus-arrive-also-in-the-southern-hemisphere-on-the-25th-dec/111319/38 "2002-06-01T04:38:11Z")
[hijack] **Nobody move! This thread is going to Cuba!** Okay, help me out here. In the U.S. **Vest:** Buttoning sleeveless garmet such as one gets with a three-piece suit. **Sweater-vest:** Non-buttoning sleeveless garmet, usually knitted, like a sleeveless sweater. Usually V-necked. \*\*Tank-top:[b/] Sleeveless, scoop-necked cotton or ribbed cotton pull-over top. Causal, like a T-shirt. **Jumper:** One-piece skirt and top combination, usually worn with a blouse underneath it, commonly worn by little girls and some school teachers. How does this corrolate to the Aussie/British terms? [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2002, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-santa-claus-arrive-also-in-the-southern-hemisphere-on-the-25th-dec/111319/39 "2002-06-01T05:33:24Z")
Hmmmmm, okay… **Australian Terminology** **Vest:** Non-buttoning, sleeveless, usually V-necked, usually woollen garment of the type favoured by nerdy clerks in grocery stores. I think this is the US _sweater-vest_. **Waistcoat:** The inner part of a three-piece suit **Singlet:** Close-fitting, sleeveless, with shoulder straps. Usually cotton. Designed as an undergarment, but often worn on it’s own by blue collar workers. Often worn in its intended sense (undergarment) under business shirts by white-collar workers. **Tank top:** Not an expert here, being a guy. I think it’s like a singlet, but (slightly) more dressy, and not designed as an undergarment. A female, casual, summer top. **Jumper:** Knitted, sleeved, buttonless, item of winter clothing worn by both sexes. **Cardigan:** Knitted, usually woollen, casual, sleeved, buttoned garment. Looks a bit like a coat. Very nerdy. **Sloppy Joe** (No, you don’t eat them): Buttonless, sleeved, casual, unisex top made out of tracksuit (trainer) material. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-santa-claus-arrive-also-in-the-southern-hemisphere-on-the-25th-dec/111319.md?page=1)