Something i just don't get...

[:]

Hey all! Just wanted to ax u guys a quesiton.
I've just recently watched Tale of Two Santas and i really didn't get the "What the heck is KuWarza?" bit. The Kuwarza-bot has been giving it out for 637 years? I just don't get the joke/refence.
And what is Kuwarza anyway?

[#1 :]

Kwanza is an African-American holiday from December 26th to January 1st.

Apparently it fell out of favor in the future. And Kwanza-bot have been working round the clock trying to revigorate it, so far unsuccesful.

More about Kwanza.

[#2 :]

It didn't fall out of favor, It just hasn't become any more popular in the future than it is now.

But don't worry, I'm sure that Kwanza-bot will not give up.   

[#3 :]

Saturday Night Live, amongst others, have done sketches on the idea that no one gives [insert metaphor here] about Kwanza.  The idea was noble, but with no tradition behind it, no one really knows what to do with it.

[#4 :]

Oh yeah cool.. Thanks alot, guys!
What about the zombie Kwanza-bot said before Bender got his ass "jolly-ied" by Santa?
Something about it having a lu-out?
Thats a Hawaiian themed-party right? 

[#5 :]

It was Chanukkah-zombie, and he was having a luau at some nightclub. Chanukkah is a Jewish holiday, celebrated around the same time as Christmas.

More on Chanukkah.

[#6 :]

   

Originally posted by ChAnCe:
Something about it having a lu-out?
Thats a Hawaiian themed-party right? 

A luau is a origanaly Hawaiian feast where the King ate with women, but it's now the common term for a Hawaiian-themed party, yes.  Usually a roast pig is served, which is why it's so funny that it's being held by Chanukkah-zombie, as Jewsih people are supposed to keep Kosher (that means they can't eat pork).

More on luaus.

[#7 :]

I think it was a bad idea to coincide that holiday with chrismas and hannukah. Call me crazy but i thought it was "Hannukah", not "Chanukkah". Anyway, maybe AsylumFry can clarify this.

[#8 :]

Can't you spell it both ways??

[#9 :]

As far as I know they're both acceptable. Translating the Hebrew word for the holiday to English yield a variety of different spellings, all correct.

[#10 :]

Ok here is another "something i just don't get"..
Is there really a Sexeteria in Juruselam?

[#11 :]

...no.

[#12 :]

Not nowadays, at least.  My take on that joke, is that these days, people go to Jerusalem for religious reasons, as it is the center of many of the world's major religions, but in the future, they go there for something completely unexpected to us. Namely, sex.  I'm crappy at explaining humour.

[#13 :]

Nah, that was pretty well done Ranadok.

 BTW, does anyone else agree that there's something a lot funnier about that "What the hell is Kwanza?" joke when David X. Cohen reads it aloud than when you see it on the cover of a book?

[#14 :]

Is that in the DVD commentory or was that in the show?
I thought the voice of Kwanza-bot was guest stared as Coolio..

[#15 :]

Isn't that in the table read easter egg? (I don't know for sure, being in region 1)

[#16 :]

Yes it is from the Table Read, and it is hilarious, just like everything David X. Cohen does. Such as informing you of the death of one of his loved ones, or making a serious statement of his beliefs.

[#17 :]

 

Originally posted by Luis:
I think it was a bad idea to coincide that holiday with chrismas and hannukah. Call me crazy but i thought it was "Hannukah", not "Chanukkah". Anyway, maybe AsylumFry can clarify this.

Both spellings in English appear to be used, mainly because the majority of Americans can't pronounce the Hebrew letter 'chet' (I can't really put it on this post, but it's gutteral) that comes at the beginning.

 

Originally posted by Teral:
It was Chanukkah-zombie, and he was having a luau at some nightclub. Chanukkah is a Jewish holiday, celebrated around the same time as Christmas.

They only coincide because Christmas has a set date in the Roman calendar (December 25 I think... though I'm none too sure) amd Channukah's date goes by the Lunar calendar. It moves all the time in the Roman calendar, but they both usually happen in December.

[#18 :]

Table reads are where a number of actors gather around a table and read out their lines for that particular program.

more on table reads

[#19 :]

 

Originally posted by Asylum-Fry:
  They only coincide because Christmas has a set date in the Roman calendar (December 25 I think... though I'm none too sure) amd Channukah's date goes by the Lunar calendar. It moves all the time in the Roman calendar, but they both usually happen in December.

If it helps, Easter moves around for the same reason (it's tied to Passover, which is celebrated based on the Jewish lunar calendar).  Or, for that matter, the various Asian New Years (also celebrated based on lunar calendars).

And, for what it's worth, Christmas was tied to the Roman feast of Saturn, celebrated at the time of the Winter Solstice (December 21 or there abouts, for those of you down under). Becasue the Romans, by the time Christmas came about, had moved to a Solar Calendar (and the one that is generally used in the world now) created under Julius Ceasar, The days don't move around, trying to keep in sync with the moon's phase. 

Issac Assimov has one or two good essays on how calendars developed, if anyone is interested.

If it maters, Christ's birth was probably in the early spring (late March/early April, on the Gregorian calendar).  The sheperds being out with the flocks is a good sign of this. 

And, as AF said, either spelling is correct.  I think CH is perfer (even if english speakers hate guttural sounds), like Bejing.  But it still is Pekinese and Peking Duck.

Don't even start me on the Pyramid Pharohs name..., they call me mad, do they...,

[#20 :]

Hehe.. It looks like i learned  a whole lot more about religious holidays/history in a Futurama forum rather than in a book or in school. I guess no one saw that comming! 
Cartoons replacing histoy classes..

 

Originally posted by Cube_166:
Table reads are where a number of actors gather around a table and read out their lines for that particular program.
more on table reads

Hey man the line is dead. Can't seam to get to it.

[#21 :]

Insert "more on fake hyperlinks" joke here.