Are You Afraid of the Zeitgeist?

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n.  1848, from German Zeitgeist, literally "spirit of the age" from 

Zeit "time" + Geist "spirit".

source:  Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

German is a language of compound nouns!  Most of those big, scary, super long German words can be broken down into smaller words that are just shoved together.

The word Zeit means time ... And I thought it would be appropriate to discuss all things TIME today with the *Time Change* coming up (at least where I live) tonight.  The Germans have already fallen back - they do this on the last Sunday of every October.  Time change is called Zeitumstellung - big word made up of little ones:  Zeit = TIME and Umstellung = switch, adjust, rearrange, transition.  Zeitumstellung - makes sense, right?!

The Germans are already in Winterzeit, which is what they call this winter time.  They will switch back to Sommerzeit on the last Sunday of March.  I don't even think I need to translate Winterzeit and Sommerzeit for you.  :)

As we face the upcoming time change, whether you got an extra hour of sleep or an extra hour of productivity, I wish you a good Winterschlaf.  Schlaf means sleep.  The indication of Winterschlaf is almost like in the poem, Twas the Night Before Christmas, where it says, "...and I in my cap / Had just settled down for a long winter's nap."
Winterschlaf is also hibernation, which is pretty much what those cold, dark, winter mornings make me want to do ... I, for one, can't say I'm looking forward to this Winterzeit other than the immediate reward of tonight's "extra" hour.

Now, don't forget to set your clock back tonight ...