The two most tasteless Cherokee language Christmas greetings are Tsisa kohi-iga adehvga and Ulihelisdi danistayohihv. (Note: in transliterated Cherokee, "v" represents a nasalized "uh", which can sound like a combination of "ung" and "umm".)
The first is pretty straightforward: "Jesus today is born." The second means "We rejoice that they go shooting," often contracted to danistayohihv, "they go shooting."
Angel Halloween
Why would this expression become a Christmas greeting?
In the days before refrigeration, freshness was essential. If you were planning to have turkey or goose or quail or venison for Christmas dinner, somebody had to go shooting, preferably that day. Even as a teenager (hey! not as long ago as many of you might think), I remember hunting on Christmas morning in the South. We seldom (actually, never) shot anything, and went home to cook what was in the freezer. But at least we had gone shooting on Christmas morning, and tradition was fulfilled.
Another fancy for the expression: Cherokee communities in the South and Southwest borrowed the Spanish practice of celebrating Christmas with firecrackers. The same expression was kept, but this time 'they' refers to the firecrackers, not the hunters, which go shooting.
Santa Claus is called "he shoots the firecrackers", or distayohi. Aneha (he brings) didanedi (gifts) to nigada (all) the diniyotli osda (good children). The cedar tree, atsina, as a repaymen for holding vigil all night soon after the creation of the world, keeps its leaves all year. Distayohi's sleigh is drawn by galiquogi (seven) awi (deer).
While the old Cherokee spiritual practices are very much alive, Cherokee today are predominantly Baptists and Methodists. As adaptable monotheists, Cherokees had less issue than some nations in accommodating the Christian message.
Many Christmas songs have been translated into Cherokee, such as "Silent Night" and "Hark the Herald Angels Sing." And many will hear the Christmas story in which the adawi (angel) announces "Tlesdi Tsigayesdi!" (don't be afraid.)
So if you hear explosions after midnight on December 24, Tlesdi Tsigayesdi, it's just your Cherokee neighbors celebrating the holiday!
Cherokee Christmas Greetings
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