Natal
Encyclopedia
Natal as an adjective refers to birth
Birth
Birth is the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring. The offspring is brought forth from the mother. The time of human birth is defined as the time at which the fetus comes out of the mother's womb into the world...

. As a proper noun, Natal may refer to:

Places

As a place name, Natal usually relates to the Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...

 (and subsequently Indonesian
Indonesian language
Indonesian is the official language of Indonesia. Indonesian is a normative form of the Riau Islands dialect of Malay, an Austronesian language which has been used as a lingua franca in the Indonesian archipelago for centuries....

) word for Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

. For example, Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira was a Portuguese explorer, one of the most successful in the Age of Discovery and the commander of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India...

 named the South African region of Natal
Natal Province
Natal, meaning "Christmas" in Portuguese, was a province of South Africa from 1910 until 1994. Its capital was Pietermaritzburg. The Natal Province included the bantustan of KwaZulu...

 after passing there on Christmas Day 1497, and the village that became Natal, Brazil
Natal, Rio Grande do Norte
-History:The northeastern tip of South America, Cabo São Roque, to the north of Natal and the closest point to Europe from Latin America, was first visited by European navigators in 1501, in the 1501–1502 Portuguese expedition led by Amerigo Vespucci, who named the spot after the saint of the day...

, was founded on Christmas Day 1599. See also Christmas Island (disambiguation)
Christmas Island (disambiguation)
Christmas Island is an Australian island territory in the Indian Ocean.Christmas Island may refer also to:-Places:* Christmas Island, Nova Scotia, community on Cape Breton Island...

.
  • Natal, Rio Grande do Norte
    Natal, Rio Grande do Norte
    -History:The northeastern tip of South America, Cabo São Roque, to the north of Natal and the closest point to Europe from Latin America, was first visited by European navigators in 1501, in the 1501–1502 Portuguese expedition led by Amerigo Vespucci, who named the spot after the saint of the day...

    , a city in Brazil
  • Mandailing Natal Regency
    Mandailing Natal Regency
    Mandailing Natal Regency, also known as Madina is a regency in North Sumatra , Indonesia . In 2000, the regency covered an area of 6134 square kilometres and according to the 2000 census had a population of 355,285 people.The capital lies at Panyabungan....

    , a regency in Indonesia
    • Natal, North Sumatra, a town in the above regency
    • Batang Natal, North Sumatra, a town in the above regency
  • Natal, British Columbia
    Natal, British Columbia
    Natal is a former coal-mining community in the Elk Valley of the Rocky Mountains in the East Kootenay region of British Columbia, Canada. Located on the Southern Mainline of the Canadian Pacific Railway, as of 1966 it became part of the District Municipality of Sparwood.-References:...

    , a coal-mining community in the East Kootenay region of Canada
  • Natal, South Africa
    Natal, South Africa
    Natal is a region in South Africa. It stretches between the Indian Ocean in the south and east, the Drakensberg in the west, and the Lebombo Mountains in the north. The main cities are Pietermaritzburg and Durban...

    , a region in South Africa
    • Natal Province
      Natal Province
      Natal, meaning "Christmas" in Portuguese, was a province of South Africa from 1910 until 1994. Its capital was Pietermaritzburg. The Natal Province included the bantustan of KwaZulu...

      , a former province (1910–1994)
    • Natalia Republic
      Natalia Republic
      The Natalia Republic was a short-lived Boer republic, established in 1839 by local Afrikaans-speaking Voortrekkers shortly after the Battle of Blood River. The republic was located on the coast of the Indian Ocean beyond the Eastern Cape, and was previously named Natalia by Portuguese sailors. The...

      , a former country (1839–1843)
    • Colony of Natal
      Colony of Natal
      The Colony of Natal was a British colony in south-eastern Africa. It was proclaimed a British colony on May 4, 1843 after the British government had annexed the Boer Republic of Natalia, and on 31 May 1910 combined with three other colonies to form the Union of South Africa, as one of its...

      , a former British colony (1843–1910)
    • KwaZulu-Natal
      KwaZulu-Natal
      KwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa. Prior to 1994, the territory now known as KwaZulu-Natal was made up of the province of Natal and the homeland of KwaZulu....

      , a province (since 1994)

Other

  • Natal Banana Frog
    Natal Banana Frog
    The Natal Banana Frog is a species of frog in the Hyperoliidae family.It is found in South Africa and possibly Lesotho....

    , a species of frog (Afrixalus spinifrons)
  • Natal Carbineers
    Natal Carbineers
    The Natal Carbineers Regiment is an Infantry regiment of the South African Army. As a reserve unit, it has a status roughly equivalent to that of a British Territorial Army or United States Army National Guard unit.- South Africa, 1879 :...

    , an infantry regiment of the South African Army
  • Natal de Carvalho Baroni
    Natal de Carvalho Baroni
    Natal de Carvalho Baroni, commonly known as Natal, was a Brazilian football midfielder. He was born in Belo Horizonte...

    , a Brazilian football player
  • Natal Dwarf Puddle Frog, a species of frog (Phrynobatrachus natalensis)
  • Natal Field Artillery
    Natal Field Artillery
    The Natal Field Artillery is an artillery regiment of the South African Army. As a reserve unit, it has a status roughly equivalent to that of a British Territorial Army or United States Army National Guard unit...

    , an artillery regiment of the South African Army
  • Natal Ghost Frog
    Natal Ghost Frog
    The Natal Ghost Frog is a species of frog in the Heleophrynidae family.It is found in Lesotho, South Africa, and Swaziland....

    , a species of frog (Heleophryne natalensis)
  • NATAL Israel
    NATAL Israel
    NATAL, Israel's Trauma Center for Victims of Terror and War, is an apolitical non-profit organization established to help treat victims of terrorism and war and military veterans for post-traumatic stress disorder .-History:...

    , Israel's Trauma Center for Victims of Terror and War
  • Natal Mounted Rifles
    Natal Mounted Rifles
    The Natal Mounted Rifles is an armoured regiment of the South African Army. As a reserve unit, it has a status roughly equivalent to that of a British Territorial Army or United States Army National Guard unit...

    , an armoured regiment of the South African Army
  • Natal Native Contingent
    Natal Native Contingent
    The Natal Native Contingent was a large force of auxiliary soldiers in British South Africa, forming a large portion of the defence forces of the British colony of Natal, and saw action during the 1879 Anglo-Zulu War. The NNC was originally created in 1878 out of the local black population in order...

    , a large force of black auxiliary soldiers in British South Africa during the 1879 Anglo-Zulu War
  • Natal Observatory
    Natal Observatory
    The Natal Observatory was an astronomical observatory in the Colony of Natal from 1882 to 1911...

    , an astronomical observatory in the Colony of Natal from 1882 to 1911
  • Natal Sand Frog
    Natal Sand Frog
    The Natal Sand Frog is a species of frog in the Ranidae family.It is found in Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, possibly Botswana, possibly Lesotho, and possibly Zimbabwe....

    , a species of frog (Tomopterna natalensis)
  • Natal Sharks
    Natal Sharks
    The Natal Sharks are a South African rugby union team that participate in the annual Currie Cup and Super Rugby tournaments. The Sharks home stadium is Kings Park. They draw most of their players from the KwaZulu-Natal Province. The Sharks are the current representative team of the Natal rugby...

    , the Natal rugby union team
  • Kinect (code name Project Natal), a motion-based control system for the Xbox 360 video game console
  • Natal Day, a civic holiday in Canada

See also

  • KwaZulu-Natal cricket team, the Natal cricket team
  • Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Natal
    Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Natal
    The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Natal is an archdiocese located in the city of Natal in Brazil.-History:* December 29, 1909: Established as the Diocese of Natal from the Diocese of Paraíba...

    , archdiocese in Brazil
  • University of KwaZulu-Natal
    University of KwaZulu-Natal
    The University of KwaZulu-Natal or UKZN is a university with five campuses all located in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. It was formed on 1 January 2004 after the merger between the University of Natal and the University of Durban-Westville.-History:-University of...

    , 2004 formed from the merger of the University of Natal and the University of Durban-Westville
  • Vicariate Apostolic of Natal
    Vicariate Apostolic of Natal
    The Vicariate Apostolic of Natal was a Roman Catholic missionary, quasi-diocesan jurisdiction in South Africa.-Antecedents:The history of the Catholic Church in South Africa goes back to 1660, when a French bishop and a few priests were saved from the wreck of the Marichal near the Cape of Good Hope...

    , a former Catholic missionary jurisdiction
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK