Put on a Sweater / Jumper

Let's ogle Harry Kennedy in his stripey sweater!

February 17 is National Sweater Day in Canada and wherever else -- if you'd like to participate.  The idea is to turn down your thermostat by 3 degrees and put on a warm, funky sweater. It's a fun way to show your support for the environment by reducing energy use.  Sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) whose ultimate goal is to build a future where people live in harmony with nature.

 In honour of this day I'd like to take the opportunity to admire some sweater-wearing men. There is even a Facebook page called Stripey Sweaters with some awesome pictures of swoonworthy men in sweaters.

If you are in the British Isles you probably refer to these clothing items as "jumpers".  I thought that was a funny thing to call them until I thought about the word "sweater".  It is rather crude sounding isn't it? After all, until the latter part of the twentieth century women were not even supposed to "sweat".  My mother always said that women don't sweat, they glow! Does that mean we are radioactive?  Perhaps some athletic types might actually perspire but sweat? -- Never! And now here is actual scientific proof confirming my mother's old adage, which goes to show how mother's are always right!  Study: Men better than women at sweating during exercise

Colin Firth in a reindeer jumper (Bridget Jones' Diary)

Jumper ‘sweater’ (19th c.), incidentally, appears to have no etymological connection with jump. It was probably derived from an earlier dialectal jump or jup, which denoted a short coat for men or a sort of woman’s underbodice. This in turn was borrowed from French juppe, a variant of jupe ‘skirt’, whose ultimate source was Arabic jubbah, the name of a sort of loose outer garment. (quote from Word-origins.com )

Martin Freeman as Watson wearing an Aran sweater

I could go into great detail about the different types of sweaters, (of which the Aran is one of my favourites, or the Fair Isle, which was very popular in the 1980s -- I even almost knitted one!), but as time is of the essence I will just say this... Regarding the difference between the words sweater and jumper -- here is what I have gathered in far too much time trolling the net:

Ben Barnes in a hoodie

A sweater is a term which describes many different types of knitted, long sleeved garments, intended to clothe the upperbody. Originally it was made of wool, but nowadays can be made out of many different types of knitted material.( ie. the hockey sweater which used to be wool, and now is also called a jersey.)
A jumper is a type of sweater which could also be called a pullover as it has no front opening so it can only be donned by pulling it over one's head. Fleece sweatshirts are also called jumpers in the UK.
Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

  

Avalon--This one's for you!

I almost forgot about this fabulous fanvid!

Fuzzy / by immadeofatoms

And now, I must stop -- because my brain is sweating from looking at pictures of  

Richard Armitage in a sweater!

As Phillip Durrant (wearing a cardigan) in Ordeal by Innocence (Richard Armitage Central Gallery)

Yes Ma -- I'm Sweating!