Oh, night divine

A blessed and joyful Christmas to all

Source: That artist woman

Anticipation

This work of art is by an Estonian artist named Ain Vares. It's called "Angel Proclaims the Good News" -- yet another rendition of that night when shepherds were told by an angel of the birth of the promised Redeemer.

That the birth took place in the simplest of circumstances -- no fanfare, no elegant or even comfortable accommodations, probably not even a pillow for the baby or the mother -- is noteworthy. Save for some people who were aware of and kept the prophecies at heart, the birth passed unnoticed. Needless to say, there was no "advent season" back then to remind people that the arrival of the awaited Redeemer was close at hand.

Advent is essentially the time of preparation for Christmas Day. What kind of preparation? Well, much like what happens when, say, you've decided on an out-of-town trip and it's about a month before departure time ... or you're in the thick of preparations for a wedding ... or maybe you and your friends are looking forward to a party or some other kind of get-together. It's about getting ready for whatever's needed for the trip, the wedding, the party. Most importantly, it's the anticipation that comes with it as the date of the event approaches; also, the hope that things will turn out great.

Advent, then, is the time for getting ready for a meaningful celebration of the day when a most important figure was born, the emphasis being on interior preparation. Let's put it this way: when you know that an important guest is arriving at your house, don't you do a bit of dusting, get rid of clutter, fluff up throw pillows and probably make a mental note of what's in your refrigerator that you can offer? Spending the four weeks of Advent is somewhat like that -- "cleaning house" and decorating a little to be able not only to receive the Guest well, but to appreciate his coming.

Advent could also be the time to know more about the Guest whose arrival is of particular significance. Knowing and understanding what makes him a not-so-ordinary figure is, I think, the only thing that would enable us to make meaningful preparations for his arrival -- as well as to experience the deep joy that accompanies the season.

"Stille Nacht" marks 190th anniversary

"Silent Night" for small Austrian village, 190 years later
21 December 2008 - 1:00 a.m. EST

OBERNDORF, Austria, (AFP) - Born on a cold night in the chapel of a small Austrian village, "Silent Night," the most famous Christmas carol in the world, celebrates this year its 190th anniversary.

The song, known as "Stille Nacht" in the original German, was first performed on December 24, 1818, in the tiny hamlet of Oberndorf, as a local assistant priest, Joseph Mohr, sought to comfort his flock, racked by poverty and misery in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars.

"He asked his friend Franz Xaver Gruber, a teacher, to compose the music for six verses he had written two years prior, and they performed the song together at mass with the help of a simple guitar," says Renate Ebeling-Winkler, a historian and expert on the topic.

The song was an immediate success but remained a close-kept secret for many years, until an organ delivery-man from Tyrol took note of it on his way through the village.

It soon became a favourite with Tyrolean singers, travelling up and down the continent in the winter to earn money.

"Admired for its resistance to Napoleon, Tyrol was very popular with allied countries and its best singers, like the Rainer family, were world stars," notes Ebeling-Winkler.

These artists gave "Silent Night" -- which became known as a "popular Tyrolean song" -- worldwide fame, performing it at the royal court in London in 1827, in Moscow in 1831 and in New York in 1839.

Full article here

"That's what X'mas is all about, Charlie Brown"

In A Charlie Brown Christmas, everyone is very much into the spirit of the season, but not the real spirit, the real Reason why we have Christmas in the first place -- that is, except Charlie Brown. "Ohhh, even my little sister!" he groans in one scene, exasperated that even Sally has fallen into the commercialism trap that pervades the Yuletide season. "If it seems too complicated, make it easy on yourself. Just send money. How about 10's and 20's?" Sally dictates to Charlie Brown, who is helping her with her Santa's list.

Probably the simplest way in which one can explain the true meaning of Christmas is in the scene below -- from the award-winning 1965 TV special, A Charlie Brown Christmas -- with Linus giving a monologue of sorts. That it comes from a simple child gives it (in my opinion) much impact.

Two babies

With a gleeful expression like Yasmine Catalo's as she was photographed for this month's issue, it's hard not to smile along with her.


More about what's on the pages at Petrufied's blog. As for me, I'm happy that besides such a charming baby girl, gracing the cover is also a representation of the Baby in the manger. At this time, we need reminders of that first Christmas in Bethlehem, if only to remember the Who at the heart of this entire season of hope and joy. Otherwise, it's just one great time for marketers, entrepreneurs and anyone out to make a buck -- and a sellout to consumerism.

Oh by the way, in case you haven't noticed yet, I've put a playlist on my blog. I added three Christmas songs to the list to give you a feel of the season :-)

Comfort and joy

As has been the case with past issues of the magazine, putting together Baby's December issue "fell into place" as far as synergy of topics was concerned. Along the way, I noted that there would be a story on helping a friend or a family member overcome a miscarriage, and another about dad of 6 Paul Perez -- whose brood happens to have a little boy who has been undergoing chemotherapy treatment since he was 3.

Then there's the interview with Tina Alejandro, an old schoolmate of mine, whose thirtysomething-year-old family business Papemelroti is a strong as ever (she's the "ti" in "Papemelroti"). The story isn't about the business, though, but about one experience she recounted to writer Nicole Bautista when she volunteered to keep a cancer-afflicted little boy company in a hospital. Needless to say, it's a very moving story (Nicole's talent at narrating is exceptional). Given that Christmas here has developed into a highly commercial occasion that sometimes ignores the real significance of the season, I wanted to include at least one article that would keep readers grounded and remind them (us all, actually) that the newborn King in the manger is central to this yearly celebration and gift-giving. And Tina's story was it.

This is beginning to look like a tearful issue, I thought when nearly all the stories were in, and who wants tearful for Christmas -- a time for rejoicing?

Then came the writeup about a couple who had waited 13 years for the wife to finally conceive. Icon, the fruit of the 13-year wait, turns one this month. Talk about stories with happy endings =)

There's lots to read in this issue -- my favorite is the photo-heavy spread on how to convert "junk" into toys. You'll just have to get your own copy if you want to know what's beyond the cover you see here (y the way, I'd love to know what you think of it). That's 12-month-old Andrea Isabelle Limbo gracing our cover, as photographed by Ralph Alejandrino.

The joys of being unplugged

It's been a wonderful 5 weeks (maybe 6 -- sure feels like more) and it's because of the busted TV.

One day in November, the TV just conked out after months of bad picture quality. It's an old set after all. The first few days were quite an adjustment, primarily for my mother and sister who spend more viewing time and who derive more satisfaction from it.

I don't remember which gave out first, but my PC was also out of commission for more than a month (I got it back from the shop two days before Christmas day). Since I was so busy, I didn't have time to have it repaired right away; hence, staring at screens was reduced to a minimum in this household! In fact, the only screen-staring was done by me -- whenever I had to send or read a text message.

I love life without a TV. Since that day the TV died, my mom and I have been talking more. And not just idle talk -- really conversing, sharing ideas and experiences. Let me tell you that this does not naturally happen so often in my family so help (like a busted TV or a power outage) to facilitate things is always appreciated by me.

My mother got to talk about snippets of life in the province where she grew up, about her siblings whom she had gotten to spend considerable time with lately on account of two sisters who vacationed in the Philippines last month, stories she'd read. Have you heard the details of what inspired the song "Tie a yellow ribbon"?? I've heard it half a dozen times but everytime my mom tells it, it makes me tearful (in a good way). Well, that'll be for another post.

Anyway, I also asked her about her travels with my Dad and she seemed to enjoy talking about those, though I could see she became teary-eyed during some moments. It's not surprising -- they were married 51 years when he died, and sharing one's life with someone for that long is bound to make the separation difficult when God decides it's time to take one of the spouses Home.

Then there was the baking. Did I mention that I have no electric mixer? So ignorant am I about the rudiments of baking and going into this business that the significance of not having a mixer didn't occur to me. Needless to say, my right arm is now very toned and strong. But if my mom had not been around to help me during our mixing sessions, I might have given up completely. So, with all the baking that we did, there was plenty of time for chitchat amid the bowls, spoons and ingredients. One of the things I learned was that she minored in home economics at university, which explains her knowledge of baking and cooking principles which she would casually spew out in the course of our conversations while working the wooden spoons.

At one point, my mother even said that she likes it that we have no TV to use because now she spends more time reading and doing crossword puzzles. Man, I know very few people who can finish entire puzzles to the last letter! Besides the puzzles in the daily paper, she has stacks of crossword puzzle booklets in her room! Then of course I'm sure she notices the difference provided by our "unplugged lifestyle" of late to our remarkable daily interaction. I've been quite content with this...until yesterday when she announced that she wanted to buy a new TV. I was crestfallen, at the same time thinking that it was too good to last anyway and that at least we had the time to do all that talking in the first place.

She misses watching Fr. Corapi and the other shows on EWTN. "Jeopardy" has also been among her regular viewing fare. So I said, "we better make sure we control our viewing time and not let the TV control us."

Let's see what happens. I just don't want to return to the time when people would sit and stare at the TV screen for hours at a time, become somewhat lethargic and more concerned about catching some show instead of checking up on the others in the house. I'll admit the TV holds some "magical power" over me at times so I avoid watching. Even this computer screen has been in control of me many times, so I make it a point to be as detached as possible even if I do love to blog and to read others' blogs!

So, with my PC back on and my family shopping for a new TV set within a week, the challenge to moderate technology use around our home comes to the fore again. Let's see how it'll turn out. I'm wondering if there's a patron saint for technology or electronic gadgets whose help I can enlist right away. We certainly need the assistance!

Visual treats of the season

First, here are some photos that I came across in the past several weeks that I want to share simply for the visual treat they hopefully provide for you as they do for me. That one above is a shot of the window of Svenskt Tenn, a shop in Stockholm, Sweden. It's one of the many wondrous photos that I've been marveling at recently on Karin's Style Blog, which I do check out from time to time. The blogger, Karin Eriksson, is a an artist from Sweden, and right away after perusing her work (and the inspirations that influence her) do I appreciate the differences in artistic styles and sensibilities compared to the more "conventional" ones I've grown accustomed to. Below is one of her ceramic creations, more of which (vases, cups, bowls, tealight holders etc.) you can see on her website and on her page at Etsy.





I mentioned a couple of posts ago that packaging was among my main concerns this Christmas season on account of my very unexpected venture into the baking business. Hence, I've become quite fascinated by the imaginative ways by which gifts are wrapped and generally presented to the receiver.





This is one of the designs made by Delicious Days -- so not only does her expertise lie in the culinary arts; she's a graphic artist as well!

After making the rounds of several food blogs, I stumbled on these peppermint squares, the origin of which I can't remember. I do recall coming across the site via a link at Eggbeater.



Nice pictures, eh? Definitely eye candy for me, but somehow they make me a little sad. Why? Because they're shots of mere objects. Though they're products of human ingenuity and hard work, they're still just "things." These photos show no people, and even though the first picture shows a beautiful room, exquisitely decorated for Christmas, to me it could be a representation of loneliness. It is beautiful, but kind of empty for the lack of people.

At least I found one picture that conveys the majestic celebration that the season is all about and contains people in it!





This is also from Karin's blog. She writes: "It’s becoming a tradition for my family to go to Storkyrkan for Lucia night. It’s the oldest church in Stockholm and sitting in a building from the 13th century, packed full with people, listening to the violins and the singing is beautifully meditative."

Yuletide greetings to all

Have a blessed Christmas with your family and friends, guided by the true North Star.

Silhouette art by Gertrude Junker

A brown Christmas

These are the reasons for my absence of late. It's my first time to go into business and my third or fourth time to bake anything -- the first two or three forays with the oven being borne out of a Sesame Street activity book I got for my 8th birthday. There was a recipe for Cookie Monster oatmeal cookies and so I worked the mixing bowl and spatula and followed the instructions. I have a very vague recollection of that though.




The last several weeks I breathed flour and butter, baking cups and gift boxes, measuring spoons and walnuts. I think the eight aluminum pans I bought have yielded around 50 batches of lemon squares and an equal number of brownies thus far. Cookies were limited to my mom's close friends and some of my former officemates (personally, though, they're my favorite to munch on!).

Boy, have I learned a lot these past three weeks -- about the intricacies of business ventures, about refining the slicing of baked goods, even about the care of baking tools. I can say I even have a new-found respect for the culinary products of our bare hands and basic ingredients. However, as I told myself during one of those late-night mixing sessions in the company of bowls, spoons, butter, eggs and lemon juice, if I don't take care I'd easily lose sight of the Reason for the season. And I very nearly have on account of all the orders I had to produce. Now things have slowed down and I am doubly grateful.

Only 3 days to go before we again celebrate the birthday of the most important of all VIPs! I wish you all a blessed Christmas in the company of family and dear friends.

Holiday reading

Did I mention that my PC is at the repair shop? I don't think so. Well, I'm typing this in a net cafe a few blocks away from home. Baking non-stop (well, almost) plus a PC that has conked out on me since early this month have made going online nearly impossible. But I'd like to do what I still can to bring out the meaning in this season for anyone who may be reading my blog, so I figured I'd just post a few entries from December last year, from my other blog. Hope they somehow help you to really savor the richness of Christmas and to contemplate the baby in the manger.

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Stille nacht, heilige nacht

One of my favorite movies about Christmas is the one that has been shown on the Hallmark channel several times. It tells of the story about a mother, her little son and a bleak Christmas in their little cabin in Germany during World War 2. It's called "Silent Night" and none of the cast except Linda Hamilton are familiar to me, but the movie remains unforgettable.

Silent Night, however, is better known as a traditional Christmas carol. The original lyrics of the song Stille Nacht were written in German by Josef Mohr and the melody was composed by the Austrian headmaster Franz X. Gruber. The version of the melody that is generally sung today differs slightly (particularly in the final strain) from Gruber's original.

It is believed that the carol has been translated into over 300 languages around the world, and it is one of the most popular carols of all time. It is often sung without musical accompaniment. It is given special significance in the Lutheran Church.

The carol was first performed in the Nicola-Kirche (Church of St. Nicholas) in Oberndorf, Austria on December 25, 1818. Mohr had composed the words much earlier, in 1816, but on Christmas Eve brought them to Gruber and asked him to compose a guitar accompaniment for them. The reason for this is unclear — perhaps Mohr simply wanted a new carol for the Midnight Mass, but tradition has it that the organ at the Nicola-Kirche was not working that night (a popular version of the story claims that mice had eaten out the bellows).

If you'd like to read the rest, it's at Wikipedia


Full post at Live and Let Them Live