December 29, 2020

Last year about this time we received a nice 8 inches or so of snow at our house. Of course, by nightfall, a lot of it had melted down to 6 inches. Bah, humbug! I am wondering if it ever snowed in Jerusalem? In Bethlehem?

According to a little snooping around, yes, there have been snow reports of snow sticking to the ground every 3-4 years or so. It happens somewhere between December and March. On the off years, there are just flurries flitting through the air.

Did Jesus experience snow, I wonder. He possibly did. As well as hot summers, cooled down autumns, and warming up springtimes. The Bible refers in places about being washed whiter than snow, which means…. in those Biblical times, even in the New Testament, those folks had snow!

Was the planet going through a warming and cooling cycle? Possibly, in different aspects. Interesting to think about, though. Quite interesting.

Matthew 28:3 ‘And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.’ Not sure where else in the New Testament snow is mentioned, but somebody knew about snow to put it in there. The Old Testament is literally smeared with snow all over the place. https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Matthew/28/3 and Revelation 1:14. https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Snow

Snow…where and when the rivers freeze over. Our family currently lives in the lands of the Wabanaki peoples of North America. In this area, November began the season of when the rivers freeze over and the snows fall heavily. It was traditionally a time in which the earth rests, and we, the Creator’s creatures must also rest up and repair ourselves and our lives. We had to make ready for the coming of the newness of springtime, the change in the seasons when the earth has had a chance to renew itself and bring forth new life, like the new lambs in the springtime.

Lambs. Springtime. Connect the dots, people.

Jesus, the lamb of God. While we celebrate His birth in December, as did the early Christians who had to go underground to practice their religion in a crazy world, the birth of Christ did take place in the springtime. Some researchers place that birth according to the constellation of Aries the Ram’s position, with Jupiter in position aligned with 2 other planets. That’s an alignment that happens rarely. Jupiter is the planet that reveals royalty is being born. That’s the “yonder star” the magi, the wisemen were following.

Yes, the thing traveled. Planets and stars are not supposed to do that the way Jupiter did. It went forward, then backtracked, according to some reports I read. It wasn’t a comet, it wasn’t an asteroid. It was an unusual event orchestrated by God.

I wonder if the magi experienced travels through the snow to get to Bethlehem? If they came from Persia, they definitely had to travel through snowy areas. I guess it all depends on the route they took. Something to wonder about, though!

Here is some YouTube footage I came across. I do not own this footage. Interesting to look at, the snows in Bethlehem of the West Bank Israel in 2010.

A priest, Michael Pretorius, put this ancient German carol into a harmonizing written version around 1609 AD. Roses don’t usually bloom at wintertime, outside in the snow. They are usually in a state of hibernation. But this particular observation inspired the carol: Lo! (behold)! How a rose e’er (ever) blooming! The rose refers to the Virgin Mary, and there is more symbolism.

The German version with translation subscripts in the youtube website resource:

Not to worry, though.

It’s the 5th Day of Christmas! What did my true love give to meeee? (Gotcha!)

Hint: It has to do with the FIVE books of the Old Testament, the Pentatuch, the LAWSs and their history through Moses.

Genesis -Setting the stage for mankind, and what happens when mankind messes up. Exodus -Folks had to get out of town to excape their misery of being enslaved…You know that song of Go Down, Moses! Tell old Pharoah: Let my people go! ..and how to act once you are free…

Leviticus -Here are the rules of the road, and why they are so important to your freedom! Rules to be taught to you by the priests in charge!

Numbers -The adventures in the travels of the newly freed people in the plains of Moab, about to cross over into Canaan!

Deuteronomy -Ok, you messed up again 500 years later, so we will tell you those rules all over again, a long with the 613 yeah-buts….. yeah but what if blab-blab-blab happens….

December 28, 2020

Oh the memories of Christmas past…. when my parents had enough money to find a Christmas tree on Christmas Eve, at a price they could afford… my dad would strike bargains with the tree lot guys because they wanted to get rid of the trees especially by Christmas Eve in the city, Washington DC. As a child I alway thought it was the tradition to get a tree on Christmas Eve. As I grew older, I found out the reasoning behind the tradition at our house. When I was old enough to hold a job outside of home as a teenager, I took it upon myself to by the family Christmas tree. My dad drove me around to different tree lots in the city, I’d select what I wanted and paid for it.

I would help my dad find a bucket and some bricks and rocks so that the tree could be set up and not fall down. Then we’d fill the bucket with water and a little bleach after planting the tree securely into the bucket.

My mother also had her own formula for “frosting” the trees! She made extra thick slurries out of powdered detergent, and my sister and I helped her frost the trees with the slurry. A slurry is a very thick almost like paste liquid. When the frosting dried, it looked just like snow had fallen onto the tree limbs where we plastered the frost onto the tree. When the stuff dried, my sister and I could drape the tree with baubles, beads and tinsel. Not once did our cats try to climb the tree! Maybe it was the frosted limbs that deterred them.

After all that work, we never took our tree down until the end of January!

Then came the traditional Christmas Day service at church. Most matriarchs of the households sent their families to church so that they could work without interruption in the family kitchen getting the foods ready. Yep, the dads and uncles baby sat the kids in church!

Most people in my extended family were from large families, so we usually spent the first 5 days hopping from house to house feeding off of the continuous smorgasbord of food delights. Mincemeat pies that contained real meat, roasted smoked turkey, smoked country ham, fruitcake, all kinds of pies, and egg nog! The kids got egg nog ice cream. The teens got soda pop. Those old enough to drink alcohol liked joining in with spiking their egg nog with rum or brandy to join the leagues of the “old” folks.

As the finally finished cooking and cooling so that the flavors could meld, the mother of the household set up the table in the finest manner, silent butler cloth followed by a fancly lace table cloth. Then came the fine china, crystal goblets, and formal silver dinnerwares along with fancy napkins.

Yes, our dining room table and room resembled this set up! Even in our relatives’ homes, too! And we dressed for dinner, in formal clothing for Christmas Day. In the after days, were became more casual, less formal, but still used the same table settings as you see in the photo. The formal table cloth stayed until New Year’s Eve. (Yes, we had to crumb it, shake it and spot clean it daily, too!)

By the end of day 4, we had creative ways of working those leftovers for day 5. Turkey salad with diced ham! Ham salad with diced turkey! Greens laced with turkey and ham. And don’t forget the fruitcake laced with rum, and one laced with brandy or bourbon!

In addition to hopping from house to house of our relatives, we also had a caroling crew in the neighborhood. Folks started at one end of the block, and sang a song. Then they jumped to the next house, taking the first household with them, and they sang. Next the originals and their collective neighbors continued from house to house on one side of the street singing, and sipping orange juice and ginger ale, or “juiced” up egg nog until they reached the end of the block. Everybody had a good time singing and sipping!

Yes, this went on for 4 days, too. By day 5 we were all too tuckered out to do it again. We were a conglomeration of Irish Catholics, Italian Catholics, Greek Catholics, Baptists, German Lutherans, Presbyterians, etc. all blending our voices and traditions together, wonderfully well. Just about everyone was walking sideways from sipping that eggnog, too!

Merry Christmas Blesssings to you !

December 27, 2020

By now you and I have heard lots of Christmas Season music, some sacred, some secular. Some traditional mode, some quasi contemporary like your grandparents mode, and some contemporary, as well as hip-hop and fusion whatever the next step is.

Recently I was riding along with a family friend who made an interesting observation. He is of the millineal group, I am a baby boomer grouper. His observation was that millineals have fallen away from the traditional church formation because it is no longer relevant for them. He might have a point. According to a recent Pew Research group survey results, as I have been told in the past 5 years, mainstream church attendance and membership is dropping, unchurched people numbers are rising. I always wonder where these people get their data from. Nobody asked me about my religious life for some survey. Now, with the c-19 virus, nobody is showing up in person if at all…. But I digress.

What I have observed is that millineals do attend church, but not in the traditional manner. They, in different waves, try to be the religion, to live the faith, rather than dictate the faith.

Remember, this is all just my own observation. We had this discussion in our church adult Sunday School class (Studying And Learning Together /SALT). I didn’t want to hijack the discussion pointing out that the study’s data was skewed. These types of studies only use sample populations. So when the sample is flawed, guess what? So are the results.

Ok, I did semi-hijack the discussion to point out that the unchurched people are not really unchurched. They are conducting and attending church in a different format from the traditional channels. Some declare themselves as spiritual, some as just religious but no affiliation. Some declare themselves agnostic, some as atheist, some as theist, some as Wiccan, some as [whatever]-ist.

The real question is how do they live out their beliefs? Then you compare that with how those who are still mainstream or traditional live out their beliefs. I think the new generation is sick of all the labels people get stuck on and get hypocritical practices about, so they form their own groups..

What the new generation doesn’t realize is that this has been going on forever. That’s how we got all these denominations. They each started out as religious movements to step outside of the “box”. They are history repeating themselves. Yes, their hymns are rewritten, repurposing the old hymns, as well as bringing in newer hymns, some of which are shallow, some are ballads, and some are pure celebrations of the Spirit. Then the older hymns get rediscovered…

What’s that got to do with Christmas? Everything, just about. The results of the birth of Jesus Christ has become a unifying factor, no matter what people believe or say they believe. The Jesus Christ factor… take it as a real existence, take it as a theorectical theosophy, or academic discourse. Either way, evidence will pop up when you least expect it, “in your face”.

So now it is time to sing the 12 Days of Christmas up thru the 3rd Day…On the 3rd Day of Christmas my true love gave to me…… 3 Calling Birds…. What??? The Trinity! You know those birds: Father, Son, Holy Spirit! Another explanation renders it: the 3 Great Things of Faith, Hope, and Love!

-2 Testaments of the Old and the New Covenants: The Bible!

-And the Son of God coming to fertile ground!

Hold it! Stop! “Those are not the words, weirdo writer”, you might say. Remember the song is a code. Here’s another reference with another perspective on background history… https://www.crosswalk.com/special-coverage/christmas-and-advent/the-12-days-of-christmas-lyrics-meaning.html (click to open in a new tab)

What, no music video with this writing? Nope you have it going on in your head already!

Just when you thought we were regaining sanity, I found this magnificent book, The 12 Days of Christmas, illustrated by Don Daily..the last 2 pages:

Live it up!

December 26, 2020

Here we are, the 2nd of the 12 days of Christmas. Ah, what did my true love give to me on the 2nd day? Two French Hens! Say whaaat? Yep, it is in the coded song of the 12 Days of Christmas. Those 2 hens are the Old and the New Testaments! The word “French” was a distractor, or anothe code to have folks take notice that there are 2 distinct and major parts in our Bible.

Back to the Christmas story of archaeological thinking…. I came across this interesting video clip of Jonathan Cahn…. Interesting conversation! Interesting! He even gets into comparing how Matthew and Luke present the lineages of Joseph and of Mary. Get out your Bible so you can reference what this man says: Mathhew and Luke.

Keep this name in your notes: Jeconiah. He became the cursed king of Judah. Remember some time way back in some other part of this blog we traced that Judah and Israel fought for the right to be the real kingdom? Babylon was the enemy outside, but told Jaconiah they had Judah’s back, so go ahead and fight Israel. Bad move n Jaconiah’s part, to trust the common enemy. Babylon turned on Judah, and took everybody hostage! Somewhere in the Jewish/Hebrew history is the saying: Do not speak against your people! There is another caveat of: Do not uncover your parents’ nakedness, nor your kindred’s nakedness. A translation goes beyond wearing clothes, and includes exposing your kindred’s weaknesses in being mean spirited to exercise power over them. Whomever you think has your back and is also your common enemy, think again!

That’s what happened to Jeconiah. Look up his story, in case I got the history jumbled up. The curse was that he was the last of the line of the Ruling House (pedigree) of David for a loooong time. Joseph, Mary’s husband and Jesus’ earthly dad, is of that line of the House of David. Mary came from a different line but still of the House of David. So they are both of the royal line, but virtually unknown.

What’s that got to do with the magi? The magi were looking for the event of the birth of a new king…..of the House of David… Now the story gets juicy. Here it from this fellow, Jonathan Cahn:

Is your brain fried yet? I mean, this fellow….whew!

And the beat goes on….

December 25, 2020 The 1st Day of Christmas!

What did my true love (God Eternal) give to me? [ Hint: in the song below from youtube, an old African American old timey gospel work!]

A Partridge (Jesus Christ) in a pear tree (the womb of Mary). What ? Jesus was a partridge? No, the partridge personality bird is one that is willing to give up its life to protect it’s own flock. You know the song, on the 1st day of Christmas…. Now here comes another inspirational work…. hang onto your hats!

And now the music and the images break forth! for some reason in the good old days, we sang carols throughout the month of December to celebrate Christmas. As time passed by people stopped singing after December 25th, and became secular. Some folks throw out their Christmas trees on the next day, disrobe their Christmas lights. Oh my goodness! Now folks tend to want their kids to have a Christmas: lots of toys and gifts, but not the Christmas story. But perhaps that will change for the better…..

Now this next one is very…..moving…. in more ways than one…. get ready to move that Christmas day long eating around and celebrate Hope, Love, Joy, and Peace!

And the beat goes on…..

December 24, 2020 -Day 26 of Advent 2020

I heard that in your head you are singing that 12 Days of Christmas song in your head. Ok, what did my true love give to me? Why it was 4 calling birds! Say what? What are calling birds? In reality some bird that squawks a lot, or sings a lot with a type of call and response. I’m guessing. Break into the code…yes, it is a code: the 4 Gospels! You learn the Gospels by singing it, calling it out loud as in reciting, not just reading it. Talking it. Squawk it. Sing it. Recite it…. You become a “calling bird”.

Moving right along, before I got distracted by the birds, we are visiting those wise men, the 3 Kings, also known as the magi. So far we have spoken about 2 traditions. Here is a foreshadowing of their trip, but learn a little from this video clip, even though it is a fictionalized account….

Take a break….until next time!

December 23, 2020 -the 25th Day of Advent

Oh, it is still Advent on the Eastern Orthodox Calendar and our Western calendar, so don’t worry. To bring you up to date, the Eastern Orthodox Calendar celebrates 40 days of Advent, known as the Nativity Fast. It is based based on the Julian Calendar rather than our contemporary Gregorian based calendar. Thusly, Advent starts on or around November 15 this year, usually, and ends around January 6th. It’s a 40 day span rather than a for week span. Yes, a fasting time that goes from dawn to dusk. If you live in the northern hemisphere closer to the North Pole, that won’t be a problem for most folks. Long nights, shorter daylight time.

For more information in greater detail and layman’s terms: Nativity Fast – Wikipedia .

What has that got to do with anything?

It has to do with the travels of the magi, otherwise known as the 3 kings. Were there actually 3 kings? It depends on whose story you are researching. One tradition claims that the kings were the alignments of 3 large planetary bodies in the skies, the “stars” that moved out of their usual rhythm of the universe and started to align. The astronomers of the times in the countries with advanced sciences in astronomy paid attention to it and wanted to find out further what that meant for the planet we live on.

Another traditional story reports that there were 3 notable kings whose astronomers informed them of the star movements that were meaningful signs in the skies that a significant king of some type was about to be born, coming through the lineage of the House of David’s throne. Astronomers and astrologers had joint sciences in those days, evidently. As a kingly person of an advanced science civilization, it was only normal to want to set up an alliance ahead of time if there needed to be an alliance. At least go to where the astronomers said to find the action and pay a royal visit.

That’s an interesting depiction of the 3 Kings traveling…. however, keep in mind that royalty didn’t travel up front in those days. They traveled incognito and imposters rode up front just in case there was trouble on the roads. Now, if the 3 Kings were more like specialists in their field of astronomy and astrology, they were the 3 kings of their fields. Now that would make the above image more true to form. It’s all in the perception and research of who did what more true to the form of the times. Lots of stories and perceptions out there about who the kings actually were and where they hailed from.

More coming later.

…

December 22, 2020 Advent Day 24

What? Are you nuts? —Yep! Nuts, walnuts, cashews, peanuts, almonds, pistachios… but they are not in the song of the 12 days of Christmas. Remember way back down the line of the Advent works? I wrote about the 12 Days of Christmas. The first day of Christmas 2020 is about to happen in 3 more days, December 25. If you are still in the Eastern Orthodox Calendar, you are still in the middle Advent stage. But that’s OK. The three magi have been notified and they are on the way. Refresher notes are on the way, too, about those 12 days of Christmas.

Did you know that the 12 days song can be sung collectively? Not sure if that was part of the tradition or not, but it could be, so says the cat. In case you lost your notes or you mind has escaped for a brief interlude in the past 48 hours, here is a refresher.

The 12 Days of Christmas most probably served as a memory game whereby each child recited a verse until someone missed a verse and had to pay some sort of penalty. At least this was how the song was presented in its earliest known printed version in the 1780 children’s book Mirth Without Mischief.

The earliest well-known version of the music of the song was recorded by English scholar James Halliwell in 1842, and he published a version in the 4th edition of The Nursery Rhymes of England (1846), collected principally from oral tradition.

Modern folklore claims that the song’s lyrics were written as a “Catechism song” to help young Catholics learn their faith, at a time when practicing Catholicism was criminalized in England (1558 until 1829). –[King Henry 8^th outlawed Catholicism and declared that no one but God is above the king of England. So goodbye to the Pope and the Catholic Church; Hello to the Anglican Church.-zm]

It is more probable that the song is French and dates back to at least 1625.  It is probably confused with a song titled “Those 12 Days” or “A New Dial” which was recited in a question-answer format.

-What are they that are but one?  We have one God alone, In heaven above sits on His throne.

-What are they that are but two? Two Testaments, the old and new, We do acknowledge to be true.

-What are they which are but three?  Three persons in the Trinity, Which make one God in unity. Etc.

On the firstDay of Christmas  what gave my Loving God to me?

His son….who  gave His life for me

On the 2nd Day of Christmas what  did my Loving God give to me?

The 2 Great Books of the Bible: The Old and New Testaments…

On the 3rd Day of Christmas what gave my Loving God to me?

The 3 important traits of Christian character: Faith, Hope, and Love…

On the 4th Day of Christmas what gave my Loving God to me?

The Four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John …….

On the 5th Day of Christmas what gave my Loving God to me?

The Pentatuch, the 5 books of Moses!……

On the 6th Day of Christmas what gave my Loving God to me?

6 Days of Creation productivity so that I could rest from obligated work onDay 7 and Worship in Spirit and in Truth to prepare for the next series of 6 Days

On the 7th Day of Christmas what gave my Loving God to me?

The 7 fold gifts of the Holy Spirit: Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Giving, Leadership, and Compassion …..

On the 8thDay of Christmas what gave my Loving God to me?

The 8 Beatitudes that cover the soul with the milk of the Kindness of Heaven…

On the 9th Day of Christmas what gave my Loving God to me?

      The 9 Fruits of the Holy Spirit: Love, Joy, Peace,        Patience. Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-control

On the 10th Day of Christmas what gave my Loving God to me?

The 10 Commandments! ….

On the 11th Day of Christmas what gave my Loving God to me?

The 11 faithful apostles! 1.) Simon (whom He named Peter); 2.) Andrew; 3.) James; 4.) John; 5.) Philip; 6.) Bartholomew; 7.) Matthew; 8.) Thomas; 9.) James son of Alphaeus;   10.) Simon who was called the Zealot; 11.) Judas son of James (not Judas Iscariot)

On the 12th Day of Christmas what did my Loving God give to me?

The 12 points of belief in the Apostle’s Creed:

1. I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

2. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.

3. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.

4. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.

5. He descended into hell. On the third day he rose again.

6. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.

7. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

8. I believe in the Holy Spirit,

9. -the holy catholic/universal Church, the communion of saints,

10.- the forgiveness of sins,

11.- the resurrection of the body,

12. -and the life everlasting.

More at: https://householdsoffaith.wordpress.com/tag/12-points-of-the-apostles-creed/

Oh-Oh, those are not the words you anticipated? Try this again. Ok, this time use the cheat chart:  

Ah, you need the music…. ok! Here it is, but you gotta do your part for 12 days, sing as a collective work. On the 12th day you get to sing the entire work, whichever arrangement you want . hahahah! Time to practice a little: (Yeah, it looks blurry…it’s from the old days before high definition. But your job is to treat it like a radio show! Listen and sing along! )

And now, let’s move and enjoy this next work….there is a part that goes “Get up and go find your Promise, leave all your worries behind.” When I first heard this work, my brain rearranged the words: People, get up off your carpets! Leave all those worries behind…! ”

Take a well deserved break, and enjoy the blessings!

Information Resources:  http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/resources//advent/customs-and-traditions/the-history-of-the-twelve-days-of-christmas

http://www.householdsoffaith.wordpress.com/tag/12-points-of-the-apostles-creed/

http://www.umc.org/what-we-believe/apostles-creed-traditional-ecumenical

 Oh, there’s another story on the Protestant side of history in the Englishlander’s country domain….. This was irresistible, so I had to include it: https://www.whychristmas.com/customs/12daysofchristmas.shtml . It’s an adventure all by itself. It explains why the Good King Wenceslas carol is relevant to the celebration of the Christmas season as we have learned to know it as westerners…

Be ready for December 26th, the day of the Feast of St. Stephen. Who? You are on your own to look up that one. Good King Wenceslas looked out, on the Feast of Stephen. There the snow laid ’round about, deep and crisp and even… King Wenceslas was a king in the area of what is now Poland…. not in the Middle East. But the Christian world extended into Poland…the king got the idea of it all…made history with his pronouncements ….it’s in the carol. I’m sure you can find it…. Break time, again!

December 23, 2020 -Day 25 of Advent

It is a priceless Joy, a wonderous Joy, Joy, Joy! How Great is the Joy! Immensely Great! [The next performing artist’s name is….Joy! Nope I didn’t plan that. Divine Coincidence!]

May the Merry Christmas Blessings with the Wonderous Lights of Hope, Love, and Joy, fill our lives with Divine Peace!

People, we have just been CHURCHED! Amen!

December 22, 2020 -the 24th Day of Advent

We are now on the eve of the Greatest Joy. December 22, 2020 is when we celebrate it this year. But remember the question raised a few days ago about Joseph! What about Joseph! So little has been sung about Joseph, a role model for Jesus in this earthly life. How did Joseph feel about his commission to be the earthly parent of Jesus, Son of God?

A few music world artists have attempted to present Joseph’s thoughts in beautiful ways.

And now for the piece de resistance`!

Time to rest your brain with a Hawai’ian rendition of O Holy Night…

Mele Kalikimaka !