Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Queen Elizabeth's 2012 Christmas Message
The Queen looks back on a year of celebration and reflects on the importance of public service.
'I Bring You Good News Of Great Joy . . . '
| “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” ~An Angel, Luke 2:10-12 |
Twenty-Five Reasons To Love Christmas
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| Caravaggio's Nativity. |
It's become cheapened, materialized, even defamed. And too many people have tried to secularize the holiday as well. They've wanted to take the "Christmas" out of December 25.
Perhaps the greatest horror is that Halloween has grown in popularity and, but some accounts, now seems to rival Christmas.
But Christmas has a stubborn way of re-emerging -- not just because we need it but because it really is deeply meaningful. Still, we must all do our part to continue to refocus on Christmas and nurture this glorious celebration.
With that in mind, here are our 25 Reasons To Love Christmas:
1) The Nativity. Mary, Joseph and the Christ child. The true meaning of the day and the rightful center of our focus.
2) Fresh Christmas greens. Fragrant, vivid and constant, evergreens help us look forward to the seasons ahead.
3) Christmas trees. A link to the natural world that we enhance during the Christmas season.
4) Angels we have heard on high. To quote Chekov: "We shall find peace. We shall hear angels, we shall see the sky sparkling with diamonds."
5) Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" and all the other books and stories about Christmas.
6) Capra's "It's A Wonderful Life" and all the other classic Christmas movies that have become treasured traditions.
7) Christmas lights. From the ones in your window or on your lawn to the department store spectacles, they all shine brightly and send a shimmering message of hope.
8) Snow. Or ant least the thought of snow. It's the one time of the year that many of us can tolerate the white stiff. And ohhhhh, those snowflakes!
9) Silent Night and all the other Christmas carols as well as more modern, popular Christmas songs.
10) Christmas around the world. Joyeux Noel. Feliz Navidad. Buon Natale. Mele Kalikimaka. God Jul.
11) Christmas with our troops. Let's not forget them as they protect us while everyone else celebrates.
12) Christmas Eve. A night for reflection and high anticipation.
13) The march of the wooden soldiers and all those other wonderful Christmas toys.
14) Jingle Bells. The sound of these festive bells is the sound of Christmas calling.
15) Christmas morning. The fulfillment of wonder.
16) Christmas scents: Gingerbread, evergreens, panettone, roast turkey, sugar 'n spice.
17) Mistletoe. Still a great excuse for kissing, IF you need one.
18) The Italian Seven Fishes Feast. If you haven't enjoyed it, you haven't known Christmas Eve.
19) Christmas cookies. The sweetest annual indulgence.
20) Family. As much as we sometimes complain, we're grateful for all of them, right?
21) Country Christmas. If you haven't been to Nashville of Branson at Christmas, well . . . .
22) Silver Bells. Especially the ones that the Salvation Army rings. Have yougiven this year?
23) Christmas excess. C'mon, it only happens once a year.
24) Christmas candy. You can always start your diet on January 2.
25) Christmas in your heart. Treasure it!
Monday, December 24, 2012
A Real Christmas Story: Love In The Face Of Loss
It's Christmas, a joyous time of the year.And I see dead people.
They are all around me and they are here to celebrate Christmas with me.
I turn on the TV and Jimmy Stewart is racing down Main Street in Bedford Falls hoping to escape the confines of a small town but knowing that he never will.
And Alastair Sim, the quintessential Scrooge, is grimacing in the classic black-and-white version of everyone's favorite Christmas tale.
And in living color I still see Judy Garland and Bing Crosby and Perry Como and Dinah Shore and Andy Williams singing Christmas songs. Judy's still full of pathos as she tenderly sings Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.
Jack Benny is here too and so is Lucy in a tender episode that ends with two Santas where there should be only one. One of the Santas is clearly Fred (William Frawley) but who's that other guy?
And when I turn on the radio. I hear Christmas carols by Luciano Pavarotti and Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra and Mahalia Jackson and Mario Lanza.
On You Tube I watch President Reagan deliver a Christmas message from the White House. The President is warm and reassuring and he speaks confidently of faith in God and our Judeo-Christian heritage.
My mind tumbles back to the gritty, industrial city that I grew up in -- a riverfront city that didn't realize back then that its glory days were already behind it. It's a bleak, damp, gray December day but I'm warm and secure in the confines of my father's old Plymouth as we rush from place to place through narrow city streets marked by row houses and the occasional corner store.
We don't speak very much but I'm so happy to be with him. He's making lots of stops, picking up small treats and gifts from a variety of friends and businesspeople for whom he may have done odd jobs during the year. Whatever he manages to gather will help to make our Christmas a bit happier.
Even in the run up to Christmas, he's a tough negotiator. He barters with merchants and grocers. as he tries to select just the right provisions for our Christmas feast.
He maneuvers through and around streets, neighborhoods and landmarks with the swiftness of a true native.
His energy fills the room wherever he goes. He's not a big guy but he makes a huge impact. And I know that as long as I'm by his side, no harm can come to me.
On Christmas eve aunts, uncles, cousins and neighbors come and go as the all-night feast of the fishes drifts into the wee hours of Christmas day.
On Christmas morning the uncles begin their ritual home visitations, gathering more participants as they move from house to house. Loud, boisterous and well-lubricated, they pass out silver dollars to the children. These will be accepted as treasured tokens and saved in a safe place.
Through it all I see my mother, full of wry wit, optimism and just a the right perspective on the whole panoply. She's got a sharp eye and she's a great mimic as she jokes about people, places and personalities.
If you press her, she may even remember some of the people from her own earlier Christmases but she'd rather dwell in the present. She's very much about her own family, right here, right now.
Of course, now I understand why she took that approach.
As you get older, this is what happens.
Christmas isn't totally joyous. It isn't always candy canes and sugar plums.
So many Christmas memories; so many Christmases past.
Christmas with dead people is bittersweet.
Not to worry, though.
The memories are good. And the sights, sounds and glad tidings live within me.
Plus, at this time of year all of these people seem to come alive once again -- alive in a very special way. They are with me. They are part of me. And I treasure them.
And I suppose that's one of the lessons of Christmas: Let all the people and the events and the memories of the Christmases past deepen and enrich your understanding of this wonderful holiday. Savor it all.
Bring them along with you. Let them walk by your side. Be strengthened by their presence and pass on what you know, who you are, how you feel, what you have learned.
And be proud, strong and tender -- especially for the children who watch you more closely now than at any other time of the year.
In that way, you'll keep the true spirit of Christmas.
Christmas On Beautiful Hilton Head Island!
Nah . . . we're not on Hilton Head; not yet, anyway.
But isn't this tempting?
Secrets Of The Feast Of The Seven Fishes
So strong is this tradition that I can honestly say that in my lifetime I've never spent a Christmas Eve without a variety of fish dishes spread before me. This is a hallowed custom that is passed from one generation to another.
To begin with you must have seven fish selections on the table.
Why seven? Seven is a very important number. It stands for the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church. The seven days of creation. In Biblical numerology, seven is a number of perfection.
And fish is the featured dish because Italians have customarily abstained from eating meat on Christmas Eve. In fact, I do believe that for a long time the Catholic church prohibited the eating of meat the day before Christmas, This is the Christmas vigil.
There is no set menu for this feast.
But here are some of the fishes that are traditionally used: calamari (squid); scungilli [skuhn-GEE-lee] (conch); baccala [bah-kah-LAH] (dry, salt cod); shrimp; clams, usually served with pasta; mussels; snapper, trout, tuna or salmon.
We have adapted this menu over the years and updated it somewhat.
So, our annual feast usually includes calamari, baccala, shrimp, crab cakes, tuna, smelts and salmon. The cod and shrimp are served in both cold and fried or sauteed varieties. Shrimp is served as a shrimp cocktail and as shrimp scampi. Crab is served as both breaded and fried crab balls and fresh, cold crab claws. The baccala is served fried and in a salad. The calamari is served baked and stuffed. The tuna is served with spaghetti in a red sauce. The smelts are fried and the salmon is broiled. In addition to all of this it is customary to serve fried cauliflower and Italian greens.
Our feast is usually preceded by cocktails (that's where the cold shrimp and crab come in) with much chatter and anticipation.
The Feast of the Seven Fishes takes up the entire evening -- usually beginning with the preliminaries at around 5 or 6 PM and often continuing into the wee hours of the morning.
The bountiful array of food remains on the table for everyone to enjoy. Any guests who happen to arrive are also welcomed to partake.
Desserts include an assortment of rich cakes, pies and cookies as well as cannoli and espresso.
Our feast is more casual than it was in years past but fine china, linens and glassware are still used on the table and when I say "casual" I mean business casual. So, this is definitely not a night for jeans or sweat suits or any kind of athletic gear.
And since it's Italian, it's an evening of high drama. All emotions (and generations) are at play. So, it's grand opera one minute, a Broadway musical the next and then lots of rap, in no particular order.
To survive the evening, you need to pace yourself.
It's fine (and expected) to eat more than you usually would -- even much more. But you must take your time. It's best to taste a bit of everything, moving through the huge menu in a careful, measured manner. My favorites are the crab cakes, shrimp and tuna pasta. So, I have to be careful not to eat so much of those dishes lest I not have room for anything else.
If you do not partake of a bit of everything you're liable to offend your host.
Like I said, for Italian families this ritual feast is sacrosanct and emotions often run so high. Why? Because the meaning of the evening is all wrapped up with feelings, memories, loved ones (including those who have passed on) and our most cherished values. Consequently, one must drink in moderation.
In fact, if you feel an urge to lift your glass frequently make sure you're lifting a glass of water.
With all the fish on the table, you will need it.
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Some Things Never Change: Obama On "Me, Me, Me!"
The Weekly Standard reports that "President Barack Obama used the funeral for Hawaii senator Daniel Inouye to talk about himself. In the short 1,600 word speech, Obama used the word "my" 21 times, "me" 12 times, and "I" 30 times."
In fact, during his euology for the noted war-hero senator Obama mentioned himself a whopping 63 times in about 14 minutes. Shameful!
In fact, during his euology for the noted war-hero senator Obama mentioned himself a whopping 63 times in about 14 minutes. Shameful!
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