A little cultural treat

I've begun perusing these pages. I copied the shortbread recipe and sent it to certain special people. It's a lovely thread.

I'm glad you came by to visit, edgarblythe.

If you were closer by, I'd be over with a plate of stollen and gingerbread cookies for you.

Thanks for the religious tolerance link- it is good to look over the rim of the own plate and I am grateful that we can teach this in social studies.

Oh Christmastree, oh Christmastree
your location is still a mystery to me.

It is of course in a baroque setting- so Inner City- baroque squares in other districts are not wide enough and don't do Christmas markets.

3. Advent is the first day christmas trees are sold in Vienna. It is nice to see the little forests on all streetcorners. They will be decorated on 12/24- nobody here sees a decorated Christmastree before Christmas Eve- always a big secret until the door to the livingroom will open and you will see the burning candles (real ones). If there are children - their eyes are just shining.
During Advent people start to build the nativity scene. The landscape, stable, sheep, other animals, shepherds, farmers, some créches have a Mary riding towards the stable. Each day something is added- until everything is completed on Christmas Eve.

I would respond with some storebought somethins.

besides Belsnickels we need a Zwaqrta Piet to keep in chains . his job is to lure kids by throwing coins and candy in front of them. When they come and pick up the coins, the Belsnickel whacks em witha switch. After 1 time most kids just leave the money lay and start throwing rocks at the BElsnickel. Hence the american tradittion of throwing beer bottles at Santa started

ul - I really like the wait to get the tree and keeping the decorated tree hidden until Christmas Eve. I feel a bit sorry for children who see the tree for weeks - it seems there is a level of excitement missing for them. The tree has just become a part of the living room furniture after a few weeks.

I can recall visiting friends of the hamburgers who put their tree up in a dining room that wasn't used much. It had french doors that stayed curtained until Christmas Eve. It was such a thrill when the big reveal happened.

Hi farmerman,
Interesting..!!! And funny - I've never actually heard of throwing beer bottles at Santa, but, it makes sense the day after if you didn't get what you wanted.

Oh, and I like yer location - - - it reminds me of a direction I heard on "Sunday Morning" - - - "just drive north on jenkins road till you come to the yeller dog and make a right." Sure enough a yellow dog was sleeping at the turning place. lol

Precepio's are an art form originated by St. Francis of Assisi during the 18th Century. The Neapolitan Precepio is one of the oldest and most famous.
http://www.crechesbythesea.org/PhotoPages/NeapolitanCreche/Neapolitan.htm

Stradee

St. Francis of Assisi lived from 1181 (or 1182) to 1226 :wink:

Nice link Museum of Presepio

A really vast list about all and everything related to presepios and crips is to be found HERE.

We've got quite a famous "Krippenmuseum" a couple of miles away from were I live link

The oldest crip in Germany still used and to be seen, is the one in Augsburg cathedral, from 1590.
A couple of small parish churches around here has got some from 17th and 18th century, although the most spectacular are those from 19th century.

Í've posted this photo



on a different thread.

It's really a nice Christmas market in Manchester. (You even can go around without knowing any English: most of the stalls are German, some Dutch or French :wink: )


The oldest (German) Christmas market in England is the one in Birmingham: since 30 years going on, this year 67 stalls selling everything from German food and drink to toys and ornaments.
They [= the conservative city council] wanted to close it this years and change it towards a Victorian English Christmas market.
The local paper had had special issues to publish all the pro letters-to-the-editor :wink:

LUCYFEST / FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS
It begins in the darkest hours of the morning of December 13 during the tide of Uht_ (2 a.m. to 4 a.m.). A young woman wearing a white gown, a red sash and a crown of lingonberry twigs and blazing candles emerges out of the darkness carrying a tray of rich saffron buns and steaming coffee to wake the family. Throughout Sweden the feast day of Lucia, or Lucy, is celebrated as a festival of lights. The Lucia Queen, or Lussibruden (Lucy Bride) leads the processions. Albert Eskerod, who describes Swedish holidays in Arets Fester (The Year's Holidays), believes the tradition of honoring Lucia came originally from Germany and speculates that the festival was originated in Sweden by Vikings who traveled south on peaceful trading expeditions to Italy and brought back the stories of the Christian martyr, Lucia.


More here

I could see the picture in Preview-

here is the url :
http://hem.passagen.se/antonx/9712135s.jpg

Walter - oops - got me centuries

<St. Francis is also the patron saint and who San Francisco named for. Each year the Bishop celebrates St. Francises' love of animals by performing a blessing ceremony for the City's animals>

Presepios, creches, with figures of Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, the wise men, shepherds, including oxen and donkeys emerge
everywhere. The idea of a creche belongs to St. Francis of Assisi. Desirous of ensuring that the real meaning of Christmas not be lost, in 1223 in a little town called Greccio, he made the first creche. Quickly, creches were adopted by the king, nobles and the wealthy. Some had hundreds of figures. So powerful a concept was it, that it was soon adopted by just about everyone, near and far. Today, every church, piazza, store and restaurant has its own, from simple to lavish, more than fulfilling St. Francis' vision. Each family reserves a special corner for its own personal creche.

Great photo, Walter! Will check our the sites you and Ul posted after work today.

Sunday (the third Sunday of Advent) we lit the pink candle on the Advent
Wreath. In the Catholic tradition, this used to be called "Gaudete"
("Rejoice") Sunday from the opening words of the liturgy for that day.

The third Sunday of Advent, originated as a penitential season in
preparation for the feast of Christmas just as Lent prepared for Easter.
The vestments worn during Advent were purple, oddly enough a liturgical
color denoting penance. The exception was Gaudete Sunday when rose
vestments were sometimes worn. Many Advent wreaths have three
purple and one pink candle with the same significance - emphasis on
hope in dark times.

In Catholic churches, you won't see any Christmas decorations until the
Vigil of Christmas ("Midnight Mass").

Some sites don't allow posting their pics on other sites:
- you can see it, because it's in your cache,
- we and you only can notice that, after you posted here.

Ul, thankyou for the information regarding Santa Lucia!

George, do you remember when Mass was celebrated using the original Latin text - before the English version introduced to American Churches?


Santa Lucia ~ The Queen Of Lights

http://www.serve.com/shea/germusa/lucia.htm

http://www.scandinavica.com/culture/tradition/lucia.htm

Hope, like the gleaming taper's light,
Adorns and cheers our way,
And still, as darker grows the night
Emits a brighter ray.

link

in the sky tonight



http://www.jb.man.ac.uk/public/nightsky.html

ehBeth ~ lovely art! Thanks ~

Not sure where the photo was taken but here's a pic of meteor showers

ohhhhh - lovely

now if i stay up til 2:00 a.m., do we think the snow will back off here, so that i'll be able to see something?

i do love love love meteor showers