Eve of the Second Sunday of Advent 2019

Tonight marks the Eve of the Second Sunday of Advent, a season that I've written about in a number of entries throughout my years of having this blog. Wikipedia defines this time period as a "season observed in many Christian churches as a time of expectant waiting and preparation for both the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas and the return of Jesus at the Second Coming. The term is a version of the Latin word meaning 'coming."

I'm most thankful to have been given a wreath, which can be seen in the photo that is atop this entry (you can read about the significance of the wreath on another Wikipedia page by clicking here).

This wreath was made especially (as a gift) for me by the same women who gave me one last year.

Gaudete Sunday (Third Sunday of Advent)

According to Wiki, on this third Sunday of Advent, "In churches that have an Advent wreath, the rose colored candle is lit in addition to two of the violet (or blue) colored candles, which represent the first two Sundays of Advent. Despite the otherwise somber readings of the season of Advent, which has as a secondary theme the need for penitence, the readings on the third Sunday emphasize the joyous anticipation of the Lord’s coming.” 

In honor of this, I lit the rose-colored candle within the Advent wreath that I have in my home (as seen above). I've written about Gaudete Sunday in bygone years and if you'd like to reference the post, please click here.

Friday Follow Up: "Oh, Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree ...."

The nearly one year old photo atop this entry features Christmas tree sellers from Gaspé, Quebec, Canada; and it is one I featured in my Christmas Day post for 2017.

I'm including it again within this entry because I've reconnected with JM, the woman in the middle of this image.

The Beginning of Advent + Chanukah for 2018

 

It's the first Sunday of Advent, a season that I've written about in a number of entries throughout my years of having this blog. Wikipedia defines this time period as a "season observed in many Christian churches as a time of expectant waiting and preparation for both the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas and the return of Jesus at the Second Coming. The term is a version of the Latin word meaning 'coming."

I'm most thankful to have been given a wreath, which can be seen in the photo that is atop this entry (you can read about the significance of the wreath on another Wikipedia page by clicking here) and I will be lighting the first candle today.

Moreover, the celebration of Chanukah AKA The Festival Lights (which is a holiday that I've also discussed here on Blogger for over several years ) also begins today.

Wikipedia describes this time period as the"Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire."

My rescue tree rescued me.

THE STORIES IN MY BOOK SERIES ARE SET  MY GARDEN

Twas the night before the night before Christmas; and I found myself disappointed about having no tree. For the past several years, I've had one in my rooftop garden and in a number of cyber venues, (including posts here on Blogger), I have discussed how I've decorated it with white lights as well as  bird feeders.

I think my not having a tree when it was the night before the night before Christmas would have come as a surprise to Juan V, because the last time that he was here to help me do our winterizing ritual in my garden, he firmly predicted that I would get one. He even left a space for a Christmas tree with an easy to access a power cord to use for any lights that I might hang on it. All of this can be seen in the image atop this entry.

The thought of having no Christmas tree for the array of wild birds who visit here and who have used my various Christmas trees to keep warm over the years made me sad. And I dare say that members of the avian community have come to count on it.

It's Christmas Card Day!

I recently came across the Peanuts comic strip (posted above) in my TLLG FB newsfeed. Evidently it was originally published on December 2, 1972. Since today, December 9th is Christmas Card Day, I think it's a good time to share Woodstock's wisdom, as well as Snoopy's skepticism with his lesson learned.

Tuesday's Truths WK 68: More Tree-Lined Streets in the UWS of NYC

Welcome to week sixty-fifth of my Tuesday's Truths series, dear reader! I wanted to let you know that this past Thursday, The Macy's Thanksgiving Parade had barely finished before NYC began to see more tree-lined streets, as evidenced in the images atop this blog post.

With the exception of the first image, the pictures feature Christmas trees that are brought down from by French-Canadians who dominate New York's Christmas tree market.

Tonight is The First Night of Chanukah Moreover, it's also Christmas Eve!

Tonight is The First Night of Chanukah. There will be a menorah lighting ceremony on 59th Street and Fifth Avenue in New York City, at the southern most point of Central Park. According to a NYC-related web-page, the menorah to be lit is 32 feet tall and weighs 4.000 pounds! The menorahs pictured in the image atop this entry are just a little smaller than that (-;

Be that as it may, in spite of having Jewish ancestors, I know very little about Chanukah or the lighting of the menorah, but I have read that "Chanukah means 'dedication,' and commemorates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after its desecration by foreign forces and the Jews' victory over the Hellenist Syrians in the year 165 B. C. For the rededication celebration, the Maccabees desired to light the menorah and looked everywhere for oil, finally finding a small flask that contained only enough oil to light the menorah for one day. Miraculously, the oil lasted for eight days. The message of Chanukah may be found in the name of the holiday itself: dedication —not only of the temple building but of individual lives to the pursuit of high religious and human ideals." This quote is something I discussed in bygone years in an entry here on Blogger where I wrote about a parallel between Advent and Chanukah.

The Fourth Sunday of Advent

Today is The Fourth Sunday in the 2016 Advent season. I've written about Advent in bygone years here on Blogger, including an entry which you may refer to by clicking here. And this year, I've provided entries re The First, The Second and The Third Sunday of Advent. Each of these three entries has included an image of my 2016 Advent Wreath as it appeared on a given Sunday during this Advent season. My wreath is looking a little bedraggled on this last Sunday of Advent, as evidenced by the image atop this entry. However, the message for the Fourth Sunday of Advent is as vibrant as ever!

A Reason For My UNWRITTEN Musings? (Including The Third Sunday of Advent)

The image above this blog entry is a copy of an essay by E.B. White. According to Rebecca Hall, who produced a collection of White's essays, this piece was published in The New Yorker in 1930. It is an essay that I've read and re-read a number of times as it truly speaks to my heart when I'm experiencing moments of frustration as a writer.

Often when folks hear of one's inability to move forward with his/her writing, they attribute the "plight" to the author having writer's block. While this may be true, I think, in my case, the inability to move forward on composing a certain piece, might be due to the reason White offers re an inability to write about a given topic: "writing about them might prove embarrassing."

Two Celebrations! The 2nd Sunday of Advent AND National Cookie Day!

Today is The Second Sunday of Advent! Last Sunday, November the 27th 2016, which was The First Sunday of Advent, began the new liturgical year with The Season of Advent.

I wrote about this fact in a blog post and mentioned that, "according to Holiday Insights: 'Advent is a holy season in the Christian calendar. It is the beginning of the liturgical calendar. It is a very special time, as Christians wait and prepare for the coming of the Lord, Jesus whose birth we celebrate on Christmas. While Santa Claus' arrival is a big big event, we must remember Jesus' birth on earth is much bigger, and the real cause for Christmas. In the early days of the church, Advent was a time of prayer and confession. Today, Advent is more a time of preparation and expectation of the coming of the Lord.

"'The Advent Wreath is an important symbol of Advent of the season. It usually sits on the dinner table and is a constant reminder of the holy season. The wreath is of German origin and consists for an evergreen wreath, and four Advent candles. Three candles are purple and one is pink.

"'The lighting tradition- On the fourth Sunday before Christmas (the first Sunday of Advent), the first Advent candle is lit at dinner and a short prayer is said. The first candle is lit each night along with a short prayer. On the second Sunday  of Advent, a second purple candle is lit. On the third Sunday the pink candle is lit. Finally on the fourth Sunday of Advent, just a few days before the birth of Christ, the final purple candle is lit."

The first two images atop this blog entry feature my Advent wreath as it appeared on the Second Sunday in Advent during bygone years, while the third picture features how it appeared on the vigil (eve) of this year's Second Sunday in Advent.

It's Chester Greenwood Day!

Today is the first Saturday in December which means that it's Chester Greenwood Day! He can be seen in the photo above, wearing earmuffs, an accessory that he invented!

The 2016 Advent Season begins today.

Today, Sunday, November the 27th 2016, marks the beginning of a new liturgical year with The Season of Advent.

A Lesson from Reindeer!

The three reindeer seen in the image atop today's blog entry are enjoying a good laugh about the antics of yours truly (as well as the antics of my visiting candy corn fraternal twins). For as you may recall, dear reader, in my last post here on Blogger (which was this past Wednesday, November the twenty-seventh), I was in full agreement with the candy corn twins' "not-so-fast-advice" when it came to the preparation for the Christmas holidays; and rightly so, for at that time, it was the eve of Thanksgiving and the corn twins had every right to tell the Peppermint People to hide their faces until at least December (which they ultimately did as seen in the image below which was featured in an entry on hometalk).

But now it has been a week since Thanksgiving and the Christmas season is in full swing in New York City. The famous annual ritual of the lighting of the Rockefeller Christmas Tree took place last night, less than one week after the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade; another annual event, one which I covered here on Blogger in 2012 (in posts that you may refer to by clicking here as well as here)  because it was the first time I had ever seen the entire parade.

Friday Follow Up

As those of you who follow my blog know, ever since October 21, 2011, I have designated Friday as a day to follow-up on topics which have been mentioned here on TLLG.

Honoring the Season of Feasts with Hakonechola Macra (Japanese Forest Grass)

Today is the Fourth Sunday of Advent, a season that began on November 28th 2010.  Dennis Bratcher writes,"the fourth candle of the advent wreath is lit on this day and the light of these candles reminds Christian believers that Jesus is the light of the world — the light that comes into the darkness of people's lives to bring newness, life and hope. It also reminds people that they are called to bring light into the world, and to reflect this grace to others. The progression in the lighting of the Advent candles symbolizes the aspects of waiting, as the candles are lit during the four week period, it also symbolizes the darkness of fear and hopelessness receding as more and more light is shed into the world." Even though I have done volunteer work by bringing Holy Communion to the homebound every Sunday, as well as special feast days, for the past five years, I confess I still struggle with having the faith Bratcher describes.

Home for the Holidays

As part of this year's winterizing my roof-top garden, my Fagus sylvatica (Beech Tree), 'housed' in a lovely container, was removed from where it had been placed in what had been a frame for a table.

You may recall what I wrote about this in an earlier entry and if not, please click here. In any event, the reason for moving the Fagus sylvatica was that it was located at the extreme northwest corner of my garden and very exposed to nature's elements.

With winter-like temperatures setting in, I had to protect it by having the container wrapped twice in bubble-wrap, then 'sealed' with burlap (from on-line fabrics) tied tightly with jute, and then butt it up against the southeast portion of my roof extension garden. All the plants alongside where the Fagus had been located were treated in the same way and moved as well, where they could all huddle together, but placed in such a way as if they were sitting in an audience and each needed a good seat to see what was happening.

Lighting a Fire Inside the Heart . . .

"Christmas is not in tinsel and lights and outward show. The secret lies in an inner glow. It's lighting a fire inside the heart. Good will and joy a vital part. It's higher thought and a greater plan. It's glorious dream in the soul of man." (Wilfred A. Peterson) 

It is only December 13th, and Christmas is 12 days away, but from all the frenzy of various tree lighting celebrations (which I have blogged about in a previous post) that sets crowds clamoring in New York City where I live, it is  hard not to get caught up in the often chaotic atmosphere of the city.

The Lighting of the Actinida Kolomikta and Actimidia (Kiwi Vines) Soirée: Alternative to Crowded Tree and Menorah Lighting Celebrations

Happy December! There are so many celebrations this month, in New York City: many tree and menorah lighting events mark the onset of Advent, Chanukah, and Christmas.

This past Friday, November 26th, 2010, the Friday after Thanksgiving, (which I referred to as Blue Friday in a previous post), the South Street Seaport had a ceremony for the lighting of their Christmas Tree beginning at 6:00 PM. 

The sportscaster, Jill Martin, played hostess to the festivities, which included a marching band from Brooklyn, characters from the Big Apple Circus, and jolly old Saint Nick. I'm told that Saint Nick posed for photos at no charge while performers who included Darlene Love and The Big Apple Chorus sang traditional holiday songs; and they were even joined by Rudolph (with his nose oh-so-bright) as well as Frosty The Snowman.

Upcoming Feast Days: Chanukah & Advent Shattering Darkness Part Two: Advent

What I posted yesterday bears repeating especially since this is "part two" of that entry so to reiterate: "It is good to reflect on the symbols of light and hope that mark the Jewish Feast of Chanukah and the Christian Feast of Advent, a time when Jews and Christians use the symbols of candles and lights to shatter the winter darkness."