Solstice, the longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, happens on December 21. In addition to being the longest night, December 21, 2020 is also the date of the Great Conjunction when Jupiter and Saturn will be so closely aligned that, providing the night is clear, you can go outside and see a point of light shining so distinctly you might identify it as a new star.

Jupiter and Saturn are actually separated by more than 400 million miles. It takes Jupiter 12 years to circle the sun, and Saturn needs 29 years to complete the cycle. But every twenty years, the two planets appear to meet. This year they will be 0.1 degree apart, visually less than the diameter of a full moon.

When Jupiter and Saturn’s orbits converge, astronomers call the event a Great Conjunction. The last time Jupiter and Saturn met in such close alignment was March 4, 1226. It’s worth going outside to view the event on December 21. It won’t happen again until March 15, 2080.

The Bethlehem Star

Before discussing the Star of Bethlehem, please note that Jesus probably wasn’t born in December. The church selected that date in order to replace a Roman festival observance.

According to the Gospel of Matthew, on the night Jesus was born a new star appeared in the heavens. The event may have been a Great Conjunction of the planets Jupiter and Venus.

The rare Conjunction attracted the attention of Three Magi —or Three Wise Men —or Three Kings — from the East. These wealthy men, later given the names Balthasar, Melchior, and Gaspar, decided to follow the star to see where it led.

The usual depiction of the wise men is a silhouette of three men riding camels with a bright star to lead them. But Tissot’s painting above is probably more accurate. Wealthy men travel in caravans.

After about two years, the Magi arrived in Jerusalem, and visited King Herod’s court to find out where they could worship the new King of the Jews.

Alternatively, as the astronomer Mark Tompson explains, the magi only traveled three months to reach Bethlehem. Thompson also offers an alternative account of celestial happenings. In the year 2 or 3 B.C.E., the planet Jupiter passed a bright star called Regulus, located in the constellation of Leo, three times due to the the earth’s orbit. Check out his theory in the short video below [with a diagram]

The story of the Wise Men’s journey to Bethlehem may have its roots in other traditions, such as an Iranian legend that there would be a new star to predict the birth of the ruler. Regardless of its source, the arrival of the Three Kings has become a Christmas tradition, and their journey is condensed to completion at the end of the Twelve Days of Christmas on January 6.

December Heavens

Holiday happenings are a part of history, but their commemoration isn’t always entirely accurate. We don’t know when Jesus was born. Nor do we know if there was a simultaneous Great Conjunction of planets. But we do know that Christians celebrate Jesus’s birth on December 25th.

And this year, we know there will be a Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn to form a Christmas Star. In this year, of all years, it’s good to experience some heavenly amazement.

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Illustrations

Painting of Solar System.

Plantets2008 by WP.

The Magi Journeying, c.1890. by James Tissot 1836-1902.

Three Wise Kings. Catalan Atlas. 1375.

Leo I dwarf galaxy by Oliver Stein.

Eric Betz. Jupiter and Saturn will form rare Christmas Star on Winter Solstice. Astronomy. Dec 7, 2020.

The post Christmas Star 2020 first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.

ANCIENT CELEBRATIONS

The Norse god Odin was part of Yule celebrations that took place for three nights after the solstice. During the feasts, the first toast went to Odin to grant victory and power to the king, the second to Njoror and Freyr for good harvests and peace, and the third for the king. Presumably drinking and toasting went on for much of the night.

The custom changed in the Tenth Century when Haakon Haraldsson, known as Haakon the Good, became king. Haakon grew up in Anglo-Saxon England, and returned to Norway as a Christian, a fact he kept secret until he became secure on his throne, at which time he passed a law saying Yule celebrations would coincide with Christmas when everyone was supposed to drink ale and keep the day as long as the ale lasted.

This merging of holidays may be why Google defines Yuletide as an archaic term for Christmas.

Now that mystery is solved, other Christmas customs and terms make sense. There is the YULE LOG — not the cake but the specially selected tree brought into the house to be burnt. Yule logs predate Victorian Christmas trees by several centuries. The largest part of the tree was fed into the hearth, with the remainder filling the room. Revelers kept feeding the log into the hearth so it would burn for the entire Twelve Days of Christmas.

There is also the YULE GOAT, probably connected to Norse celebrations for the god Thor who traveled the sky in a chariot pulled by two goats. From this beginning, several customs emerged. In Norway people went door-to-door dressed like goats to sing carols in exchange for food and drink.

In Sweden, Norway, and Finland elves rode goats to deliver gifts to children.

When Scandinavians migrated to America, they brought Yule Goats, most often now viewed as Christmas decorations plaited with straw and tied with ribbons.

The YULE BOAR is another pagan custom we’ve incorporated. Yule Boars probably began with the Anglo-Saxons. On Yule Eve the best boar in the herd was brought into the Banquet Hall. Participants laid their hands on it and made unbreakable oaths which were thought to go straight to Freyr, god of Yule and fertility.

The next day, the boar was sacrificed to Freyr. Servants carried the boar’s head with the apple in its mouth into the banquet hall to the sounds of trumpets. And the feast began.

Some say this custom explains why many people eat ham on Christmas Day.

The last Yule custom for today is YULE SINGING better known as WASSAILING. Wassail itself is a beverage made from mulled ale, curdled cream, roasted apples, eggs, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, and sugar. The hot mixture is served from large bowls. As the drinks are passed around, the giver says, “Waes Hael” which translates as Good Health.

If you want to make your own Wassail, here’s one recipe.

Wassailers sound a bit like Norwegian carol-singing goats. Wassailers also go door-to-door singing in hopes they will be asked inside for a bit of wassail, a bite to eat, and some time by a warm fire. In Victorian times, Wassailers morphed into people going door-to-door singing Christmas carols.

So now you know how St. Nicholas became Santa Claus; how Yule became Christmas; how Yule Boars became Christmas ham, and how Wassailers turned into Carolers. I don’t know how the Yule Log became a round cake. I’ll try and find out for next year.

In the spirit of Christmas silliness, I’ve attached a humorous rendition of “Here We Come A-Wassailing.”

HAVE A WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS, AND I’LL BE BACK NEXT MONTH.

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Illustrations in the Public Domain from Wikimedia Commons.

Christmas Tree

Hauling in the Yule Log for Christmas. 1864.

Father Christmas on a Yule Goat.

Boar’s Head on a Platter. 1855

History of the Yule Log. Why Christmas.com

History of Wassailing and Mumming. Why Christmas.com

Slaughtering the Sacred Boar. Yule-the Midwinter Festival. Orkneyjar.

Mark Mancini. The Fiery History of Scandinavia’s Yule Goat. Mental Floss. Dec. 19, 2013.

Sue Weaver. The Yule Goat. Inside Story, Dec. 18, 2009.

The post Yule-Tide Cheer first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.

Today’s image shows what happens when holiday decorations crash into each other. This phenomenon often occurs at craft and card stores, where we’re sure to find Valentine’s decorations and cards on January 2. But such confusion is seldom on public display at my house.

Allow me to introduce my decorative characters in order of their appearance. First we have the Official Stuffed Black Halloween Cat, hat included. She was a purely impulse buy. In my defense she does have pink ears under the hat, not to mention the nose and the green eyes. File her under the category of “too cute to resist.”

Our actual black cat is not amused.

In past years, Halloween decorations consisted of previously mentioned black cat in witch hat, a decorated pumpkin and a few tasteful imitation leaves.

On November 1st, subtract cat and pumpkin before adding more tasteful imitation fall foliage and a couple kicking leaves while gathering a cornucopia of delights. You can see the faceless damsel on the far right. [Sidebar: I’ve never been big on cardboard turkeys.]

This system required getting out the boxes twice. So, this year I decided there was no reason not to let both holidays co-exist. After all, they share the same color scheme.

The thing is, once you let down the boundaries, anything can happen.

Da Handsome Bloke began getting into a festive spirit. First he launched the train set. Initially, the Polar Express circled its plywood, white-sheet covered track in complete seclusion. One couldn’t fault the engineer, if he imagined himself in the Swiss Alps. Then, while looking for something else, Da Handsome Bloke encountered the storage bin filled with our genuine nostalgic Christmas village. Ceramic buildings soon gave the train a destination.

Sensing weakness, the decorations laid plans to take over the house. Black cats, pilgrim damsels, a ghost village, and the engineers on the Polar Express train hatched a plan to unleash Christmas past with its artificial trees and grim faced nutcracker.

When I walked in the house last night, I saw it. The nutcracker gritted his teeth behind the cat, no doubt planning her removal. The miniature tree loomed over the cat’s hat. I’m sure it’s only a matter of days before lit reindeer appear on the back patio.

Acknowledgements:

Photos by Author. All Rights Reserved.

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Now we shop to the sounds of Jingle Bells at the local drug store. The lack of words allows for random lyrics to pass through shoppers’ minds. Just the other day, I came up with:

Verse:        Dashing through store

                   In a cart with a wobbly wheel

                   Looking for the $10 grab bag gift

                   Groaning all the way.

 Chorus:    O! Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells

                   Where did they hide the tape?

                   O what fun it is to score

                   The very last tin of Danish cookies!

                   Hey!

Do you know what you get when you add a shopping mall and the music of Handel’s Messiah?

Yes! It’s the Christmas Food Court Flash Mob, Hallelujah Chorus, uploaded to YouTube in 2010. So far, over 42,778,002 fans have viewed this video – and you can be next. Access it here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXh7JR9oKVE

This is an event worth thinking about.  Every Christmas season communities throughout our land hold Messiah Sing-a-Longs. People dig out complete scores of Handel’s Messiah (first performed in 1742) and arrive at a public space to sing the choruses while trained singers do the individual arias. It’s pretty amazing when you think about it. Why on earth do people like to sing Messiah? The words? The music? The nostalgia? Yet even in Hawai`i folks attend these official concerts and/or community sing-a-longs as a traditional seasonal ritual. Hallelujah!

Christmas music is not required to be 200 years old. Just this year, 2013, Joseph M. Martin, an actual living composer, published a new Christmas Cantata called Appalachian Winter. It is a charming piece of Americana. Music that has been sung in this country for generations placed together in a new format. Hilo Community Chorus sang it in their holiday concert this past Sunday. For a sampling of the cantata, take this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTg0CTwOlKg

I have one final piece of music to share with you. It has become one of my favorite Christmas carols. Written in 1984, Mary, Did You Know? places the Christmas story in a  personal, emotive context. The words written by Mark Lowry and set to music by Buddy Greene underline the timeless quality of the season. Of love, hope, and pain. Many artists have recorded Mary. I particularly like the rendition done by Mary Mattea in 1993, which you can access at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXK50lsrdq4

From majestic oratorios, to simple folk music, to contemporary interpretations, these pieces and hundreds more speak to the cultural importance of the Christmas story.

Do you have favorite Christmas-related songs? Cringing memories of being dressed in an angel costume? Leave a comment.

[Disclaimer: Between the time I uploaded these videos from You Tube and the time you access them, commercials may have been placed before the video.  Just another aspect of the holiday season.]

Featured Photo of Advent Wreath courtesy of  Micha L. Rieser, Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons Attribution

The post SONGS OF THE SEASON first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.

What famous Christmas carol takes a long time to sing and is not very interesting? The Twelve Days of Christmas

First the history. Catholics in England could not publically worship until 1829. The song is code. The “partridge in the pear tree,” for example, is Jesus. A partridge will sacrifice her life to protect the chicks, a reference to Jesus who sacrificed himself for sinners

Today, the song is about getting strange presents for 12 days. Conversely, all the items could be used for a really terrific party. Why else would anyone want 11 Pipers Piping, 10 Lords Leaping, 9 Ladies Dancing, 8 Maids Milking, 7 Swans Swimming, 6 Geese Laying Eggs, 5 Gold Rings, 4 Calling Birds, 3 French Hens, 2 Turtledoves, and 1 Partridge in 1 Pear Tree?

CSMonitor.com published a price list.  This is a useful resource, but I advise shopping around. You might find a “swan special” somewhere. http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/Latest-News-Wires/2012/1126/12-days-of-Christmas-cost-How-much-is-a-partridge-in-a-pear-tree

You can pick up a partridge for $15.  The pear tree seems a bit pricy at $189.99.  I suggest planning ahead.  If you plant a seedling the previous spring, it could accommodate a small partridge the following January.

Turtledoves – $62.50 each.  These seem a bit small for eating.  Perhaps as gifts?

French hens cost $55 apiece.  This could be due to their foreign language ability.  I suggest substituting free range American hens.

Five gold rings — as you know, the price of gold only goes up.  Each ring costs $150.  I’d let this one go, unless the rings are for you.

Next we have six geese.  If you decide to keep them, they are excellent “Watch-fowl.”  Each goose goes for $35 — a bargain compared to French speaking hens.

Seven swans swimming.  Swans are big birds and not very friendly.  Did you know it’s against the law in England for anyone except the queen to eat swan? What does one serve with swan?  Does it taste like chicken?  [Hmmm…I rub my chin with contemplation.]  I found a recipe for roasted swan on The Old Foodie  (http://www.theoldfoodie.com/2006/08/how-to-roast-swan.html).

Step One: Pluck

Step Two: Scald

Step Three: Spit, skewer in four places

Step Four:  Roast with all its feet and beak (Should that be at 350 degrees for 3-4 hours?)

Step Five:  Leave the head unplucked. (Might have worked better to include that information with step one)

Step Six: Serve with yellow pepper

Swan, of course, is the main dish, so it’s worth splashing out at $7000 per swan.  Reports suggest swan is tough and not very tasty.  But remember, no one else will be having a swan feast.

Where were we?  Ah, we now have eight maids milking.  For a party this size, I’d prefer eight maids cleaning.  Either way, the team, at minimum wage for one hour, will run about $58.

After dinner entertainment provided by Nine Ladies Dancing.

Followed by Ten Leaping Lords

All accompanied by Eleven Pipers.

Cost of Performance $13,623

Total Party Cost (minus the canaries & gold rings) $21,385.99

Look on Handsome Bloke’s face when he sees the bill — Indescribable

The post ELEVENTH DAY CHRISTMAS BASH first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.

The American Christmas was born from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol — decorated trees, presents, and a memorable feasts.  More than these, Christmas became a day shared with family and friends.  The best way to watch Christmas develop during the 19th century is through media, beginning with a nursery rhyme.

Christmas is coming

The goose is getting fat

Please put a penny in the old man’s hat

If you haven’t got a penny,

Then a half penny will do

If you haven’t got a half penny,

Then God bless you

Go to YouTube for a fun rendition by Manhattan Transfer– you can sing along.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ez2HBK6HKmI

Christmas is a time for joy, but also for remembering that not every has a “penny” to spare.  Now, on to our holiday.

This is the first American picture of Santa Claus, drawn by Thomas Nast for publication in the January 3, 1863 edition of Harper’s.

The title: A Christmas Furlough.  Santa sitting on his sled with only two reindeer is passing out gifts to Union soldiers, and the boys at the front who seem to have a jack-in-the-box.  Santa is patriotic and wearing a modified flag — striped trousers and stars on his jacket.

The next picture is called  Christmas Time Here Comes the Gobbler painted by Sophie Gengembre Anderson.  What a lovely room — what a magical turkey.  He is too polite to splash a single drop of blood on that ornate carpet.

A kid’s view of an excellent Christmas — Big brother supplies the bird. Little sisters watch in awe, and baby has a pull toy.  The cynic in me wonders how long it will take to dress and cook the bird.  Will it be ready in time for dinner?

What would Christmas be without holiday songs?  This cover on the sheet music for Charles Kinkel’s Santa Claus Galop is rich in meaningful holiday cheer.  Note Santa coming down the chimney on the right hand side.  It’s been ten years since he gave out gifts to the troops.  Fortunately he has not gained any weight, ‘cuz that chimney looks a little narrow.

 Wikipedia Commons, Public Domain

Note the French phrase Cadeaux de Noel — this is classy stuff.  It translates to “Christmas Gift.”  The young girl has several, including the lovely doll she holds.  A “galop” by the way was a lively dance popular at the time.

Our last picture, a photograph by Griffith & Griffith in 1897 depicts a Christmas scene many American grew up with — aside from the clothes and interior design.  But the tree looks familiar — a bit higgily-piggily, decorated with love.  Doting parents — no doubt wondering how long they have to hold the pose.  Grandpa has it easier, enjoying his chair and looking away from the camera.  The kids have a flash-frozen look, but it’s a happy scene.

Wikipedia Commons, Public Domain

And there are toys, toys, toys — a child size chair, a doll size chair, a baby buggy, a rolling horse for the young man of the house.  Middle class Americans had a good life in 1897.  This is the picture of family life that inspired Americans, regardless of their economic condition.  It depicts the abundance of Christmas that we still want today.

Every American wants to have enough to support his or her family.  We want our children to have what they desire.  We want our families to be together.  This may not be the way things are, but it is what most Americans have as their Christmas wish.

I hope that your Christmas wishes come true and that you continue to dream of a future in which families everywhere can live in peace.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

The post CHRISTMAS IS COMING — THE GOOSE IS GETTING FAT first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.