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Blizzard February 2012

At the beginning of the week, Colorado meteorologists began to warn us of an impending snowstorm of historic proportions.

 It seems the greatest recorded snowfall for February in Colorado was 22 inches in 1912.

 They were predicting between 15 and 22 inches for one 36-hour period.

It came in Thursday evening. I must say CDOT (Colorado Department of Transportation) and our City did a satisfactory job of keeping the roads open in difficult conditions.

 There was a short  hiatus Friday midday, and we wondered (hopefully) if the weather folks had been wrong again, but alas...Good for making snow angels, though.

 It piled pretty high on our front lawn. Here's Pam modeling. Official total for us was 20 inches.

Clearing a path to the porch. These snow walls remind me of what we read in Exodus this morning, i.e. the walls of water rising up on either side of the Israelites as they fled through the Sea of Reeds (aka the Red Sea) before Pharaoh and his chariots.

 For those who think we live in a frigid climate, we do not!

 It was cold for a day or so, but this morning dawned bright and clear. The sun was out, the temperature was in the upper 30's, the humidity was low, and the snow was melting. Balmy!

Pam captured me "prancing" out to get the snow shovel.

And of course, we had to illustrate that in Colorado, we barbecue year round. Our 2012 Blizzard barbecue picture.

Previous Blizzard barbecues here.

Thanks to niece Pam for the most excellent photos.

So. It's Friday the 13th. So, what?

Friday the 13th. Big deal. The day and the number have gotten a bad rap for a long time. Yet Friday is beloved as the end of the work week, and do not Christians believe an event of universe-shattering proportions took place on Good Friday?

We have dealt previously with the number 13 here and here. Far from being unlucky, it has many praiseworthy qualities and connections.

One is in its connection to the Hebrew word love, ahavah, which has the numeric value of 13.

The word echad, one, also has the value of 13. It is said this alludes to the 13 attributes of God's compassion revealed to Moshe.

The United States had its original 13 colonies.

Our flag has 13 stripes.

Furthermore, it is said that "God is one" and "God is love," and adding the numeric values of ahavah and echad, we come up with 26, which happens to be the number of the Tetragrammaton, the ineffable Name of God.

I think those things are pretty good—lucky, you might say.

Lucky 13.

There are many 13s on the Dollar Bill, for example the stars...

...the stripes...

...the arrows...

...the leaves-berries...

...the letters (of Annuit Coeptis)...

...and the rattlers, among others.

For more than you wanted to know about the number 13, check out MysticalNumbers.com.

For a plethora of interesting mathematical facts about the fascinating number 13, check out this site.

Happy New Year 2012

In present-day Japan, they celebrate the solar new year on January 1st, but they associate the new year with the symbol of the upcoming Chinese lunar year, which begins later. 

2012, then, is the Year of the Dragon, and this is the dragon Kanji (Chinese character).

Before the new year begins, the greeting is

"Yoi otoshi o omukae kudasai"

which is wishes for a good year.

よいお年をお迎えください。

or informally "Yoi otoshi o."

よいお年を！

After the new year begins, the greeting is

"Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu"

明けまして
おめでとう
ございます。

One blog translates this roughly
 "The year is changing...
darkness gives way to light...
new life begins...
Congratulations!"
I really like that.

or "Shinnen akemashite omedetou gozaimasu."

新年 あけまして
おめでとうございます。
 
In writing, Happy New Year is often given as

"Kinga Shinnen."

謹賀新年

In Japan, the custom is to write New Year's Greeting cards.

A phrase such as "Sakunen wa taihen osewa ni nari
arigatou gozaimashita," which means
"Thank you for all your kind help during
the past year" is a common text.

昨年は大変お世話になり

ありがとうございました｡

or "Honnen mo douzo yoroshiku onegaishimasu"

(I hope for your continued favor this year.)

本年もどうぞよろしくお願いします｡

My wish for all of you in my virtual New Year card is this:

"Minasama no gokenkou o oinori moushiagemasu"

(Wishing everyone good health.)

皆様のご健康をお祈り申し上げます｡

For more Japanese words and expressions, check out this blog.

The Season of Lights

Arise, shine, for your light has come,

and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.

See, darkness covers the earth

and thick darkness is over the peoples,

but the LORD rises upon you

and his glory appears over you.

Nations will come to your light,

and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

I am the light of life.
Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness
but have the light of life.

In the same way, let your light shine before others,

that they may see your good deeds and

glorify your Father in heaven.

The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

I came that they may have life,

and have it more abundantly.

Immanu El — With us, God! 

Amahl and the Night Visitors

Since its first performance on NBC TV, Christmas Eve, 1951, Amahl and the Night Visitors has taken its place with "A Christmas Carol" as a holiday classic. Peformed on every continent and in many languages, it has been seen by more people than any other opera in history.

The story tells of the night the Three Kings, following the star to Bethlehem, stop for shelter at the home of Amahl, a poor, crippled shepard boy who lives with his widowed mother. Inspired by the Wise Men's tale of a kingdom "built on love alone," Amahl offers his own simple gift to the Christ Child. And then a miracle happens.

In this warm and compassionate story, Gian Carlo Menotti has captured the essential spirit of Christmas. At its premiere, The New York Times called Amahl "rare art. . . tender and exquisite."

Gian Carlo Menotti was born in 1911 in a mountain village in northern Italy. He began composing at age five and had written his first opera before he was eleven. As a little boy, he was miraculously cured of lameness by a pilgrimage to the nearby Sanctuary of Sacro Monte. This was the genesis of Amahl and the Night Visitors, the first opera ever commisioned for television.

Sample or download the music here.

The Story of Amahl

Somewhere in the world lives a crippled little shepherd called Amahl, with his mother, an impoverished widow. Nothing is left to them of the little they ever had, and they are now faced with hunger and cold in their empty house.

Three Wise Men, on their way to Bethlehem, stop at the hut and ask to be taken in for the night. Amahl and his mother welcome them and their Page as well as they can, and are much astonished at the splendor of their robes and the wealth of gifts they are carrying with them. When Amahl's mother realizes that the Three Kings are looking for a newborn babe and that the expensive gifts are all destined for him, she becomes bitter and envious. She cannot understand why at least some of these gifts could not be given to her own child, who is so poor and sickly.

Under cover of darkness, while the Three Kings are asleep, she steals some of the gold from them - and is caught red-handed. When she explains to the Three Kings that she needs the gold to feed her starving child, she is readily forgiven. With great tenderness they try to explain to her who this newborn child is and how much he needs the love of every human being to build his coming kingdom. Touched by their words, the poor widow not only gives back the stolen gold, but wishes she could add a gift of her own. Little Amahl comes to her rescue. He impulsively hands the Three Kings his wooden crutch, his most precious possession, and in so doing he is miraculously cured of his lameness.

As dawn appears in the sky, the Three Kings prepare to resume their journey. Amahl begs his mother to let him join them, and he is finally allowed to follow the Kings to Bethlehem to adore and give thanks to the Christ Child.

(Synopsis taken from www.boychoirs.org here.)

Amahl and the Night Visitors is one of our favorite Christmas stories, but we have only rarely been able to see it performed live. This year we will be seeing it in Evergreen, Colorado at Center/Stage, performed by the Evergreen Chorale.

Remaining Performances:
Thu, 12/22/2011 - 7:00pm
Fri, 12/23/2011 - 4:30pm
Fri, 12/23/2011 - 7:00pm.

Boulder Messiah Sing-a-Long

One Christmas tradition that has brought us great joy is the annual Boulder Messiah Sing-a-Long. We discovered it in 2002, and with one exception, have participated every year since. This year's (2011) three events will be held on Saturday and Sunday, December 17th and 18th. See the link for more information on this 29th annual event..

Mr. Robert Arentz has been conducting this wonderful event three times a year for the past 28 years (this wil be the 29th). Professional soloists and an orchestra are hired, and a festival choir that has been practicing since September leads the singing. The congregation sings along on all of the choruses.

Here's a shot of the joyful participants in the annual Messiah Sing-a-Long in the beautiful sanctuary of St. John's Episcopal Church in Boulder.

Another shot of the enthusiastic singers (you can see me, my wife, and our niece on the righthand side of the picture if you look really closely).

Everyone is invited. Tickets are only $15, if purchased in advance at The West End Wine Shop (8th and Pearl in downtown Boulder), Page Two (in Gunbarrel), John's Cleaners at 28th and Iris, the Trattoria on Pearl Street (east end of the Mall), St. John's Episcopal Church (14th and Pine Street), or at the door for $20.

Most of the participants in the congregation have sung Messiah many times over and have their own scores, but scores are also available at the door. Don't allow the lack of a score to keep you from one of the most uplifting events of the Christmas season.

For more on Handel, check out an excellent article here.

For much more information about the Sing-a-Long and about G. F. Handel and his music,
check out the Boulder Messiah Sing-a-Long site here.