Happy Anniversary!

Since we're not at our home computer, we don't have a picture to post. You'll just have to use your imagination for now. (We'll post a picture later.)

It was Thursday, December 30, 1993. The location was Vinita Park United Methodist Church in Saint Louis, Missouri. The time was 7 p.m. Rev. Wally Shearburn presided. Clayton Arthur Peak and Rebecca Ann Dunger were joined together in Holy Matrimony!

And it's been the best 13 years of our life ever since!

How Many Shopping Days?

There are 11 shopping days left until Christmas. What? Yes that's right, eleven shopping days--that is, for those who are on the Julian Calendar! Most of the world uses the Gregorian calendar where today is December 27. But for those on the Julian Calendar, today is actually December 14. Ever since the year 1900, the Julian Calendar has been 13 days behind the Gregorian Calendar. It will stay that way until February 29, 2100, when the Julian Calendar will become 14 days behind. (Those of us on the Gregorian Calendar won't have a February 29, 2100, and that's how we'll gain a day).

To my knowledge the Julian Calendar is only used these days in the Eastern Orthodox church, particularly the Russian church. Now here's something to further complicate the matter. In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, gifts are exchanged on Epiphany (Jan. 6) not on Christmas. In that case, there are 22 shopping days left until Epiphany (Julian Calendar)!

I offer all this as more than just a trivial history lesson. Instead, this gives you the perfect opportunity to give gifts that you forgot to give at Christmas. Just tell the recipients that you are following the Julian Calendar and/or you are observing the Eastern Orthodox tradition of giving gifts on Epiphany. Either way, you can't lose!

12 Daze of Xmas

I went to the grocery store today.
I couldn't find any turtle doves,
nor were there any partridges in pear trees.
I don't know what I'm going to do.

Tomorrow it's supposed to be three french hens.
I doubt I'll find any of those either.
I wonder if Cornish game hens would be an acceptable substitute.

Why does it have to be hens?
How about three french horns, three french toast(s),
or even three french fries?!

Don't even get me started on the four calling birds
I'm supposed to give my true love on Thursday.

And those five golden rings for Friday are going to break the bank,
unless I can get by with "gold-tone" rings.

P.S. If you are interested in being a "Lord a-leaping",
give me a call!

Hodie!

Hodie -— it's a Latin word that can be translated as "this day" or "today". I title my entry "Hodie" because this day (December 26) has a double significance in the historic calendar of the Western Church.

Today is the 2nd day of Christmas. You all know the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas". I wonder how many people who sing that song know just which days on the calendar are those twelve days? Some people mistakenly think it's the twelve days before Christmas. Sounds plausible, but actually the song refers to the twelve days of the Christmas season leading up to (but not including) the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6. So that means the first day of Christmas is December 25; the second day is December 26; the third day is December 28; etc., leading up to the twelfth day on Januay 5. Historically there has been a big celebration on Twelfth Night, celebrating the end of the Christmas season. In fact, William Shakespeare wrote a comedic play titled Twelfth Night.

Having said all that... Since today is the second day of Christmas, your true love should be giving you two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree! If your true love hasn't given you either of these presents, be sure to tell him or her to go out shopping. I'm not exactly sure where you can buy some turtle doves, but I expect that if you do a Google Search in your area you can find some! :-)

Today is also St. Stephen's Day, or the Feast of Stephen. It is the day when we commemorate Stephen who is considered the first martyr of the Christian Church. You can read his story in the New Testament book of Acts chapters 6-7. If you don't have a Bible handy, you can find online Bibles at Oremus and BibleGateway.

Speaking of St. Stephen, it's kind of ironic that one of the popular "Christmas" songs is not about Christmas, but actually about St. Stephen's Day:

Good King Wenceslas looked out
On the feast of Stephen,
When the snow lay 'round about,
Deep, and crisp, and even;
Brightly shone the moon that night,
Though the frost was cruel,
When a poor man can in sight,
Gathering winter fuel.

Although not an official day on the Church calendar, this day is also known as "Boxing Day" in countries of British persuasion. Nothing to do with the sport of boxing, the day after Christmas is a time for boxing up goodies and left-overs from Christmas celebrations so that they might be given to the poor and needy.

And lest I forget what fuels the economy in capitalist countries like our own, the day after Christmas is also one of the most important shopping days of the year, along with the day after Thanksgiving and the Saturday before Christmas.

So on this day, there is much to celebrate and remember. Hodie!

The Christ Mass

Sometime in the Fourth Century Anno Domini, December 25 was chosen as the day to celebrate the "Christ Mass". The Christ Mass is, as the name suggests, a Mass (i.e., a Christian worship service of Holy Communion) marking the nativity of Jesus the Christ.

All of the best evidence indicates that Y'shua (Jesus) of Nazareth was not born on December 25. Nevertheless, the celebration of Christ's nativity on December 25 has become fixed in the culture of Christendom ever since. At some point, the words "Christ Mass" were truncated to the word we commonly use now, "Christmas".

Over the years, much has built up around the celebration of Christmas. A whole mythology, both sacred and secular, has developed. Many heartfelt traditions became established. And much of what has evolved has nothing to do either with Christ or the celebration of Mass. The Christians who celebrated the first Christ Mass back in the Fourth Century would probably be amazed (or perhaps even shocked) to see what has became of their celebration of Christ's nativity.

This is not meant to be a rant, or a complaint about how Christmas is celebrated these days. This is not about the "reason for the season" or "putting Christ back in Xmas". I'm no Ebenezer Scrooge trying to spoil anyone's Christmas fun. I simply want to remind everyone that the whole package of what we now call the Christmas season, began as just a worship service--the Christ Mass.

Merry Christ Mass!

Words of Wisdom from Hitch

The late great movie director Sir Alfred Hitchcock (a.k.a., "the master of suspense") once said: "I think there is nothing more terrifying than getting a traffic ticket. ... I don't drive a car for the simple reason that if you don't drive, you can't get a ticket."

I'll leave it up to the reader to figure out why I would post this particular statement made by Alfred Hitchcock!