🎄 Merry Christmas 🎄

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Isn't this a beautiful Christmas ornament for a book lover? It was a present from a dear friend a few Christmasses ago.

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I wish a very merry Christmas to all my friends and readers. May you have a lovely time towards the end of the year when you can forget for a little while what is happening all around us.

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I just heard a beautiful rendition of one of my favourite Christmas songs by Aled Jones, baritone (he of "Walking in the Air" fame) and Russell Watson, tenor. Did you know, it's a French folk song called "Minuit, chrétiens" (Midnight Christians) and translated in 1855 by John Sullivan Dwight into the version we still know today. If you want to hear the song by the two singers, check here on YouTube.

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O holy night, the stars are brightly shining;

It is the night of the dear Saviour's birth.

Long lay the world in sin and error pining,

Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.

A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices,

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!

Fall on your knees! O hear the angel voices!

O night divine, O night when Christ was born!

O night divine! O night, O night divine!

Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,

With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.

So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,

Here came the wise men from the orient land.

The King of kings lay thus in lowly manger,

In all our trials born to be our friend.

He knows our need, to our weakness no stranger.

Behold your King, before Him lowly bend!

Behold your King, your King, before Him lowly bend!

Truly He taught us to love one another;

His law is love and His gospel is peace.

Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother;

And in His name all oppression shall cease.

Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we;

Let all within us praise His holy name.

Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we!

His power and glory evermore proclaim!

His power and glory evermore proclaim!

John Sullivan Dwight

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🎄 Merry Christmas 🎄

 

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We saw this bauble at the Brussels airport one year. And I thought it was a good picture for this year's greating:

☮ on 🌍

There is so much going on in this world right now, that this is the only message that is important right now.

I wish you all a peaceful Christmas.

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Did you know there is a song where you don't need to know all the lyrics and can still sing it? Try this:

Hark the Herald Angels sing,
Hark the Herald Angels sing,
Hark the Herald Angels sing,
Hark the Herald Angels sing,
Hark the Herald Angels sing,
Hark the Herald Angels sing,
Hark the Herald Angels sing,
Hark the Herald Angels sing.

But, if you do want to do it right, here are the whole lyrics:

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🎼Hark the Heard Angels sing,
"Glory to the newborn King;
Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!"
Joyful, all ye nations rise,
Join the triumph of the skies;
With th’angelic host proclaim,
"Christ is born in Bethlehem!"

Refrain:
Hark the Heard Angels sing,
"Glory to the newborn King!"

Christ, by highest Heav’n adored;
Christ the everlasting Lord:
Late in time, behold Him come,
Offspring of a virgin’s womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
Hail th’incarnate Deity,
Pleased with us in flesh to dwell,
Jesus our Emmanuel.

Hail the heav'n-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings,
Ris’n with healing in His wings.
Mild He lays His glory by,
Born that man no more may die;
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them second birth.

Come, Desire of nations, come,
Fix in us Thy humble home;
Rise, the woman’s conqu’ring Seed,
Bruise in us the serpent’s head.
Now display Thy saving pow’r,
Ruined nature now restore;
Now in mystic union join
Thine to ours, and ours to Thine.

Adam’s likeness, Lord, efface,
Stamp Thine image in its place:
Final Adam from above,
Reinstate us in Thy love.
Let us Thee, though lost, regain,
Thee, the Life, the inner man:
Oh, to all Thyself impart,
Formed in each believing heart.

Text: Charles Wesley, 1707–1788
Music: Felix Mendelssohn, 1809–1847

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Spell the Month in Books ~ December

           
Reviews from the Stacks

I found this on one of the blogs I follow, Books are the New Black who found it at One Book More. It was originally created by Reviews from the Stacks, and the idea is to spell the month using the first letter of book titles.

December: Winter, Christmas, or Christian themes
What a lovely idea for December. We don't have any winters anymore, nothing like when I was little. But I remember always thinking of Christmas and winter together.

DECEMBER

D
Pasternak, Boris "Doctor Zhivago" (RUS: Доктор Живаго) - 1957
I always have to think about winter when thinking about Doctor Zivago. A big part of the story takes place in one of the coldest parts on earth.

E
Wharton, Edith "Ethan Frome" - 1911
Another good story about life under harsh circumstances, again in winter.

C
Dickens, Charles "A Christmas Carol" - 1843
Who doesn't know Scrooge, a miser who gets healed at Christmas?

E
Sturluson, Snorri "Egil's Saga" (Icel: Egils saga Skallagrímssonar) - 1240
Northern Europe, especially Iceland, always makes us think about snow and cold winters.

M

Ali, Sabahattin "Madonna in a Fur Coat" (TR: Kürk Mantolu Madonna) - 1943
While Turkey doesn't make one immediately think about cold weather, a fur coat certainly belongs to winter.

B
Robinson, Barbara "The Best Christmas Pageant" - 1972
A beautiful part of Christmas is always the little plays the children perform for their parents and other spectators.

E
Austen, Jane "Emma" - 1816
I know I've used Emma before but there are so many parts in that story are set in winter, especially the outing to the Westons.

R
Rutherfurd, Edward "Russka. The Novel of Russia" - 1991
Another book about Russia where a lot of winters take place over the centuries.

Happy Reading!

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🎄 Merry Christmas 🎄

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When visiting Bremen for the Christmas market, we came upon this pretty traffic light. The interesting thing was that only the green light showed Father Christmas, the red light was the usual one. I guess they don't want Father Christmas to stop.

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Last week, we went to a special Christmas concert by a wonderful German a capella group called Maybebop. They presented their latest Christmas CD and one of my favourite Christmas songs ever is on there: The First Noel. If you want to listen to it, here is a live video.

And here they present the different songs that are on the CD (little snippets with lots of German in between, if you understand German, it also shows you how funny the group is).

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I wish all my blogger and reading friends lots and lots of books under the Christmas tree.

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🎼 The First Noël,
The First Noël the Angels did say
Was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay
In fields where they lay keeping their sheep
On a cold winter's night that was so deep
Noël Noël Noël Noël
Born is the King of Israel!

🎼 They looked up and saw a star
Shining in the East beyond them far
And to the earth it gave great light
And so it continued both day and night
Noël Noël Noël Noël
Born is the King of Israel!

🎼 And by the light of that same star
Three Wise men came from country far
To seek for a King was their intent
And to follow the star wherever it went
Noël Noël Noël Noël
Born is the King of Israel!

🎼 This star drew nigh to the northwest
O'er Bethlehem it took it's rest
And there it did both Pause and stay
Right o'er the place where Jesus lay
Noël Noël Noël Noël
Born is the King of Israel!

🎼 Then let us all with one accord
Sing praises to our heavenly Lord
That hath made Heaven and earth of nought
And with his blood mankind hath bought
Noël Noël Noël Noël
Born is the King of Israel!
Noël Noël Noël Noël
Born is the King
Born is the King
Born is the King of Israel!

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The song has Cornish origins and is from the late Middle Ages. Still beautiful.

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"Wishing you all a season full of light and laughter for you and your family."