Showing posts with label celebration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label celebration. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 30, 2022

THE CHRISTMAS WREATH

It's the holly jolly holiday season. And everywhere, from up on the roof tops to down on the lawns, inside and outside, people are scurrying to decorate their homes. This is the time of the  year when I enjoy looking at the many different wreaths hanging on the doors of homes and businesses. They are colorful, artistic and varied, and are often constructed with evergreens, grape vines, or holly which are then adorned with pine cones, ribbons, bells, shiny glass balls, berries, and bows. But where did the tradition of hanging a wreath on a door for Christmas originate? Although there are many theories, it’s believed the wreath came with the Irish when they immigrated to the United States.

The wreath itself can be traced back to ancient Greece and Rome when people employed decorative wreaths as a sign of victory and celebration. Bay laurel wreaths crowned victorious athletes at the original Olympic Games. They are also used in ceremonial events in many other cultures around the world.

In English-speaking countries, wreaths are typically used as household ornaments, mainly as an Advent and Christmas decoration. They are also utilized in funerals and the laying of wreaths in memory of those who have died. When harvest season arrives, they are hung to celebrate the start of fall and the hopes for abundant crops.

Wreaths have centuries of  history and symbolism associated with them. During the Christmas season, many of these ornamental circles are made from branches from evergreen trees and shrubs which symbolize the strength of life overcoming the forces of winter, since evergreens can last throughout the harshest elements.

The shape of a circle has no beginning and no ending. It is thought that this may represent the eternal nature of a god's love, or the circle of life.

Do you hang a wreath on your door? If not, what do you do to decorate for the holiday season?

JUNE ~ The Pianist

(Book 1 of the Musical Christmas Series)
NOW ON SALE $0.99



Thursday, November 28, 2019

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!


Thanksgiving, a national holiday in our United States, originated as a harvest festival. The first Thanksgiving was celebrated by the Pilgrims after their first harvest in the New World in October 1621. As a farmer’s kid, I especially like the idea of celebrating the fall harvest. It means all the hard work in the fields is done for the year.

Thanksgiving has been celebrated on the last Thursday of the month since the time of Abraham Lincoln. In 1941, President Roosevelt made the final permanent change by signing a bill making Thanksgiving Day fall on the fourth Thursday of November, regardless of whether it is the last Thursday of the month or not. This year it falls on November 28th.

I’m a fan of Thanksgiving. It’s a day of celebration where gifts are forgotten and the food is plentiful. I love the smell of a turkey roasting with the scent of sage and spices filling the entire house. And I am a huge fan of pumpkin pie piled high with whipped cream.

In the northern states, Thanksgiving also is a reminder that Old Man Winter is on his way with flying fat snowflakes and sparkling white snowbanks. For many, the national holiday also heralds the start of the holiday season as stores and shops blare carols, hymns, and contemporary songs of Christmas from their speakers.  And Christmas music is something I can get behind, even if I dislike shopping for presents.

This year, I created a “Musical Christmas Series,” consisting of three novellas. My first one, JUNE ~ The Pianist, was released the end of October. Each female main character plays a musical instrument and has a story to tell. I’m excited to say that ADELENE ~ The Violinist is also releasing at the end of this month in time for the Christmas season. LUCY will be released next year. What is her instrument? It’s a secret. [wink, wink]

Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy the holidays. 

  

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Monday, March 19, 2018

PYSANKY EGGS - AN INTRICATE ART FORM


If you are of Ukraine or Polish ancestry, Easter is the time you marvel at the skills needed to make pysanky eggs. Pysanky –from “pysat,” means “to write,” and these are intricately decorated raw eggs, but now are often wooden ones or eggs with the content (yolk and white portion) removed.

The art of wax-resist egg decoration in Slavic cultures probably dates back to the pre-Christian era. Fragments of colored shells with wax-resist decoration on them were unearthed during the archaeological excavations in Ostrówek, Poland, where remnants of a Slavic settlement from the early Piast Era were found.

In modern times, the art of the pysanka was carried abroad by Ukrainian emigrants to North and South America, where the custom took hold. Ironically, it was banished in the Ukraine by the Soviet regime where it was deemed a religious practice, and it was nearly forgotten. Since Ukrainian Independence in 1991, there has been a rebirth of this folk art in its homeland and a renewal of interest in the preservation of traditional designs as well as research into its symbolism and history.

Today, in the United States, pysanky egg decoration has been transformed into an art form that only those with patience, perseverance, and attention to detail are able to perform.

The artist uses a soft wax, like beeswax, and many colors of dye to create these incredible designs resembling batik. The designs are “written” in hot wax with a pinhead or special stylus called a pysachok or kistka which has a small funnel attached to hold a small amount of liquid wax.

The artist starts with a white egg, moving through the color chart from light hues like yellow to darker ones, adding the waxed design, layer upon layer, until finally the egg is often dipped in black. Then, it’s held close to a candle or heat source. The wax is rubbed off to reveal the entire design.

By tradition, Pysanky eggs, which are decorated with symbols of Easter, life and prosperity, were included in the traditional Polish Easter Basket along with butter to symbolize the good will of Christ, babka (bread) for the bread of life, and kielbasa which symbolizes God’s favor and generosity. Other foods like ham, smoked bacon, salt, and cheese were included. The basket was lined in a white linen cloth that could be drawn over the top of the basket. It was then taken to church to be blessed. A candle was tucked inside the basket to represent Christ as the Light of the World. Sprigs of greens were added to represent spring, new life, and the Resurrection.

With Easter around the corner, I wish everyone a Happy Easter and a basket filled with your favorite goodies. May your life ahead be as colorful and bright as the delightful pysanky eggs!

Amazon Author Page:https://www.amazon.com/Judy-Ann-Davis/e/B006GXN502/
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