Monday, December 30, 2013

A 'NEW YEAR' IS JUST A DAY;
A 'NEW LIFE' CAN START ANY DAY...
ANY MOMENT

For all those who love the special congested, loud, and clear celebrations to mark the end of one calendar year and the beginning of another, I absolutely do not mean to take away from such demonstra- tions of joyfulness; go out and be as joyful and crazy as you want (but please drive care- fully). My retrospective is merely that, a different look at the symbolism of the day, at what it could mean…WHENEVER we truly want it to.


It all began with thoughts of yet another New Year’s Eve on my own; not that I’m complaining all that much. I’ve done the big hoopla, the wild club scenes to the house parties with the hats and whistles. From my own perspective, I have always found those whistles to trill hollowly…found those celebrations to be so forced…too desperate.

That’s when I realized…there are few people who aren’t desperate to change their lives, or at least some aspect of their lives, (myself included) and these boisterous fêtes are merely the external form of an internal desire.

And while the last 15 years of my life have been extremely challenging (hell, most of my life), I don’t need the big celebration to wish it to be better, I don’t need one particular day to turn it around…I only need the will to make it happen and the belief that I have the power to do it.

I have never been more willful about anything ever before. 2014 will be my pivotal year. I will be making changes in aspects of my life that some may find shocking. But most of all, I will be the master of all facets of my life…I will take command. And in doing so, I will create in me the power to do it.

So what is this rant really about…that we, as individuals and as an organic being called a society, possess the control to live the lives that we want, and the power to make it happen, for ourselves and those around us. Our desires for better lives should not just be for ourselves but for those with whom we share this world. And we can start on ANY DAMN DAY WE CHOOSE. We just have to make the conscious choice to do it!

After writing all this it occurs to me that New Year’s Day has done exactly what it is meant to do: I’ve looked at my life ‘from both sides now’ and I can see clearly what I want it to be, what I’m willing to do to make it happen, and how joyful I will be when it does happen. I wish to all who read this the same, no matter how you wish to celebrate it, I wish for your lives to be exactly what you want them to be and, most importantly, I wish you the inner power to make it happen.


Happy New Life!

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

CHRISTMAS: ITALIAN RENAISSANCE STYLE

There is perhaps nowhere on Earth more Christian/Catholic than Italy, the home of Vatican City. How surprising it is to learn, then, that the early Christmas celebrations, specifically those of the Renaissance, find their genesis in the fusion of pagan, Jewish and many other traditions. Despite claims by each contingent, it is near impossible to determine which came first: was it the Norse and the Yule Celebration, or the Jewish ceremonies of Hanukah, or perhaps it was the Continental Celts’ celebration of the Winter Solstice. Most certainly it was a combination of all these festivities, influenced just as strongly, and perhaps more notably, by those of the Pagans, those from whom the Christians absorbed many traditions and holidays, those they ultimately eliminated.

The two most prominent of the Pagan holidays to hold sway over the Renaissance Italians were Saturnalia and Mithra.

The most common image of Mithra
Spoken of in the Zend-Avesta, or sacred Zoroastrian scriptures, Mithra was known as the chief spirit, the ruler of the world, specifically, in the Zoroastrian he is delineated as "Mithra of wide pastures, of the thousand ears, and of the myriad eyes.” The scriptures continue to praise him as "the lofty, and the everlasting...the province ruler," Yazad (divinity) of the spoken name" and "the holy.” Ancient Romans as well as modern scholars trace Christianity’s origin to Zorastrian, for many reasons, the least of which is their physical location, for they hail from the land of Abraham and Daniel and many other Biblical figures. In fact, there is an abundance of evidence asserting the three Magi, or wise men--Balthasar, Melchior, and Caspar-- came from the land of Zoroastrian, according to a mosaic from around 500 A.D. from a church in Ravenna, Italy, to visit the Christ child.

The Ravenna Mosaic
After the 6th and 7th centuries, after the Assyrian conquests, the Greeks adopted Mithra, calling him the god of the Sun, categorizing him with Helios, while simultaneously the Romans integrated Mithra into their mythos. Enter Saturnalia.





The holiday celebrated in December, beginning on the 17th and lasting until the 23rd, Saturnalia was the most popular of Roman holy days, paying homage to Saturn, the god of agriculture. These seven days were a blur of feasts, revelries, and intense merry making. Children were given gifts of wax dolls, a macabre reminder of the human sacrifices the ancients would make to Saturn. Other gifts included boughs of certain tress and other plants in representation of bounty and good harvest. As the ending of this festival coincided with the Winter Solstice, the merging of the celebrating of Mithra became a natural evolution, a celebration of the lengthening of days, a blessing from the sun god Mithra.

Emperor Constantine
It is a fairly universal acknowledgement that Emperor Constantine and the Council of Nicea (the first ecumenical council held in 325 AD), in their efforts to stave off the warring between the Pagans and the Christians, to somehow keep both parties happy, landed on December 25 as the date to celebrate the birth of Christ, the true birth date of the Son of God (sounding so similar to ‘the sun god') is unknown.   

In time, Christmas took the place of the pagan celebrations, though they cannot be said to be familiar to those of modern day. In truth, a more accurate representation of the events would be those found in Shakepeare’s Twelfth Night. The festivities began on the 25th and lasted until January 6, the Epiphany.  

During the Renaissance, an era as characterized by the upheavals of the Catholic religion as by the enormous advancements in art, architecture, literature and the sciences, the festivities began to take on a more subdued mien. And yet, there is still much evidence of merrymaking, in the form of Mystery Plays, in which it is documented that the powerful and noble, such as the Medicis themselves, took part, playing the roles of the Magi. Gift giving honored the Magi and took place on the 6th of January.

The use of Evergreen mirrors the giving of boughs in the Saturnalia celebrations.
In addition, Evergreens, which in ancient Rome were thought to have special powers and were used for decoration, symbolized the promised return of life in the spring and came to symbolize eternal life for Christians. The value of evergreen spans a variety of cultures, including the Egyptians, Chinese, and Hebrews. The worship of trees was intrinsic to European druidism and paganism. In Christian tradition, trees were often put up in December to serve the dual purpose of warding off the devil and to provide a perch for whatever birds still remained. Evergreen trees decorated with apples and wafers were also used in Christmas Eve plays during the Middle Ages and into the Renaissance to represent the tree figuring so prominently in the tale of Adam and Eve. The first evidence for a decorated Christmas tree emerges from German craftsman guilds during the Renaissance. Trees enjoyed a surge of popularity among Protestant households after the Reformation as counterparts to the Catholic nativity scene.

Now such a divisive matter of controversy, nativity scenes (also known as manger scenes, or in Italian, Il Presepe) became a popular outward honoring of the season. The first recorded appearance was indeed in Italy, created by none other than St. Francis of Assisi in 1225. The preacher and friar created his presepe, a live one, with the precise intentions of bringing the emphasis of Christmas to the birth of Christ and not on gift giving (it would seem that greed crosses centuries). Nativity scenes are especially popular in Naples where hundreds are displayed every year.

And even in the Renaissance, Christmas was celebrated with the raising of voices, in faith and in hope:

 Tu scendi dalle stelle,                  From starry skies descending,
O Re del Cielo,                            Thou comest, glorious King,
e vieni in una grotta,                     A manger low Thy bed,
al freddo al gelo.                          In winter's icy sting;
O Bambino mio Divino                 O my dearest Child most holy,
Io ti vedo qui a tremar,                 Shudd'ring, trembling in the cold!
O Dio Beato                                Great God, Thou lovest me!
Ahi, quanto ti costò                      What suff'ring Thou didst bear,
l'avermi amato!                            That I near Thee might be!
A te, che sei del mondo                 Thou art the world's Creator,
il Creatore,                                   God's own and true Word,
mancano panni e fuoco;                 Yet here no robe, no fire
O mio Signore!                              For Thee, Divine Lord.
Caro eletto Pargoletto,                    Dearest, fairest, sweetest Infant,
Quanto questa povertà                    Dire this state of poverty.
più mi innamora!                            The more I care for Thee,
Giacché ti fece amor                       Since Thou, o Love Divine,
povero ancora!                               Will'st now so poor to be.





Monday, December 9, 2013

DEBUT AUTHOR HEATHER WEBB
TAKES A SEAT
INSIDE THE WRITERS' STUDY

Heather Webb grew up a military brat and naturally became obsessed with travel, culture, and languages. She put her degrees to good use teaching high school French for nearly a decade before turning to full time novel writing and freelance editing. Her debut, BECOMING JOSEPHINE releases December 31, 2013 from Plume/Penguin.

When not writing, Heather flexes her foodie skills or looks for excuses to head to the other side of the world. She loves to chitchat on Twitter with new reader friends or writers (@msheatherwebb) or via her blog: http:www.HeatherWebbauthor.com


What is your favorite word?  
Flutter or maybe shimmers.

What is your least favorite word?  
I can’t say it here.

What turns you on?
Poetry, fine conversation, mystery.

What turns you off?   
Stupidity, meanness, taking advantage of others.

What sound or noise do you love?  
Ocean waves.

What sound or noise do you hate?  
Screeching of any kind.

What is your favorite curse word?  
F--k.

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?  
A great chef.

What profession would you not like to do?  
Work in a prison.

If heaven or the after-life exists, what would you like to hear God, The Source (or whatever Deity you may believe in) say when you arrive at the pearly gates?  
It’s better than you hoped. Come on in!



In one sentence, describe your newest or most recent release
Becoming Josephine is a novel about the woman who stole Napoleon’s heart and enchanted an empire.   Heather Webb