Tuesday, December 23, 2008

DECEMBER TWENTY THIRD

Foreseeable; my birthhome will still be there.
They snow may not yet have come to lay for the winter..

My Mom will still wear an apron, when making a fire or preparing food.
Serina will still end up with the Christmas pig,regardless who finds the almond.

Happy Little Christmas Eve
Tomorrow is The Day in Norway.
We celebrate the Evening by going to church, eating a large dinner and then opening presents.
Christmas Eve morning may be hectic for adults and oh, so slow for the children.
The following story was to be heard on the radio every morning the 24th of December
Enjoy.

The history of Silent night/ Glade Jul
Sadly the young assistant pastor strolled through the snow-covered village of Oberndorf, Austria. In a few days it would be Christmas Eve, but Josef Mohr knew there would be no music in his church to herald the great event.

Pausing, Reverend Mohr gazed at the scattered lights in the village. The sight of this peaceful town, wrapped in a blanket of snow, stirred his imagination. Surely it was on such a clear and quiet night as this that the hosts of angels sang out the glorious news that the Saviour had been born.

The young cleric sighed heavily as he thought, "If only we here in Oberndorf could celebrate the birth of Jesus with glorious music like the shepherds heard on that wonderful night!"

Standing there, his mind filled with visions of the first Christmas, Josef Mohr suddenly became aware that the disappointment was fading from his heart; in its place surged a great joy. Vividly, he saw the manger, carved from a mountain side; he saw Mary and Joseph and the Child; he saw the strangers who had been attracted by the light of the great star. The image seemed to shape itself into the words of a poem he had written in 1816 when he was assigned to a pilgrim church in the small Alpine village of Mariapfarr, Austria.

The next day he showed the poem to Franz Gruber, the church organist, who said, "These words should be sung at Christmas, but what could we use for accompaniment? Your guitar?"

The curate replied, "Like Mary and Joseph in the stable, we must be content with what God provides for us."

Franz Gruber studied the poem, then softly strummed the melody that came to him. Next he put the words to the melody and sang them. When he finished, his soul was ablaze with its beauty. Mr. Gruber's beautiful music added the final touch to the poem Mohr had written two years earlier.

On Christmas Eve, 1818, in a small Austrian village, the Oberndorf choir, accompanied only by a guitar, sang for the first time the immortal hymn that begins, "Silent Night.... Holy Night."

This version is sung in Norwegian by the only Norwegian College Choir in the USA, the St. Olav's College.


5 comments:

Amrita said...

Have a blessed and glorious celebration Felisol.

God bless you.

Pia K said...

We Swedes too celebrate it on the 24th and right now I should be baking some treats for tomorrow that is actually today, it's going to be a long night...;)

Happy Christmas, Felisol!

Felisol said...

Dear Amrita,
Thank you, I wish you the same.
I have been combatting with a thelephone modem for quite some hours,
and the only thing that kept me going was the thought of you.
How you must wair for connection and opened lines.God less you, daughter of India, for enlightening my life in so many ways.

Dear Pia,
It's Christmas morning, and oh, so busy. I love this time so unfinished, still so many things to do before the Church bells chime the Christas Eve in.
When we're benched in the church all the worries of the world come at an end.
We all are in the moment.
Happy Christmas to you.
From Felisol

Terry said...

Dear Felisol..Like Pia, I know that I should be peeling potatoes and making a large pan of scalloped potatoes, but I have been procrastinating!
We will be picking Mom and Dad Golden up at five and bringing them over to Betty and John's house to spend the evening with the whole family...probably from last count, about fifty people, one spoiled doggie and Katy the Cat!
Have a very Merry Norwegian Christmas my friend and hugs and blessings all around...Love Terry

Did Gunnar see my birthday greetings Felisol?...I hope he liked the song..

Debbie Petras said...

Felisol, I wanted to wish you and your family a blessed Christmas. I love the story of Silent Night and to hear it sung in Norwegian is wonderful. Thanks for sharing.