An English language
nursery rhyme
Star light, star bright,
First star I see tonight;
I wish I may, I wish I might,
Have the wish I wish tonight.
Happy Solstice & Merry
Christmas
The Winter Solstice often is
called the December Solstice and has the fewest daylight hours of any day in
the year and is the calendar start of winter in the northern hemisphere. For
me, this event was at 4:02 a.m. today Central Standard Time (CST). By the way, being a
Minnnneeeesnowtan, FramWinter runs from November 1 through March 31 -- reality vs.
calendars, you see ....
If you happen to be immortal
or verifiably a reincarnated individual and been around in 1623, you may have
witnessed a phenomenon which occurs so infrequently that rarely is not an adequate word to describe the event. That was the last time the two largest planets
in our solar system -- Jupiter and Saturn -- were in as close proximity to one
another as they will be this night -- December 21, 2020. The only problem was
that stargazing conditions at the time meant the astronomical planetary conjunction back then
likely was not seen by earthlings. The last time such a close pairing was
observable to the naked eye was in 1226.
Some might also note that we are a few days from Christmas, the currently selected date for the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. The double planet view is known by some astronomers as the "Christmas Star" because of a belief that the biblical tale of the Star of Bethlehem could have been a planetary conjunction. Although around two thousand years ago, Venus and Jupiter were closest, not Jupiter and Saturn, as is the case for the "Christmas Star" of 2020.
The
conjunction of the two giant planets of our solar system make them appear to be
one, although in reality they are hundreds of millions of miles apart. The planets actually have been moving closer together and been increasingly visible for some time low on the southwestern horizon and will be for several more days as they slowly drift apart again. The only time to catch them is during twilight because they set around 6:30 p.m. CST.
Moving right along, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) has been staging performances here during the Christmas season for a number of years. I finally got around to seeing one two years ago and, again, in 2019. I had hoped to make it a triple-play, but the Coronavirus cut short that plan. There was a live streaming show a few days ago, but I passed on it. The TSO holiday extravaganza is terrific and I love it. To give you a taste, here is a video of the TSO performing "Christmas Canon Rock" with Chloe Lowery in Saint Paul on the 28th day of December last year.
In the
second video, students from Saint Olaf College of Northfield, Minnesota, perform
Night of Silence / Silent Night while on a tour in Norway. The piece also features the Nidarosdomens jentekor, which translates to the Nidaros
Cathedral's girls' choir. Finally, the third video offers an elaborate production of The Twelve
Days of Christmas by The King's Singers and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
So, one more time: Happy
Solstice and Merry Christmas and remember to look for the "Christmas Star" when it arrives around twilight ....
10 comments:
Ohh dear such wonderful music!I love all of them but specially the second one
I think we will hear concerts like these soon here too.We always listen to The Sølvguttene sings Christmas in when we start our christmas dinner.This year I even got a special opera from the kids right to mail with my name on it ASTRID and singing My name as well hah hah Yoo oo !!yeah!My bank ordered it. I'm probably a good customer heh heh
I love the photo very much.Is it really from your lake?In fact these days I have been much into watching videos and stories from the Artic(Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton the legacy of the Ross Sea region of Antarctica by the first Antarctic explorers – Norwegian Carsten Borchgrevinck and British explorers, Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton The bases of four expeditions (1895 – 1915) still standing in ).The photo reminds me of the great views up there.
Yes we have heard about Jupiter and Saturn that will show up to night.I will look for it because we have now cold starry blu heaven.No snow (it went away)
There may be starry skies were two luminous planets that shone in Bethlehem when Jesus was born. I'm sure. At that time the holy men interpreted as one sign. I wonder what sign they will say about this one Jupiter and Saturn. Nature is amazing. Look at the mutated covid virus ohh myh ohh myh what a smart thing.I'm terrified! God help us all.
Well I have time off from work at Christmas and pull the duvet over my head because it's cold in my bedroom.Find a book that It is called.
"The greatest crime!"By Marte Michelet
Movie here https://youtu.be/buB-1i0wQW4.
It is about the persecution of Jews, especially here in Norway where they hated the Jews from the time of Olav The Holy (https://snl.no/Olav_den_hellige.) And now while we all have to sit at home ,we have a good time to think.
I hope you are fine my friend.Will you eat Turkey on Christmas Eve? I remember when I lived in Spain when we ate turkey.Uff not my taste, give me rather chops and real viking food.Also this was a long post-
Do you have seen a Raised by Wolves on Netflix.Science fiction
with Ragnar Lotbrok.He is as good actor as in Vikings.Crazy and dancing.But the series I dont know, it is further into future that I even can think of- scary shit .Rideley Scott made it.
I think this is the longest reply I have ever made !Sorry about that!
Merry Christmas Fram.May all your wishes come true!
It is translated by google!!Sorry
Norskejenten som ønsker den gode mannen i Minnesota en Riktig God Jul!
First of all, I enjoyed all your musical selections. I would be hard pressed to choose a favorite, but I'm leaning toward the middle one.
I love astronomy, despite the fact I've always been a bit "challenged" when it comes to identifying what I'm seeing. My favorite is Orion, one that I've always found easy to pick out. I just read somewhere recently that we might be seeing a brighter Betelgeuse in our lifetimes. Anyway.... when I first got an iPhone, I got an app called GoSkyWatch that is wonderful. It wasn't free (though I think I had a gift card), but would, IMO, be worth every penny spent. If I remember, I'll take it outside this evening and see what I can see. I can usually pick out most of the visible planets on my own.
Cuddle up to Buddy and stay warm, Fram.
Happy Winter Solstice to you, too!
Boa noite Fram!
Gostei muito dessa foto, transmite uma paz absurda, bom seria se agente ouvisse o som e o ruído dos ventos. Imagine você ter uma vista assim no quintal de casa. Seria praticamente o paraíso, sonhar acordado.
Vejo alguma série de família que mora no Alaska e tem cada imagem de molhar os olhos. Tem imagens que a natureza é tão perfeita que parece uma pintura. Mas na verdade a pintura é da ponta dos dedos do CRIADOR de todas as coisas.
A conjunção dos dois planetas dá um certo medo, embora na realidade estejam a centenas de milhões de quilômetros um do outro. O universo parece as vezes parece desgovernado.
Tantas coisas acontecendo que tem hora que dá uma aflição deixa-me sem saber o que pensar.
Os vídeos são bons , mais gostei mais do primeiro.
Então é isso Fram, ando um pouco triste mais tudo vai passar. A tempo pra todas as coisas na face da terra.
Desejo um Natal pra ti e todos os teus com muita fé, esperanças e muita paz.
Que a maior promessa do Ano Novo seja o fortalecimento da nossa fé, e esperança de dias melhores.
Um punhado de sorrisos pra você!
I just listened to the Nidarosdomens Guttekor and the Sølvguttene perform, Anita. I enjoyed their music. I think (actually, I know) if it were not for the internet my mind would be very much empty regarding music around the world in the sense of hearing it and appreciating it.
It is easy to understand there are bands and choirs and concert halls many other places than where I am, but to be able to actually hear the performances would not be possible without the "magic" of the internet: I would never hear a choir from Norway or Germany singing Christmas carols in their own languages or música sertaneja from Brazil or a symphonic rock band from Finland or Кипелов singing a song named, "Я свободен" in the Russian language.
Your reading habits often are the same as my own. The names of the Arctic and Antarctic explorers are familiar to me. I have two others I would suggest to you:
Ann Bancroft (not the actress) from Saint Paul joined the 1986 Will Steger (also a Minnesotan) polar expedition and was one of six and the first woman to reach the North Pole on foot and by dogsled: Steger, Bancroft, Paul Schurke, Brent Boddy, Richard Weber, Geoff Carroll and a team of 21 dogs made the trek. She later led the first women's team to reach the South Pole on skis. She and Norwegian Liv Arensen were the first women to complete a transcontinental crossing of Antarctica.
Steger is from the Twin Cities suburb of Richfield. His credentials include leading the first confirmed dogsled journey to the North Pole without re-supply in 1986 (the one in which Bancroft was a team member), leading a south-north traverse of Greenland and the first dogsled traverse of Antarctica 1989–90. He is an acquaintance, and I could tell you a few stories about him.
I have visited the Treblinka camp site near Warsaw and been at the Schindler factory in Krakow, as well as spoken with one-time American soldiers who were among the first to liberate one of the concentration/death camps, so I am not a stranger to the fate of the Jewish people and others during World War II. As often is said, people must remain aware of those things so they never are allowed to happen again. It is good you are doing that, Anita.
No, I was not even aware of the series, "Raised by Wolves." It sounds interesting, but it is doubtful I will have the opportunity to watch any of it.
Maybe turkey for Christmas, maybe not. I have it should I want it, but also am considering roast beef, which I would prefer. As a boy, turkey was for Thanksgiving, goose for Christmas and ham for Easter. My mother's father was of German descent, so much of my taste in food comes from him. We shall see what my "food mood" is when the time arrives.
Stay sweet and be safe, Anita, and I hope you will sing along with any Christmas carols you hear .... later, beautiful one ....
Minnesota-gutten ønsker Norskejenten i Bergen en riktig god jul !!!!
The night sky has fascinated me in a way since I was a small boy and would stand outside with a flashlight blinking it skyward, hoping it would be seen by an alien spacecraft which would land and the occupants offer to give me a ride. Too many science fiction movies, I suppose.
I have been an on-again / off-again runner (jog is a "verboten" word in my dictionary) and one year in particular did most of my running on a country road at night. It was very magical in many ways and interesting to watch the "stars change positions" as the weeks progressed.
I would take my children outside to watch the meteor showers and they fell in love with skywatching to the point of having made significant investments in binoculars and telescopes. In Dakota at dusk we would watch satellites going over, visible through reflecting the sun, which by then was well below the horizon. We would go for walks on icy cold, snowy winter nights looking at Comet Hale–Bopp. One night was especially memorable with crunchy snow and bitter/bitter/bitter cold. With my habit of bouncing interests, the kids left me lagging behind a long time ago in terms of the night sky.
You certainly hold more expertise in star gazing than I do, Kelly. I need a book in my hand to locate literally any constellation, and even then it takes me many/many/many minutes to find what I am looking for ....
Thank you, Kelly, for coming and for writing a comment here. Buddy and I will do our best to stay warm and, if there is a white Christmas for anyone, I would rather it be you than me .... sort of teasing there, but ....
Later, Arkansas girl .... I wish the best Christmas ever for you and your family ....
It is good to "hear" your voice once again, Smareis. I miss your presence and am happy when you come to visit me. And, your smile is very important to my sense of equilibrium as I wander through the maze of life.
My eyes have feasted on a sight near-identical to that in the photograph many times -- often on Lake Superior, occasionally at other places -- usually on foot, sometimes on skis. Follow the sun has been the mantra and see where it leads you. Hmmmm .... to snowy ice fields, if not to greener pastures ....
I can see the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn either as a chance event or as part of a grand design and simply be glad that it happens without wondering why or worrying about what others think or believe. It simply is a wonderful thing.
My favorite among these three pieces is the first -- the "Christmas Cannon Rock." I was in the audience watching this Trans-Siberian Orchestra performance as it was happening a year ago and had seen it the year before, as well. The entire presentation, too, is wonderful and I do not have to think about it in any other way. If this song sounds familiar it is because the music is Johann Pachelbel's "Canon in D Major," with lyrics written by Paul O'Neill, the founder of the orchestra. Many of the orchestra's musicians also play with heavy-duty rock bands.
I feel badly that you are "a little sadder," Smareis, and wish as you do that the New Year will "be the strengthening of our faith, and hope for better days." I like to think of myself as a realist and, as such, wonder which force will be left standing at the end of time. I would like to believe it will be the force of good, but that would require faith which is something lacking in me. Someday, maybe, we will know.
Thank you, Smareis, for coming and for writing. I also wish "a Christmas with great faith, hope and a lot of peace" for you and for those you love. Try not to stay away so long, ok? .... and, a special thank you for the handful of smiles .... they are like the air that I breathe ....
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and your family! :-)
Greetings from London.
Thank you, CiL ....
I think Charles Dickens had it right when he wrote: "I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year."
I promised to stop by your blog this Christmas. Unfortunately it got so busy at work that I had enough to calm the many agitated patients. I had to call the police in the end they became so aggressive. But with the right medication it became calm in the end.
I hope you had a great Christmas Eve! Did Buddy get a nice gift? How has the Jule celebration been with you?
Here it is gray and sad. Rainy weather. But it's better than clearing snow from the door and icy roads.
Ønsker deg fortsatt en Riktig God Jul Minnesota gutten!
Hilsener fra hjemlandet og Norskejenten
It would seem your holiday has been more exciting than mine, Anita, although I had my share of troublemakers to contend with when I was in corrections work, including one physical altercation with an inmate who went after a dentist. All our "customers" were convicted felons .... some very dangerous .... no clients or patients, only inmates.
My holiday has been punctuated by falling snow and the sound of snow blowers, with no trips beyond the house and the yard, and the telephone and the computer the only forms of communication with friends and family. Boredom rules ....
Buddy's primary gift was a new bed, which he received early, and his only entertainment came in the form of chasing squirrels and visiting with the dog next door. Boredom rules ....
Actually, I prefer peaceful and quiet holidays, so I am well satisfied with this one. And, I was able to enjoy a few broadcast Christmas concerts by area colleges/universities which, in addition to watching football games, has become a December habit. The New Year weekend will be the same. A newsman/writer named Jimmy Breslin once was asked if he had plans for New Year's Eve. His reply was to the effect that "we professional drinkers leave one night a year for the amateurs." I periodically have used that line myself, sometimes substituting the word "night" with the word "month."
I think I will have another post in a day or two ....
Thank you, Norwegian girl, for your return visit and comment. Stay safe and beautiful and keep those patients in line .... husk, du er sjefsdamen ....
Post a Comment