May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind always be at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rain fall softly upon your fields,
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hands.
-Irish Blessing
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Christmas in November
Yesterday was the first day of November and my alarm went off at 8:40am and guess what was playing on the radio?1? Christmas music!! I woke and was like, "What's this?!? Christmas music before Thanksgiving?" Well, I do listen to Christmas music all year round, for it to be on the radio is not right. I remember in Portland, that Nordstrom's would decorate the store on Thanksgiving night, unlike other stores, which would be trying to commercialize the holiday, more than it had to be. I mean stores had Christmas stuff in late September/ early October. No wonder people get sick of this holiday. Well, as always, here's my blessing:
Friday, October 31, 2008
Halloween!
Happy Halloween to all! I decided that i would share some of the history of this holiday. The following was found on history.com:
Halloween's origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in).
The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.
To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities.
During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other's fortunes. When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter.
By A.D. 43, Romans had conquered the majority of Celtic territory. In the course of the four hundred years that they ruled the Celtic lands, two festivals of Roman origin were combined with the traditional Celtic celebration of Samhain.
The first was Feralia, a day in late October when the Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead. The second was a day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple and the incorporation of this celebration into Samhain probably explains the tradition of "bobbing" for apples that is practiced today on Halloween.
By the 800s, the influence of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands. In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV designated November 1 All Saints' Day, a time to honor saints and martyrs. It is widely believed today that the pope was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, but church-sanctioned holiday. The celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints' Day) and the night before it, the night of Samhain, began to be called All-hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween. Even later, in A.D. 1000, the church would make November 2 All Souls' Day, a day to honor the dead. It was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels, and devils. Together, the three celebrations, the eve of All Saints', All Saints', and All Souls', were called Hallowmas.
I hope you all enjoyed reading this, and as always, I would like to leave you with a blessing
Halloween's origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in).
The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.
To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities.
During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other's fortunes. When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter.
By A.D. 43, Romans had conquered the majority of Celtic territory. In the course of the four hundred years that they ruled the Celtic lands, two festivals of Roman origin were combined with the traditional Celtic celebration of Samhain.
The first was Feralia, a day in late October when the Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead. The second was a day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple and the incorporation of this celebration into Samhain probably explains the tradition of "bobbing" for apples that is practiced today on Halloween.
By the 800s, the influence of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands. In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV designated November 1 All Saints' Day, a time to honor saints and martyrs. It is widely believed today that the pope was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, but church-sanctioned holiday. The celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints' Day) and the night before it, the night of Samhain, began to be called All-hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween. Even later, in A.D. 1000, the church would make November 2 All Souls' Day, a day to honor the dead. It was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels, and devils. Together, the three celebrations, the eve of All Saints', All Saints', and All Souls', were called Hallowmas.
I hope you all enjoyed reading this, and as always, I would like to leave you with a blessing
May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind always be at your back,
The sun shine warm upon your face,
The rain fall softly upon your fields,
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
-An Irish Blessing
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Insert snazzy title here...
Today was an interesting day. I have found myself humming music from the Lord of the Dance (specifically cry of the celts) and singing songs such as "Caledonia", "Dulaman", and "Carrikfergus" (got to love Celtic Woman). I got a new black skirt for church, as well as for my costume tomorrow (I decided I would be an Irish Step Dancer.) Reelly (yes, i misspelled this on purpose) i am going to dress up as something i already am. I have done irish step for a little over 10 years, though i haven't done as much for the last few months, but i still enjoy it. My ward had a talent show at the beginning of the school year, and i choreographed a solo to "Scarborough Fair" (another song that i have because of Celtic Woman), and i didn't realize how much i miss it until then. I love Ireland, although i've never been. My one wish in life is to be able to visit the British Isles, the land of my ancestors. I don't know what it is, but i've been thinking of Ireland a lot lately. Well it's 12:02 am and i need to get to bed, since i have to be up by 7 am. So in parting I will leave this blessing with you.
May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
The sun shine warm upon your face,
The rain fall softly upon your fields,
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
-Irish Blessing
Irish Blessing and Sayings
As I'm sitting here, entering my first post on my blog, i'm not really sure what to say. Then I remember the reason I am blogging in the first place, an Irish Blessing that I wanted to share with you at the end of this post. So I am going share some of my favorite Irish Blessings and sayings with you.
- Beagán agus a rá go maith. Say little but say it well.
- We attract what we love and what we fear.
- Bricks and mortar make a house but the laughter of children makes a home.
- May you be poor in misfortunes
and rich in blessings.
May you know nothing but happiness
from this day forward.
- May good luck be your friend
In whatever you do
And may trouble be always
A stranger to you.
- May your blessings out number
The Shamrocks that grow
And may trouble avoid you
Wherever you go.
- May you always have
Walls for the winds,
A roof for the rain,
Tea beside the fire,
Laughter to cheer you,
Those you love near you,
And all that your heart might desire!
- A Wish for a Friend
Wishing you a rainbow
For sunlight after showers—
Miles and miles of Irish smiles
For golden happy hours—
Shamrocks at your doorway
For luck and laughter too,
And a host of friends that never ends
Each day your whole life through!
These are only a handful of the many I absolutely love. Some of the others are celtic songs, such as "The Sky, the Dawn, and the Sun", "Caledonia", and "The Blessing".
Now to part, I leave you with another Irish Blessing:
May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
The sun shine warm upon your face,
The rain fall soft upon your fields,
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
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