"Keep those cards and letters coming . . . " Looking Towards Twelfth Night

As my followers know, I like the personal touch. That's why I was happy to receive a "voice-card" from my seven year old niece and nephew (which is featured at the top of this blog entry) in honor of Twelfth Night. If you'd like to "hear" this card please click on this link to take  you to where the recording can be found in my Vimeo gallery. To me, recordable cards, although I've yet to create them, are an indicator that the need for a personal touch in communication is on the rise, so why not send a card that reaches someone for the twelfth night.




"In most churches the Epiphany is the climax of the Christmas/Advent Season and the Twelve Days of Christmas, which are counted from the evening of December Twenty-Fifth until the morning of January Sixth, which is the Twelfth Day," Dennis Bratcher writes."In following this older custom of counting the days beginning at sundown, the evening of January Fifth is the Twelfth Night. This is an occasion for feasting in some cultures, including the baking of a special King's Cake as part of the festivities of Epiphany."



Throughout the world, wherever Epiphany is celebrated on January the sixth, there is often a parade for commemorating Epiphany and the Feast of the Three King;, and tomorrow in New York City that parade will be on Fifth Avenue in East Harlem, as mentioned in a previous post.





The end of the Christmas Season has not arrived even — though the Rockefeller Christmas Tree's lights were outed on January Second. The end of the Christmas season, for many New Yorkers, is the third Sunday after Christmas, which will be January Ninth. However, some Russian cultures will celebrate on January the Nineteenth, in honor of their Orthodox roots, and some Europeans will celebrate until the Feast of the Presentation, which occurs  on February the Second.





I am aware of the celebrations of many occasions, as most of my readers and clients know, because I design cards that are about more than communication — invitations that preserve a moment in time  and event program covers that enhance an event. My creations can be found in my down-loadable paper brochure and they may also be viewed with my original art prints on my web-site where purchase information is available. 





In accordance with Thomas Mallon (author of Yours Ever, People and Their Letters which I've written about in posts that you can find by clicking here and here),I  will concede on The Morn of this Twelfth Night, that "lest we over-romanticize (card sending), letter writing, we should remember that it could sometimes be considered a drudgery. On January 14, 1958, C.S. Lewis reminded one of his correspondents, a bit churlishly, that his letter was to her the eighth one he'd already written that day, and at the end of the following year, he asked the same woman to join him in a pact that 'if we are both alive next year, whenever we write to one another it shall not be Christmas time. that period is becoming a sort of nightmare to me — it means endless quill-driving."





It is true, dear reader, the sending and receiving of correspondence can become a "drudgery," but hopefully the joy it brings to others is worth the effort. After all, the entertainer, Dean Martin, was known for ending every television episode with " . . . keep those cards and letters coming . . . " .





I encourage all of you to do what Mr. Dean Martin proposed in years gone by —keep sending cards and letters — and I promise to keep the high standards I've set for creating my cards, invitations, and event program covers. I look forward to sharing them with you.

Happy Twelfth Night!

Honoring the Season of Feasts with Hakonechola Macra (Japanese Forest Grass)

Today is the Fourth Sunday of Advent, a season that began on November 28th 2010.  Dennis Bratcher writes,"the fourth candle of the advent wreath is lit on this day and the light of these candles reminds Christian believers that Jesus is the light of the world — the light that comes into the darkness of people's lives to bring newness, life and hope. It also reminds people that they are called to bring light into the world, and to reflect this grace to others. The progression in the lighting of the Advent candles symbolizes the aspects of waiting, as the candles are lit during the four week period, it also symbolizes the darkness of fear and hopelessness receding as more and more light is shed into the world." Even though I have done volunteer work by bringing Holy Communion to the homebound every Sunday, as well as special feast days, for the past five years, I confess I still struggle with having the faith Bratcher describes.

However, I do design and sell holiday cards, but I like to wait until Advent has passed before sending mine, out of reverence to the message articulated in Bratcher's writings. This year I have designed a card to commemorate Christmas by employing an aspect of botanical textures (a garden feature I wrote about in November), of one of my urban garden plants; Hakonechola Macra (Japanese Forest Grass: All Gold Variety), using a photograph (taken before my plants were snuggled in for the winter as described in a recent post).

I have rendered this image in a gradient of black and white then brushed in a twinge of color so that only two sprigs coming from the leaves have a hint of color. I have done this as a representation of light breaking into darkness, and hopefully conveying the meaning of the promise of Christmas, as described by Bratcher. I have made two versions of this card and the result can be seen in the photographs posted above  and below today's blog entry.

Please note I have not added either of these images discussed in this post to my web-site. However, you can still find a selection of cards to send to those you know who celebrate Christmas with a card that is about more than communication.

Home for the Holidays

As part of this year's roof-top extension urban garden winterizing, (which I blogged about in a previous post), my Fagus sylvatica (Beech Tree), 'housed' in a lovely container, was removed from where it had been placed in what had been a frame for a table. You may recall what I wrote about this in an earlier entry and if not, please click here. In any event, the reason for moving the Fagus sylvatica was that it was located at the extreme northwest corner of my rooftop extension garden and very exposed to nature's elements. With winter-like temperatures setting in, I had to protect it by having the container wrapped twice in bubble-wrap, then 'sealed' with burlap tied tightly with jute, and then butt it up against the southeast portion of my roof extension garden. All the plants alongside where the Fagus had been located were treated in the same way and moved as well, where they could all huddle together, but placed in such a way as if they were sitting in an audience and each needed a good seat to see what was happening.

(I cannot take credit for this observation as it was Juan's, but I have had similar reactions to groupings of trees, plants, and shrubs, and in fact when I was in Vermont this past October, I mentioned to friends that in the Vermont countryside the trees looked as if they were giving a standing ovation.) An image of my garden treasures huddled together in an audience style facing west as they await spring can be seen below:

However, moving my trees, plants, and shrubs left my H.F. Young Clematis on its own in the extreme northwest corner of my rooftop extension garden to bear the elements of winter, as I could not disrupt its vine growth that has climbed up the pole behind it for many years (you can see a portion of its leaves on the pole in the photograph at the top of this post). I could only have the Clematis's container wrapped in burlap and have mulch placed over the entire plant as I put it to bed for winter. Meanwhile, (as I have mentioned before), there is something very calming about putting trees, shrubs, and plants asleep for the winter, and in seeing the 'empty' space this process leaves. But since it is the holidays, a time for decoration, and because this Sunday will be the last Sunday in Advent, I did not want my H.F. Young Clematis to be alone at Christmas; so in keeping with my finding uses for my garden table, I placed a decorated wreath (that I had inside my home in honor of Advent) in the rim so that my H.F. could feel that it too was home for the holidays.

Lighting a Fire Inside the Heart . . .

"Christmas is not in tinsel and lights and outward show. The secret lies in an inner glow. It's lighting a fire inside the heart. Good will and joy a vital part. It's higher thought and a greater plan. It's glorious dream in the soul of man." (Wilfred A. Peterson) It is only December 13th, and Christmas is 12 days away, but from all the frenzy of various tree lighting celebrations (which I have blogged about in a previous post) that sets crowds clamoring in New York City where I live, it is  hard not to get caught up in the often chaotic atmosphere of the city.

I normally do not like to put up outdoor decorations to honor the season until Christmas Eve, and then leave them up for the feast days that follow. I don't want to rush my life or the season by doing things too early or to be taking time away from the present moment; and in this case that would be reflecting on the season Advent has to offer. In fact, this year I actually took down my year-round outdoor lights (that have been wrapped around my urban garden's railing for a number of years) at the very time my neighbors were putting up their annual holiday lights. I did this because when I winterized my garden by having my trees, shrubs, plants, and herbs wrapped, and also had most of them moved closer to the building (as I described in my post on winterizing), I was "left" with bare branches of my Actinida kolomikta and Actimidia (Kiwi Vines) which can be seen in the photograph at the top of this post. I continue to find the textures of this vine's branches to be awesome, as I've previously noted when describing my "lighting ceremony" which I described in this entry. At that time I decided I would be taking down my railing lights, which I have had for a number of years, as I was afraid the wires and cords would interfere with the Actinida kolomikta's branches. I had taken down the railing lights in the wee (and frigid) hours of the morning (of the day I had my containers wrapped for winterizing) by cutting all my lights from the roof extension garden's railings. My intention was to leave the railings bare to showcase the Kiwi's branches, and to wait until Christmas to put up the holiday lights, but since I wanted help stringing them, I had to do it on my winterizing day when help was available. The result can be seen in the photograph posted below, which was taken by Donna De Solis.

Donna took this photograph when I had a "re-lighting" ceremony, although on this particular evening, the ceremony was an "inner lighting ceremony" to help Donna preserve memories and the light of her friend who had passed away. I had made an i-movie for Donna from "cell-phone" footage and also with numerous photos that she had given me. The movie that she wanted me to create was in honor of her friend, and what better time to honor him than during Advent. I hope in the hustle and bustle of holiday time, that you too find time to honor your friends and family in whatever way you find meaningful, and if it is by having a gathering, hosting an event, or one-to-one communication, I still have some holiday invitations that will preserve a moment in time, event program covers that will enhance your venue, and cards that are about more than communication. These can be found on my web-site where purchase information is available.





To reiterate: "Christmas is not in tinsel and lights and outward show. The secret lies in an inner glow. It's lighting a fire inside the heart. Good will and joy a vital part. It's higher thought and a greater plan. It's glorious dream in the soul of man." (Wilfred A. Peterson)

Upcoming Feast Days: Chanukah & Advent Shattering Darkness Part Two: Advent

What I posted yesterday bears repeating especially since this is "part two" of that entry so to reiterate: "It is good to reflect on the symbols of light and hope that mark the Jewish Feast of Chanukah and the Christian Feast of Advent, a time when "Jews and Christians use the symbols of candles and lights to shatter the winter darkness."

(This quote from an excerpt of Archbishop Prendergast's speech at a testimonial dinner honoring Rabbi Erwin and Mrs. Laura Schild.) As previously noted, both of these feast days begin on different days every year, and this year Chanukah begins at sundown on Wednesday, December 1st 2010, while Advent begins today, Sunday, November 28th 2010. Chanukah's celebration lasts eight days ending on December 9th 2010, and Advent lasts until December 24th 2010. Since I am involved with making invitations and greeting cards which are often used to commemorate these holidays, I read many blogs about them and recently discovered Prendergast's speech on a blog posting by Deborah Gyapong.In yesterday's post, I wrote a little bit about the origin of Chanukah. Regarding Advent, it is a season of preparation and the beginning of the Western liturgical year. One of the practices of Advent is the use of wreaths and candles. Traditionally there are four candles, each representing a given Sunday during the four weeks of Advent. Most often purple and rose colored candles are used as seen in the image posted at the top of this entry. However, in some instances, the color blue is used. In any event, when the purple and rose colors are used, the practice is this: a purple candle is lit on the first, second, and fourth Sundays of Advent. The rose colored candle is lit on the third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday, in order to commemorate Laetare Sunday which is the fourth Sunday of Lent at which time a rose is used.



The purpose of this post and yesterday's post is to acknowledge that during the season of Chanakah and Advent, the followers of either feast are invited to go beyond the outward symbols of their ritual. Gyapong writes it is a time to be "an example and to give others a reason to hope and believe." My collection of cards and invitations provide a way of reaching out to others in a meaningful way during this season and beyond. Please visit my web-site for details.

Upcoming Feast Days: Chanukah & Advent Shattering Darkness Part One: Chanukah

It is good to reflect on the symbols of light and hope that mark the Jewish Feast of Chanukah and the Christian Feast of Advent, a time when "Jews and Christians use the symbols of candles and lights to shatter the winter darkness."

(This quote is from an excerpt of Archbishop Prendergast's speech at a testimonial dinner honoring Rabbi Erwin and Mrs. Laura Schild.) Both of these feast days begin on different days every year and this year, Chanukah begins at sundown on Wednesday, December 1st 2010, while Advent begins tomorrow Sunday, November 28th 2010. Chanukah's celebration lasts eight days ending on December 9th 2010, and Advent lasts until December 24th 2010. Since I am involved with making invitations and greeting cards which are often used to commentate these holidays, I read many blogs about them and recently discovered Prendergast's speech on a blog posting by Deborah Gyapong. Gyapong writes "Chanukah means 'dedication,' and commemorates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after its desecration by foreign forces and the Jews' victory over the Hellenist Syrians in the year 165 B. C. For the rededication celebration, the Maccabees desired to light the menorah and looked everywhere for oil, finally finding a small flask that contained only enough oil to light the menorah for one day. Miraculously, the oil lasted for eight days. The message of Chanukah may be found in the name of the holiday itself: dedication —not only of the temple building but of individual lives to the pursuit of high religious and human ideals."





There are many traditions associated with the Chanukah holiday which you can read about by clicking here. It is also a time for sending cards and giving gifts. I have found that clients enjoy using my kaleidoscopic note-cards (because of their intricate colored patterns) for this purpose. A sample of a card from this collection can be seen at the top of this post. It is called "Sunset in Riverside Park" and was discussed in length in a radio interview for 1010 WINS; in a segment for John Montone's New York. You may hear that interview by clicking here.

My kaleidoscopic card collection (and other selections) can be found in the unique store-front pages of my web-site, where purchase information is available. All of my kaleidoscopic cards are derived from original prints which can be ordered in a variety of sizes. I wrote about this in a previous blog entry, where I included an image of a framed art print, showing how it was seen in a gallery exhibition. I posted this image in that entry, and you may see it by clicking here to view.

If you celebrate Chanukah, I hope the promises of its season grant you the desires of your heart and fill you with peace. If you celebrate Advent, I will be posting about it tomorrow which is the First Sunday in Advent.

Whatever your feast is, the two I have mentioned here or something else, may it bring you and yours peace, and shed light to all nations.