I love being in the room where we have sat up the Christmas tree. It's always so peaceful to sit and just look at the tree and the lights. I used to love doing that as a child, and I still love it. The Christmas tree brings peace to any room it's in. Wishing all my readers a peaceful Christmas. I hope that the new year brings an end to the pandemic--that is my wish--I have no others.
Friday, December 25, 2020
Wednesday, December 23, 2020
A needed message at Christmas, especially this year
I am sharing a recent article in The Atlantic that I found quite good. I'm including the link to the article here:
Trump Is Losing His Mind - The Atlantic
This is a paragraph from the article that resonated with me:
There are still things worthy of our love. Honor, decency, courage, beauty, and truth. Tenderness, human empathy, and a sense of duty. A good society. And a commitment to human dignity. We need to teach others—in our individual relationships, in our classrooms and communities, in our book clubs and Bible studies, and in innumerable other settings—why those things are worthy of their attention, their loyalty, their love. One person doing it won’t make much of a difference; a lot of people doing it will create a culture.
Yes, just yes. This is what I have been saying for the past four years in many of my posts about Trump. There is nothing admirable about Trump's in-your-face behavior, about his narcissism, his aggression, his anger, his rawness. He does not emanate empathy or kindness. We don't need more of his kind in society, we need less. We need to tone down the aggression, the chaos, the destruction. We need to change the channel in favor of peace. We need to find stillness so that we can reflect on what went wrong and why a huge number of people voted for a man that under other circumstances they would have kicked to the curb.
I found, and continue to find it, absolutely appalling that people who call themselves Christians have supported this man, and still do. They are certain that there was voter fraud that allowed Biden to win. It's as though they and the Republican Party are part of a cult, and that scares the hell out of me. Many others have written about this, so I won't belabor the point. Unfortunately, there are young people who have bought into his message, and into the hypocrisy preached by evangelicals who compare Trump to Christ, that he was sent by God to save the USA. What crap. But if you listen long enough to this crap, it starts to seep in like most crap does. And it hynotizes and brainwashes the weak-minded.
It starts with us. We must promote honor, decency, courage, beauty, and truth. We must show empathy to others, we must be kind. We must 'be' the message of Christmas not only at Christmas, but throughout the year.
Saturday, December 28, 2019
The magic of Christmas trees
But it is the magic that Christmas trees create, the beauty they add to a room or an outdoor space, that is an important part of Christmas each year. We always had a Christmas tree in our home when we were children, albeit an artificial tree since my parents weren't big on buying real trees. It wasn't until I moved to Norway that real trees became a part of Christmas. Our co-op board also buys a large real tree and puts it up in the courtyard. If it snows, it is always so pretty to look at, the golden lights shining through the glistening snow. Christmas magic, indoors and outdoors.....
Wednesday, December 25, 2019
A Christmas reminder to keep life simple
Monday, December 16, 2019
All things Christmas
It will be nice to have some time off for the Christmas holidays. I will catch up on my reading, sleeping, and baking. And I will try to take more photos during this season…….
Christmas tree in the courtyard |
our Christmas tree |
the amaryllis has already bloomed
|
Sunday, December 8, 2019
Romantic Christmas movies
You might think that I am going to criticize these types of movies--but you'd be wrong. I rather want to praise them, if for no other reason than that they add a certain lightness/goodness to a world filled with the opposite. They are reminders that the majority of ordinary people go about their ordinary lives, working, meeting a potential spouse, raising families, visiting parents and good friends. I'd rather watch two young adults find love and happiness than watch two adults destroy each other and their marriage and children, even though the latter can absolutely be good drama and provide the potential to learn from the tragedies of others. I'd rather watch the characters in these movies struggle to remain decent human beings in the face of unfairness and injustice. Many of them take the high road in circumstances that would cause others to take the low road. They may not be the most realistic of movies. But if you asked most couples how they met, I bet you'd find that many of them have some interesting stories to tell of love found, love lost, and love found again. Sometimes love is lost for good; these movies deal with that aspect as well. Friendships get them through those times. And I can relate, because friendships are very important, married or not. My mother used to tell me that I should never give up my women friends, even if I married. And I never have. One of the nicest of these Christmas films that I saw this past week dealt with just that--three close childhood friends, two of whom moved away from their hometown in order to pursue careers, and who end up returning to live there after the third friend gets divorced and is in danger of losing her house--a house that holds special memories for these friends. It's a touching movie, with a title that doesn't do it justice--Christmas on Holly Lane--you'd never know that it really is about the blessings of friendship to get you through the tough times. I really liked it.
Some of my favorite films thus far are, in addition to Christmas on Holly Lane:
- A Shoe Addict's Christmas (2018)
- Christmas Perfection (2018)
- Christmas Getaway (2017)
- A Perfect Christmas (An Unexpected Christmas) (2016)
- A Puppy for Christmas (2016)
- Just in Time for Christmas (2015)
- The Spirit of Christmas (2015)
- A Christmas Kiss (2011)
- A Dream of Christmas (2016)
- A Heavenly Christmas (2016)
- Christmas in Vienna (2020)
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Klaus--a new Christmas classic
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4729430/
Monday, December 24, 2018
Friday, December 14, 2018
Reminders of past times with loved ones
- Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058536/?ref_=nv_sr_1
- Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060345/?ref_=nv_sr_3
- Scrooge (1970) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066344/
- The Snowman (1982) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084701/?ref_=nv_sr_3
Sunday, December 2, 2018
Preparing for Christmas
It is those memories of my family Christmases that I carry with me always and that I celebrate each year in combination with the Norwegian traditions of my husband's family that have now become our traditions. But beyond the cultural traditions, it is the religious and spiritual traditions of Advent that I remember well--having an Advent wreath with four candles, and lighting one for each of the four Sundays during Advent. When I was in my mid-twenties, my local church in New Jersey would have nights when we would distribute food we had made to the poor and homeless; it also sponsored evenings where we would get together at different people's homes to discuss the scriptures (a type of Bible study, I guess). We would also pick a charity and donate as a group to that charity. Our local church in Tarrytown where I grew up also had a gift tree with tags hanging on it; we would pick a tag and it would describe what gift was wished for by a young girl or boy, without naming their names. Sometimes they wanted toys, other times clothing. We would also collect canned foods and give them to the church that distributed them to struggling families who did not have enough food. My heart was always cheered by the sight of the huge piles of canned goods and food that were collected. We were raised to pay attention to those less fortunate than we were; we were raised to care about our fellow man, and to give because we had enough to give. The concept of giving to the less fortunate was not something we only did at Christmas, but for some reason, what we did during the Christmas season made a huge impression on me, especially as a child.
The priest at church today talked about finding time for prayer during Advent. He said something that struck me as so true--that God makes contact with us (initiates it) in many ways, giving us countless opportunities to get in touch, so that our prayers are not so much requests for something we want from God as responses to God's attempts to contact us. That makes prayer a two-way street and I like that idea. It makes the connection near and personal, and it is a reminder to pay attention to what happens around us, because what happens around us and in our daily lives are the possibilities we have to listen to the voice of God and to prepare for Christ's coming.
Friday, November 30, 2018
An Advent prayer
Wednesday, November 28, 2018
My favorite Christmas movies and television classics
- It's a Wonderful Life (1946) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038650/?ref_=nv_sr_1
- Miracle on 34th Street (1947) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039628/?ref_=nv_sr_1
- Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058536/?ref_=nv_sr_1
- A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059026/?ref_=nv_sr_2
- Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060345/?ref_=nv_sr_3
- Scrooge (1970) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066344/
- The Snowman (1982) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084701/?ref_=nv_sr_3
- National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097958/?ref_=nv_sr_1
- Home Alone (1990) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099785/?ref_=nv_sr_1
- The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107688/?ref_=nv_sr_1
- Finding Father Christmas (2016) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6245488/?ref_=rvi_tt
Advent and the Christmas season
That feeling of anticipation remains even now, many years later. I like this time of year. I look forward to Advent, to the time to prepare for Christmas. All of the different preparations are bound together--religious traditions, family traditions, and cultural traditions (American, Norwegian, Italian and British). I always have an Advent calendar and try to find a religious-inspired one each year (not always so easy). I set out an Advent wreath or a candle holder with four places for candles that I light each Sunday during Advent. I still write Christmas cards that I send out to family and friends, and I try to find time to do some inspirational/spiritual reading during December.
In the USA, A Charlie Brown Christmas will be shown on TV early in December. That is a tradition that we grew up with in America and that we looked forward to every year. We sat and watched it together with our parents, who also enjoyed it. I have the DVD now and watch it each year, for the sweet reminder of what the Christmas season is really all about. We also watched Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas--also classics. Watching them reminds me of my parents and of our family.
Advent is many things to me, but it is the feelings of hope and anticipation that will permeate these next four weeks. I wish you all a good Advent--one filled with hope and anticipation, but also with time for reflection and solitude. For in the midst of all the merriment and social activities, it is good to find some time for quiet reflection.
Wednesday, December 27, 2017
Overwhelming the world
As 2017 draws to a close, I am glad that I saw this little quote today--a reminder that whatever good we do, no matter how small, really does count. As I get older, I understand this more and more. It's not about the big gestures, but rather about the little ones. A small donation to a charity organization, or giving money (or food) to the beggars on the street, volunteering where your help might be needed, sending a card or letter to someone who is sick and/or immobile, a phone call to someone who might be lonely or depressed--the list is endless. I know that the small good things matter, because when I have done them, the reaction from the recipients is incredible. You would think that you had given them a million dollars. And that reaction is their gift to us. I have looked into the eyes of two homeless men on the street this month, after I had given them money. I saw gratitude, yes, but I saw their souls too; I saw that they were not so different from me. They just have less material things in this world. But they have the same desires and dreams as I do--to love and be loved, to be happy, to be remembered, to be acknowledged.
And that is my wish in this Christmas season--that if we have joy, love, and blessings in abundance, that we share those things with those who are less fortunate. I have talked to so many friends and colleagues during the past month, and we all say the same thing. We are fortunate, we have more than enough to live, to make us happy. We are blessed. And those blessings impart a certain power that we can tap into. We have the power to change lives, to make others feel loved and happy. We can start with the small things, because in the end, it is the small gestures that most people really do remember--the gift of your presence, your attention, your caring--taking the time to really 'see' others for who they are. It's about acknowledging and respecting others.
Wishing you all a blessed Christmas season and a healthy and happy new year. May God grant you peace and many blessings.
Friday, December 22, 2017
Christmas video greeting from the US Embassy in Oslo
Saturday, December 24, 2016
Lights in the darkness--Christmas in Oslo
Tuesday, December 22, 2015
American embassy employees try Norwegian Christmas food
Friday, December 26, 2014
A Christmas poem by Clement Clarke Moore
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Wednesday, January 1, 2014
A few of my favorite things at Christmastime
Another popular thing to do, and which has become a tradition in our house, is to buy the special editions of the different comics series that are published at Christmastime (called juleheftene): for example, Donald Duck, Zits, Blondie, Garfield (called Pusur here) and others. It's relaxing to sit and read through them during the Christmas vacation--both for children and adults who never got past the kid stage when it comes to comics (like me).
And finally, there are the bird tracks in the snow on the little balcony outside our kitchen window where the birds sit each morning waiting for their ration of sunflower seeds. They make the season special with their constancy (they return each morning) and with their social instincts and curiosity.
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Wishing you all a joyful Christmas and happy new year
A heartfelt wish for a joyful Christmas from A New Yorker in Oslo. I've been writing this blog for three and a half years, and I still look forward to each post that I write. It's not always clear to me what my posts will be about, but I find that a particular theme finds its way to the surface of my consciousness. I can walk around for days with a particular theme as a background process in my mind, and then 'suddenly' I know what to write about. I am fairly certain already that many more of my posts in 2014 will be about my writing or writing in general. I will be publishing my second book of poetry shortly, and will share with you the book cover and information on where to find it. There is no money in writing poetry; there never has been. I know this and will continue to do it anyway. Because even if one person gives me his or her feedback, it's worth it. It's heartening when you know that you have touched someone with your thoughts and feelings in a poem you have written, when that person writes to tell you which poems they liked and why.
My hope for 2014 is that I will be able to remember and follow this saying more often: 'It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness'. This saying was first spoken in public by the founder of Amnesty International--Peter Benenson. For me, it is good motivation for living daily life, with all of its struggles and pitfalls. It's a reminder to try to make a difference in this life, to try to be a good person, to not sit back passively and give in to the darkness, whatever form it may take. I wish all of you a happy 2014.
Out In The Country by Three Dog Night
Out in the Country by Three Dog Night is one of my favorite songs of all time. When I was in high school and learning how to make short mov...