Monday, December 19, 2011
Well.
We're in the United States, travelling back and forth across Oklahoma visiting family. Which means I will probably be too busy eating and napping to update the blog for a little while, so don't be surprised if the posts are erratic and/or non-existent.
Have a Happy Holiday Season!
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Away in a Manger
Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,
The little Lord Jesus lay down His sweet head.
The stars in the sky looked down where He lay,
The little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay.
The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes,
But little Lord Jesus no crying He makes.
I love Thee, Lord Jesus, look down from the sky
And stay by my cradle till morning is nigh.
Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask Thee to stay
Close by me forever, and love me, I pray.
Bless all the dear children in thy tender care,
And fit us for heaven, to live with Thee there.
The little Lord Jesus lay down His sweet head.
The stars in the sky looked down where He lay,
The little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay.
The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes,
But little Lord Jesus no crying He makes.
I love Thee, Lord Jesus, look down from the sky
And stay by my cradle till morning is nigh.
Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask Thee to stay
Close by me forever, and love me, I pray.
Bless all the dear children in thy tender care,
And fit us for heaven, to live with Thee there.
This carol tells the story of the night Jesus was born. In the Bible, we are told Mary (the mother of Jesus) and her husband Joseph are required to travel to the city of Bethlehem for a king-ordered census, but once they get there, all of the rooms in the various inns, hotels, etc were full, so they slept in a stable. And of course, like in all the movies, this is the night Mary went into labor and gave birth. Since they were essentially in a barn, Mary and Joseph used a feeding trough (a manger) for a crib.
The third verse was actually added later, the song originally had only two verses. This one is interesting to me because I was not aware there were two different melodies. I'd heard both tunes, but I never associated this one with the words to Away in a Manger. I've only ever heard it sung (sang?) to this melody.
The third verse was actually added later, the song originally had only two verses. This one is interesting to me because I was not aware there were two different melodies. I'd heard both tunes, but I never associated this one with the words to Away in a Manger. I've only ever heard it sung (sang?) to this melody.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
O Come, O Come Emmanuel
O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Refrain:
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
Who orderest all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go.
Refrain
O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory over the grave.
Refrain
O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Refrain
O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Refrain
O come, O come, great Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times once gave the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.
Refrain
O come, Thou Root of Jesse’s tree,
An ensign of Thy people be;
Before Thee rulers silent fall;
All peoples on Thy mercy call.
Refrain
O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace.
Refrain
Like many traditional "American" things, this song was put together from a hodgepodge of different sources (The US isn't called the World's Melting Pot for nothing). A big chunk of it is translated from the Latin Veni, veni Emanuel. It refers to several passages in the Bible's Old Testament, where God has promised the nation of Israel a Savior. Christians (us included) believe this Savior is Jesus (the Christ, or Emmanuel), and the Christmas season is the celebration of His birth and our salvation. The words "rod of Jesse, root of Jesse, key of David, etc" are all references to the fact that Christ's genealogy shows that his ancestors included one of Israel's great kings, David, and David's father Jesse.
If you wanna look any of this up in the Bible, www.hymntime.com has a good list.
If you wanna look any of this up in the Bible, www.hymntime.com has a good list.
Friday, December 16, 2011
- A little bit of history to fill the time while we're in the United States for the holidays. I'll be posting (or more accurately, Blogger will be posting) several of my favorite Christmas carols and some of the history behind them. No, this doesn't have much to do with India, but carols are a big part of the American Christmas experience.
- O Holy Night
- O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,
- It is the night of our dear Saviour's birth.
- Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
- 'Til He appear'd and the soul felt its worth.
- A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
- For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
-
- Fall on your knees! O hear the angels' voices!
- O night divine, O night when Christ was born;
- O night divine, O night, O night Divine.
- Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming,
- With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
- So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,
- Here come the wise men from Orient land.
- The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger;
- In all our trials born to be our friend.
-
- He knows our need, to our weakness is no stranger,
- Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend!
- Behold your King, Before Him lowly bend!
- Truly He taught us to love one another;
- His law is love and His gospel is peace.
- Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother;
- And in His name all oppression shall cease.
- Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
- Let all within us praise His holy name.
-
- Christ is the Lord! O praise His Name forever,
- His power and glory evermore proclaim.
- His power and glory evermore proclaim.
- I will admit, I'd never heard the second verse of this song. Did you know that this song is actually a translation of a Christmas poem based off another poem written in French? Yeah, me either. but it's true. The poem was originally written in 1847. It wasn't put to music until 1855. This is by far my favorite carol, probably because it neatly sums up the cause for celebration during the holiday season.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Sorry guys, I fell asleep during the fashion show. It's exhausting to dress up and get your picture taken, so this will be the last fashion entry. Tomorrow, we'll talk about signs! Doesn't that sound exciting?
So here I am, posing next to Girija's awesome wood carving. I reported for duty at her apartment (she's my neighbor) for sari-tying boot camp. She dressed me (again), and showed me in detail how to wrap and drape my sari, and while I am still pathetically slow, I at least have a firm grasp on the technique. All I need now is lots of practice.
Another reason for ending the Fashion show - I am not even remotely photogenic, and as you can tell by the above, I lean heavily toward very strange faces. Sorry. This is why it's always a good idea to hire professionals.
So here I am, posing next to Girija's awesome wood carving. I reported for duty at her apartment (she's my neighbor) for sari-tying boot camp. She dressed me (again), and showed me in detail how to wrap and drape my sari, and while I am still pathetically slow, I at least have a firm grasp on the technique. All I need now is lots of practice.
Another reason for ending the Fashion show - I am not even remotely photogenic, and as you can tell by the above, I lean heavily toward very strange faces. Sorry. This is why it's always a good idea to hire professionals.
Friday, December 9, 2011
A few more of these, and I'll be forced to create a "Head Injuries" blog label for them. The below was the result of a Taco Bell staircase and Timothy's impatience to beat us to the pop machine.
He felt a lot better when we told him it made him look like the dog on Disney's Bolt.
The Head Injury Scoreboard is now tied. Tyler - 1, Timothy - 1
Place your bets.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
I call this one my Christmas Sari, since it's got the greens, reds, and gold of my favorite holiday season. I'm a little wrinkled here, because the boys and I went shopping, and Tyler spent a lot of time in my lap.
The front (and wrinkled) view
Showing the color contrast
And the back detail on my blouse.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Since I forgot to take a photo of today's outfit, and Jason is late at work (he's frantically tying up loose ends so he can come back to the States for the holidays with a clear conscience), I'll just direct you to some videos that show just exactly how many ways there are to wear a sari. (Courtesy of www.indiavideo.org).
IndiaVideo.org
Ridiculous huh? Now you see why I was so excited about my tailor sewing the pleats in.
Monday, December 5, 2011
This is another of my "daily" outfits. I have a dupatta that matches this, but I usually forget to wear it. I haven't quite mastered the art of keeping the dupatta where it's supposed to stay on my shoulders, so I'm easily irritated when it falls off all the time.
I have learned the hard way that colored fabrics here are not at all color-safe. Just an FYI.
Friday, December 2, 2011
We interrupt this fashion show for a special announcement from our sponsors...The Random Photo team.
Bike accidents hurt just as bad in India
"The Team"
It's Halloween every day here.
Tyler once answered the door wearing only underwear, the pirate hat and patch, and a sword.
The cable guys were surprised. He's permanently cemented their expectations of American behavior.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
One of my favorite pastimes here in India is shopping, and most of my purchases have been clothing related. So, I figured it wouldn't hurt to show off some of the fantastic clothing items available here in India, so the blog is hosting a fashion show. Unfortunately, all the skinny, anorexic models were unavailable, so I'm filling in. (or filling out, whichever you prefer.) Each day I'll post a pic and a quick description.
Even though the top and dupatta (scarf, I've also heard it called a chadar) are dry clean only, this is still one of my favorite outfits to wear. It helps that dry cleaning can be done here for less than $.50/ per article. I love the purple, and the material is a light silk and synthetic mix that keeps me cool.
The salwar (pants) worn with these were very surprising to me. When I first tried a pair on, I was shocked to find that my leg was too big, despite choosing the size I felt most appropriate. I later discovered that a good portion of the pants material is designed to stay below the knee, much like the 80's era leg warmers in the US. The top portion of the pants are enormous, and soothed my scarred self-esteem.
Here's a photo of the salwar portion of the shalwar kameez (I never have any clue whether my spelling is correct or not). The waistband of the pants is tightened with a drawstring, and the baggy part is covered by the top (which I am not sure what the proper name is?). The outfit is completed with a pair of sandals or heels. It took me a while to get used to these pants; because of the loose fit at the waist, hips, and thighs, it really feels like you forgot pants completely. I find it difficult to bend at the knee sometimes as well, since the pants (at least the ones I own) are made of 100% cotton, and are not stretchy at all.
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