By: Alkelda,
on 2/25/2008
Last night, we had some family and friends over for dinner. At one point, Lucia took her napkin and dipped it into my brother's girlfriend's wine. I was shocked. "That was mean and rude, "I said. "Why did you do it?" Lucia replied, "I was being Veronica wiping the face of Jesus." "Oh," I said. "I'm glad you weren't being mean-- you were just being... interesting." I asked her apologize to my
By: Alkelda,
on 12/14/2007
Here is the post I wrote last year about Santa Lucia Day. Today, Bede is dropping our own Lucia off at school, and I hope he gets to stay for the singing. The second graders visit each classroom while singing "Santa Lucia" songs, and leave sweet bread (not sweetbread!) for everyone. Last year, I cried during the singing. Lucia's teacher reassured me that this was a normal reaction to the Santa
By: Alkelda,
on 11/9/2007
St. Martin and the Beggar by El Greco On the evening of Monday, November 12, Lucia's class will take part in her school's annual Lantern Walk. The children and their parents will gather outside to walk through the woods holding homemade lanterns and singing songs. Afterward, we'll gather around a bonfire, drink warm cider, and listen to a story. The Lantern Walk coincides with the feast of St.
By: Rebecca,
on 11/7/2007
Terryl L. Givens is Professor of Literature and Religion and James A. Bostwick Chair of English at the University of Richmond. His newest book, People of Paradox: A History of Mormon Culture not only traces the development of Mormon culture from Joseph Smith through today, but also looks at Mormon culture in the context of society at large. In the article below Givens uses Mormon history to elucidate why discussion of Presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s religion is irrelevant.
On the 10th of September, 1846, the bombardment began and continued sporadically for three days. As many as 800 (some Mormons said 1800) U.S militiamen and area citizens with six pieces of canon had surrounded the virtually deserted city of Nauvoo, Illinois. The two to three hundred remaining Mormons converted some steamboat shafts to canon and threw up barricades in a feeble attempt to survive. (more…)
By: Alkelda,
on 11/2/2007
Happy All Saints' Day! Two of my favorite resources for stories of the saints for children are Once Upon a Time Saints and More Once Upon a Time Saints, both by Ethel Pochocki. Tomie DePaola and Demi have been quite prolific in the saints picture-books department, too. A quick search online lead me to Caedmon's Song by Ruth Asby, illustrated by Bill Slavin, and published in 2006. I don't know yet
By: Alkelda,
on 9/23/2007
From a German manuscript, circa 1300
Next Saturday, September 29, is the feast of Michaelmas. The day commemorates the archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael and their victory in casting the dragon (that is, the Devil) out of Heaven. Some universities in the United Kingdom use Michaelmas as the name of the first school term, too.
Lucia's school holds a Michaelmas festival every year to welcome the arrival of Autumn. Grownups and older children press fresh apple cider, bake bread and cook hearty root vegetable soups. Outside, the school-yard hosts a number of different games with the theme of "defeating the dragon." Unless the weather is absolutely miserable, families and friends share picnic blankets and eat dinner together. Lucia is looking forward to wearing the new apple-print dress for Michaelmas that I made at her request.
The old apple dress (now too small in the bodice)
Lucia's teacher sent out an email this morning with a description of the Michaelmas festival in the Waldorf school tradition:
Michaelmas is an old European harvest festival that is celebrated in Waldorf schools around the Western World. The story behind the festival is, briefly, that a dragon wanders the earth, devastating life on earth. St. George, with the help of the Archangel Michael, defeats the dragon, bringing peace to the earth and its inhabitants. The dragon can be seen in the process of the earth (in most places including Seattle in most years) at this time of year when the crops are ripe and mostly harvested, the rains have not fallen for months, the earth is dried and scorched and it seems as though the rains and winter will never come again. In the past people had to wonder at this time if the crops still growing would be brought in before the rains fell, if what they harvested would last through the long winter- who would survive? Who would not? In addition to this, autumn is often the time when our own inner dragons, who have been slumbering away during the lazy and fun days of summer, rear their ugly heads again. It is with the courage and might of Michael that we conquer our own inner dragons that we may go into the solitude and slumber of the winter in tact and with a certain amount of inner peace.
I looked online for various ways in which to celebrate Michaelmas with food, and decided that while we wouldn't cook a goose this year, I could make something with blackberries (tradition has it that the Devil landed on blackberry brambles after he was kicked out of Heaven, thereby rendering the fruit inedible) and something akin to a St. Michael's bannock. I appreciate Michaelmas as the festival to mark the beginning of Autumn. I can tell that people are itching for some sort of celebration by the proliferation of Halloween candy that appeared right after Labor Day. If you are so inclined, I encourage you to create a Michaelmas party of your own. And yes, all you Oktoberfest fans, I'm sure beer as well as hard cider will be fitting beverages for the grownups.
Aster novi-belgii, a.k.a. Michaelmas daisies
This post was updated at 8:00 am.
By: Alkelda,
on 9/13/2007
Diana of St. Fiacre's Garden tagged me to list the five saints I'd invite for dinner. I'm going to assume that the saints I invite will not be in the midst of fasting. Here are my guests:
1) St. Mary Magdalene-- I'd show off by making red-eggs, i.e. hard-boiled eggs saturated with sweet pickled beet juice, for the appetizers.
2) St. Lawrence of Rome, patron saint of chefs. I'd ask him to bless the meal, and then it would be delicious for sure.
3) St. Martha, who did all the cooking and cleaning while Mary of Bethany sat at Jesus' feet.
4) Amand of Maastricht, patron of beer-brewers and wine-makers (did I mention that this is a potluck?)
5) St. Therese of Liseux-- I know both Martha and she would help with the dishes afterward.
I do love that interesting girl of yours!
I totally wanna hang out with her.
Jules, 7-Imp
LSM and Jules: There is rarely a dull moment with our girl. When there is, I eagerly catch up on my reading.
Lucia has an amazing imagination. You're doing a great job raising her!
Need a babysitter?
LOL OH shoot girl, you definitely have your hands full with this one.
I've read that essay, and WOW that was one crazy meal Mitterrand checked out with.
She is such a dear! I can't tell you how rude my two little boys are at table. It's horrifying.
HWM: Thank you! It's getting easier now that the weather's nice enough that she can burn off energy in the garden.
Lady K: Do I ever.
Adrienne: I think I will be okay with never trying the dish myself. The description is enough for me.
Cloudscome: I can only imagine what they say. And then (gasp) have the nerve to laugh.