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Deborah J. Brasket

~ Living on the Edge of the Wild

Deborah J. Brasket

Tag Archives: Christmas

O Holy Night

19 Sunday Dec 2021

Posted by deborahbrasket in Art, Culture, Spirituality

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

Awe, Birth of Jesus, Christ, Christmas, holiness, Magi, O Holy Night, starry sky

The single-most, salient symbol of Christmas, for me, is a shining star in the night sky.

It’s what wakened the shepherds and fell them to their knees, what mesmerized the Magi and led them across a wild desert with precious gifts in hand. It’s what shone above a humble dwelling, revealing a holy trinity–mother, father, child. It’s what revealed the Christ, a promise of hope, salvation, peace on earth, and goodwill toward all.

It’s what leads us each year away from our mundane, daily lives to a world full of wonder, magic, and mystery. It’s what drops us to our knees in recognition of the vastness and beauty of the universe, and our own humble and radiant place within it.

For me Christmas will forever be wrapped in the silence of a starry night, the background against which the beautiful pageantry and rituals and traditions of Christmas unfold.

All unite in igniting that sense of awe and wonder and delight, of humility and holiness:

The Christmas tree all aglow in the dark, pointing upward to the heavens.

The magical whimsy of that great gifter, Santa, driving his sleigh across a night full of stars.

The children tucked in their beds as their fondest wishes magically descend in the night to await the first light.

Whole streets full of houses ablaze in the night, inviting the gasps of wonder and delight in the young at heart.

Candles shining in a still, dark church as voices unite and rise in songs of joy and adoration.

All are mere reflections and whimsical mimicry of that first night of wonder so long ago. It’s what brought us, and still brings us, to our knees when we realize all that childlike wonder and delight, humility and awe, generosity and love and innocence, lies deeply embedded in each one of us.

It signifies a promise of hope, salvation, and wholeness. Of identity with out own Christ-like nature, our own unity with the divine.

We are that shining star in a dark night.

We are those humble shepherds and adoring Magi.

We are that infant cradled in the holy Trinity.

We are that promise of hope and salvation and holiness.

Christmas is the Christ, and a bright star in a dark night is what leads us to him, to our own humble rebirth full of awe and wonder: the recognition of the Christ in each of us.

May the peace and power and glory of the Christ be with you all this Christmas.

GiottoScrovegni18AdorationoftheMagi1
Painting ‘Adoration of the Magi,’ by Giotto, showing the comet in Scrovegni Chapel, Padua, Veneto, Italy.
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A Celtic Christmas, Favorite Carols

18 Friday Dec 2020

Posted by deborahbrasket in music, Spirituality

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

Celtic, Christmas, Christmas carols, faith, Loreena McKennit, music, singers

Enric Monserday Vidal Madonna con Bambino

One of the things I love most about Christmas is the music, especially the classical carols. Listening to them brings such strong memories of my childhood and my faith, filling me with a sense of warmth and comfort and inspiration. With Christmas day only a week away, I’m sharing a few of my Celtic favorites from my playlist.

I hope you enjoy them. Please share with me your favorite holiday songs and the artists who sing them. I’m always looking for new songs to add.

Loreena McKennit is one of my favorite singers and God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen one of my favorite carols, so I’ll begin here.

I love Bach’s Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring and found this lovely version by the Celtic Women.

I’ll end with my favorite Christmas hymn, O Holy Night. This one by the Celtic Trio is deeply moving.

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O Holy Night, Images Sacred & Sublime

24 Monday Dec 2018

Posted by deborahbrasket in Art, Culture, music, Nature, Photography, Spirituality

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

art, Christmas, Christmas music, inspiration, O Holy Night, photography, universe

Star_birth_in_Messier_83_(captured_by_the_Hubble_Space_Telescope)

Star_birth_in_Messier_83_(captured_by_the_Hubble_Space_Telescope)

I’ve gathered some images, sacred and sublime, to scroll through as you listen to “O Holy Night“, one of my favorite Christmas carols.

I love this song, not only for the haunting melody and beautiful  lyrics, but also because night has always seemed holy to me.

When I walk out beneath the stars on a cold or balmy night, I’m awestruck by such beauty and mystery and magnificence. I feel humbled and incredibly grateful, as if witnessing the hand of the divine writ large across the sky.

The images below are my gift to you. They reflect what this season is all about for me, a sense of the sacred and sublime–scenes of the birth of Christ and families celebrating Christmas.

Photos of spectacular sunsets and winter wonderlands–nature in all her glory.

And finally, images of an infinite universe stretching out and wrapping about the earth as if we were a holy gift just waiting to be unwrapped.

Enjoy!

 

Public Domain 507px-Stella_-_The_Adoration_of_the_Shepherds_-_Walters_371045

Walters – The Adoration of the Shepherds

Public Domain Peter_Paul_Rubens_-_L'adoration_des_Mages

Peter Paul Rubens – The Adoration of the Magi

 

Public Domain Raphaels_Geburt (2)

Paul Gauguin – Christmas Night (The Blessing of the Oxen)

Public Domain 589px-Attributed_to_Carel_Fabritius_002

Attributed to Carel Fabritius

Wikipedia Commons Heilige_Familie_und_Hirten_im_Stall_16Jh

Heilige_Familie_und_Hirten_im_Stal

Wikipedia Commons 398px-Christmas_throughout_Christendom_-_The_Christmas-tree

From Christmas throughout Christendom – The Christmas Tree

Wikipedia Commons 718px-Viggo_Johansen_A_Christmas_Story

Viggo Johansen – A Christmas Story

Public Domain Ferdinand_Theodor_Hildebrandt_001_original

Waiting for Father Christmas – Theodor Hildebrandt

Wikipedia Commons Sunset_-_Samurai_Beach_25Jan2004

Glorious Sunset

Wikimedia Commons GALAVERNA

A White Christmas

Wikipedia Commons Blackbird-sunset-03

Blackbirds flock at Nightfall

Wikipedia Commons Frosty_trees_in_winter_wonderland_Helsinki_6

Frosty Trees in Winter Wonderland

Wikipedia Commons Bali_june_aft

Cosmic Skies over Bali

Wikipedia Commons Northern_Lights,_Greenland

Northern Lights over Greenland

Wikipedia Commons Il_conte_di_Luna_-_Night_stars_(by-sa)

Stars trailing through the night

NASA-Apollo8-Dec24-Earthrise

Earth Rises in the Night

HST_-_Hubble_Directly_Observes_Planet_Orbiting_Fomalhaut_(pd)

Hubble_Directly_Observes_Planet_Orbiting_Fomalhaut

Hubble Mist M43_HST

Night Mist as seen by Hubble

This false-color composite image shows the Cartwheel galaxy as seen by the Galaxy Evolution Explorer's Far Ultraviolet detector (blue); the Hubble Space Telescope's Wide Field and Planetary Camera-2 in B-band visible light (green); the Spitzer Space Teles

Cartwheel Galaxy

Hubble Different_Slant_on_Orion_(495636660)

Orion as seen by Hubble

Hubble The_Milky_Way_galaxy_center_(composite_image)

The Milky Way Galaxy

North_America_from_low_orbiting_satellite_Suomi_NPP

Our home Earth wrapped up in the Milky Way Galaxy

(First posted in 2012)

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“O Holy Night” in Art & Music

23 Saturday Dec 2017

Posted by deborahbrasket in Art, music, Spirituality

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

art, Christmas, inspiration, music

Public Domain 589px-Attributed_to_Carel_Fabritius_002

Attributed to Carel Fabritius

“Peace on Earth, good will toward men.”  Wishing you all a joyful and blessed Christmas.

 

'Adoration of the Shepherds' 1622 by Gerard van Honthorst    HIGH RESOLUTION.     Gerard van Honthorst [Dutch Golden Age painter 1592 – 1656]  Oil on canvas  Wallraf-Richartz-Museum       	           	 	     	         	            HIGH RESOLUTION. Gerard van Hont...

Gerard van Homthorst

BAROCCI, Federico Fiori    Italian painter (b. 1526, Urbino, d. 1612, Urbino)    The Adoration of the Magi  1561-63  Black chalk, pen and brush on blue paper, 293 x 209 mm  Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Federico Fiori

Public Domain 507px-Stella_-_The_Adoration_of_the_Shepherds_-_Walters_371045

Walters – Adoration of the Shepherds

Public Domain Peter_Paul_Rubens_-_L'adoration_des_Mages

Rubens – Adoration of the Magi

Public Domain Raphaels_Geburt (2)

Raphael Gebhurt

Holy Family Late 1750s Tiepolo, Giovanni Battista more Chalk (black), pen and ink, wash on paper

Giovanni Battista

Maathias Stom – The Holy Family

 

Rembrandt, The Holy Family, or The Carpenter’s Household, 1640, Musée du Louvre, Paris, oil on canvas, 41 x 34 cm

Rembrandt – The Holy Family

Rembrandt Drawing 286.jpg

Rembrandt – drawing of the Holy Family

 

 

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O Holy Night, Ablaze in Light

21 Wednesday Dec 2016

Posted by deborahbrasket in Culture, Family, Love, Spirituality

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

Birth of Christ, Christmas, inspiration, personal, rebirth

Star_birth_in_Messier_83_(captured_by_the_Hubble_Space_Telescope)

Star_birth_in_Messier_83_(captured_by_the_Hubble_Space_Telescope)

“Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright.”

The single-most, salient symbol of Christmas, for me, is a shining star in the night sky.

It’s what wakened the shepherds and fell them to their knees, what mesmerized the Magi and led them across a wild desert with precious gifts in hand. It’s what shone above a humble dwelling, revealing a holy trinity–mother, father, child. It’s what revealed the Christ, a promise of hope, salvation, peace on earth, and goodwill toward all.

It’s what leads us each year away from our mundane, daily lives to a world full of wonder, magic, and mystery. It’s what drops us to our knees in recognition of the vastness and beauty of the universe, and our own humble and radiant place within it.

For me Christmas will forever be wrapped in the silence of a starry night, the background against which the beautiful pageantry and rituals and traditions of Christmas unfold.

All unite in igniting that sense of awe and wonder and delight, of humility and holiness:

The Christmas tree all aglow in the dark, pointing upward to the heavens.

The magical whimsy of that great gifter, Santa, driving his sleigh across a night full of stars.

The children tucked in their beds as their fondest wishes magically descend in the night to await the first light.

Whole streets full of houses ablaze in the night, inviting the gasps of wonder and delight in the young at heart.

Candles shining in a still, dark church as voices unite and rise in songs of joy and adoration.

All are mere reflections and whimsical mimicry of that first night of wonder so long ago. It’s what brought us, and still brings us, to our knees when we realize all that childlike wonder and delight, humility and awe, generosity and love and innocence, lies deeply embedded in each one of us.

It signifies a promise of hope, salvation, and wholeness. Of identity with out own Christ-like nature, our own unity with the divine.

We are that shining star in a dark night.

We are those humble shepherds and adoring Magi.

We are that infant cradled in the holy Trinity.

We are that promise of hope and salvation and holiness.

Christmas is the Christ, and a bright star in a dark night is what leads us to him, to our own humble rebirth full of awe and wonder: the recognition of the Christ in each of us.

May the peace and power and glory of the Christ be with you all this Christmas.

Public Domain 507px-Stella_-_The_Adoration_of_the_Shepherds_-_Walters_371045

Walters, “The Adoration of the Shepherds”

 

Wikipedia Commons 398px-Christmas_throughout_Christendom_-_The_Christmas-tree

From “Christmas throughout Christendom – The Christmas Tree”

 

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O Holy Night – The Sacred and Sublime in Art & Images

22 Saturday Dec 2012

Posted by deborahbrasket in Art, Nature, Spirituality, Universe

≈ 26 Comments

Tags

art, Birth of Christ, Charlotte Church, Christmas, Christmas music, O Holy Night, sacred, sublime

Wikipedia Commons A_Rose_Made_of_Galaxies_Highlights_Hubble's_21st_Anniversary_jpgI’ve gathered some images, sacred and sublime, to scroll through as you listen to Charlotte Church sing “O Holy Night“, one of my favorite Christmas carols.

I love this song, not only for the haunting melody and beautiful  lyrics, but also because night has always seemed holy to me.

When I walk out beneath the stars on a cold or balmy night, I’m awestruck by such beauty and mystery and magnificence. I feel humbled and incredibly grateful, as if witnessing the hand of the divine writ large across the sky.

The images below are my gift to you. They reflect what this season is all about for me, a sense of the sacred and sublime–scenes of the birth of Christ and families celebrating Christmas.

Photos of spectacular sunsets and winter wonderlands–nature in all her glory.

And finally, images of an infinite universe stretching out and wrapping about the earth as if we were a holy gift just waiting to be unwrapped.

Enjoy!

Public Domain 507px-Stella_-_The_Adoration_of_the_Shepherds_-_Walters_371045

Walters – The Adoration of the Shepherds

Public Domain Peter_Paul_Rubens_-_L'adoration_des_Mages

Peter Paul Rubens – The Adoration of the Magi

Public Domain Raphaels_Geburt (2)

Raphaels Geburt

Gauguin,_Paul_-_Christmas_Night_(The_Blessing_of_the_Oxen)_-_Google_Art_Project

Paul Gauguin – Christmas Night (The Blessing of the Oxen)

Public Domain 589px-Attributed_to_Carel_Fabritius_002

Attributed to Carel Fabritius

Wikipedia Commons Heilige_Familie_und_Hirten_im_Stall_16Jh

Heilige_Familie_und_Hirten_im_Stal

Wikipedia Commons 398px-Christmas_throughout_Christendom_-_The_Christmas-tree

From Christmas throughout Christendom – The Christmas Tree

Wikipedia Commons 718px-Viggo_Johansen_A_Christmas_Story

Viggo Johansen – A Christmas Story

Public Domain Ferdinand_Theodor_Hildebrandt_001_original

Waiting for Father Christmas – Theodor Hildebrandt

Wikipedia Commons Sunset_-_Samurai_Beach_25Jan2004

Glorious Sunset

Widipedia Commons Winter_Wonderland_-_geograph_org_uk_-_1110159

Winter Wonderland

Wikimedia Commons GALAVERNA

A White Christmas

Wikipedia Commons Blackbird-sunset-03

Blackbirds flock at Nightfall

Image 13

Wikipedia Commons Frosty_trees_in_winter_wonderland_Helsinki_6

Frosty Trees in Winter Wonderland

Wikipedia Commons Bali_june_aft

Cosmic Skies over Bali

Wikipedia Commons Northern_Lights,_Greenland

Northern Lights over Greenland

Wikipedia Commons Il_conte_di_Luna_-_Night_stars_(by-sa)

Stars trailing through the night

NASA-Apollo8-Dec24-Earthrise

Earth Rises in the Night

HST_-_Hubble_Directly_Observes_Planet_Orbiting_Fomalhaut_(pd)

Hubble_Directly_Observes_Planet_Orbiting_Fomalhaut

Hubble Mist M43_HST

Night Mist as seen by Hubble

This false-color composite image shows the Cartwheel galaxy as seen by the Galaxy Evolution Explorer's Far Ultraviolet detector (blue); the Hubble Space Telescope's Wide Field and Planetary Camera-2 in B-band visible light (green); the Spitzer Space Teles

Cartwheel Galaxy

Star_birth_in_Messier_83_(captured_by_the_Hubble_Space_Telescope)

Star_birth_in_Messier_83_(captured_by_the_Hubble_Space_Telescope)

Hubble Different_Slant_on_Orion_(495636660)

Orion as seen by Hubble

Hubble The_Milky_Way_galaxy_center_(composite_image)

The Milky Way Galaxy

North_America_from_low_orbiting_satellite_Suomi_NPP

Our home Earth wrapped up in the Milky Way Galaxy

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After sailing around the world in a small boat for six years, I came to appreciate how tiny and insignificant we humans appear in our natural and untamed surroundings, living always on the edge of the wild, into which we are embedded even while being that thing which sets us apart. Now living again on the edge of the wild in a home that borders a nature preserve, I am re-exploring what it means to be human in a more than human world.

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