25 Worthwhile Quotes From Charles Dickens

1. "A day wasted on others is not wasted on one's self."

2. "A loving heart is the truest wisdom."

3. "Charity begins at home, and justice begins next door."

4. "Credit is a system whereby a person who can not pay gets another person who can not pay to guarantee that he can pay."

5. "Electric communication will never be a substitute for the face of someone who with their soul encourages another person to be brave and true."

6. "Have a heart that never hardens, and a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts."

7. "I never could have done what I have done without the habits of punctuality, order, and diligence, without the determination to concentrate myself on one subject at a time."

8. "It is a melancholy truth that even great men have their poor relations."

9. "It opens the lungs, washes the countenance, exercises the eyes, and softens down the temper; so cry away."

10. "No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of it to anyone else."

11. "Reflect upon your present blessings of which every man has many - not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some."

12. "Subdue your appetites, my dears, and you've conquered human nature."

13. "There is a wisdom of the head, and a wisdom of the heart."

14. "Vices are sometimes only virtues carried to excess!"

15. "Cheerfulness and contentment are great beautifiers, and are fatuous preservers of youthful looks."

16. "'Tis love that makes the world go round, my baby."

17. "There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread."

18. "The most important human endeavor is the striving for morality in our actions. Our inner balance and even our very existence depend on it. Only morality in our actions can give beauty and dignity to life."

19. "The American elite is almost beyond redemption. . . . Moral relativism has set in so deeply that the gilded classes have become incapable of discerning right from wrong. Everything can be explained away, especially by journalists. Life is one great moral mush--sophistry washed down with Chardonnay. The ordinary citizens, thank goodness, still adhere to absolutes. . . . It is they who have saved the republic from creeping degradation while their 'betters' were derelict."

20. "There is nothing good or evil save in the will."

21. "Minds, like bodies, will often fall into a pimpled, ill-conditioned state from mere excess of comfort."

22. "We forge the chains we wear in life."

23. "Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back to the delusions of our childhood days, recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth, and transport the traveler back to his own fireside and quiet home!"

24. "I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year."

25. "God bless us every one."

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A Statement of Clarification By Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus

Due to public outcry regarding the recent remarks of Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus blaming the current financial crisis on a Zionist conspiracy and making statements that Adolph Hitler was controlled by these same Zionists (see here), the Metropolitan felt the need to clarify his remarks today in his own words below.

December 23, 2010
Romfea.gr

On the occasion of the concerns raised by the European Jewish Congress with regard to my interview with the MEGA television channel on the 20th of December, I have to say the following:

1. The things I said during my television appearance on the show "Society Hour Mega" are strictly my personal views and opinions of which I have repeatedly expressed my position verbally and in writing.

2. I respect, revere and love the Jewish people like any other people of our world according to the teaching of the incarnated Son of God and the true Messiah the Lord Jesus Christ the Savior and Redeemer, who was heralded by all the Prophets and was incarnated through the Jewish nation.

3. My public vehement opposition against International Zionism refers to the organ that is the successor of the "Sanhedrin" which altered the faith of the Patriarchs, the Prophets and the Righteous of the Jewish nation through the Talmud, the Rabbinical writings and the Kabbalah into Satanism, and always strives vigorously towards an economic empire set up throughout the world with headquarters in the great land beyond the Atlantic for the prevalence of world government and pan-religion.

4. I consider like any sane person on the planet the Nazi regime and the paranoid dictator Adolf Hitler as horrible criminals against humanity and take a stand with all honor and respect against the Jewish Holocaust and any other heinous genocide such as that of the Pontic Greek and Armenian people. Besides, the Greek nation mourns thousands of martyrs from the criminal Nazi atrocities.

+ The Metropolitan of Piraeus, Seraphim

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos

The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America has publicly condemned such rhetoric also in a statment made today.

GREEK ORTHODOX ARCHDIOCESE DECRIES ANTI-SEMITIC RHETORIC

NEW YORK – In response to the recent anti-Semitic rhetoric that has been unfortunately used publicly by a Hierarch of the Church of Greece, the Holy Archdiocese of America condemns any such language, and expresses its sadness that these hurtful words should have been spoken at all. The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America considers the remarks to be gravely offensive and totally unacceptable.

As a leader in Interfaith Dialogue, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese affirms its longstanding and positive relations with the Jewish Community here and abroad, and grieves with them at this incident, which is not expressive of the feelings and attitude of the Greek Orthodox Church in America and worldwide, and the Greek Nation. In this Holy Season that celebrates peace and good will among all peoples, we pray that, with God’s grace and help, mutual respect, understanding and love will prevail.

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The Holy Ten Martyrs of Crete

The Holy Ten Martyrs of Crete (Feast Day - December 23)

Saints Theodulus, Saturninus, Euporus, Gelasius, Eunician, Zoticus, Pompius, Agathopus, Basilides and Evaristus suffered for Christ during the third century under the emperor Decius (249-251). The prefect of Crete, also named Decius, fiercely persecuted the Church, and arrested anyone who believed in Christ. Once, ten Christians were brought before him from various cities of Crete, who at the trial steadfastly confessed their faith in Christ and refused to worship idols.

For thirty days they were subjected to cruel tortures, and with the help of God they all persevered, glorifying God. Before their death they prayed that the Lord would enlighten their torturers with the light of the true Faith. Since pain did not influence them, the saints were beheaded.

St Paul of Constantinople (November 6) visited Crete about a hundred years later. He took the relics of the holy martyrs to Constantinople to serve as a protection for the city, and a source of blessings for the faithful.

Source

The Miracle of 1898

In the south-west end of the village Holy Ten, in the location known as Alonia (the threshing floor), the residents of the village created a small lake which was fed by the nearby river "Litheos tis Keras". At this lake the villagers watered their animals. Because the waters of the lake were standing, most of the time they looked dark. As the time passed, the villagers noticed that the waters had therapeutic qualities. The story of the young shepherd in 1898 and the miracle which is associated with him confirm the above belief.

A young shepherd who used to take his flock to graze in the area where the ten martyrs were, at one time, got very sick. He was so sick and had such a high fever that he was unable even to walk. He had no one to help him and so he started praying to the Holy Ten to help him. And behold, the miracle happened. The Holy Ten appeared to him and advised him to go to the lake and drink from its water and he would be healed. The young shepherd obeyed the order of the Saints, went to the lake, drank from its water and his fever disappeared immediately. Very happy for his healing he went to the village and announced to the villagers his miraculous healing. Since that time the lake became a healing place. Many Cretans from all over Crete, as well as people from other areas went there and after they bathed in the lake they were healed. The elders of the village mentioned all the miracles that were associated with the lake to the Spiritual Father of the Monastery of Koudoumas. He, in turn, informed the local Bishop, Vassilios Markakis, who decided to go to the location in 1902 and after he studied the area he decided to dry the Holy Lake with the firm belief that under the lake there must have been a Holy Place. The intuition of the Bishop proved true. At the bottom of the lake the tombs of the Holy Ten were discovered. Immediately Bishop Vassilios built on the spot a small Byzantine Church dedicated to the memory of the Holy Ten. Since then that holy and blessed place is known as the " Holy Lake".

Source

Read more about the Holy Ten Martyrs of Crete here.

Apolytikion in the Third Tone
Let us now honour Crete, that land most marvellous, which sprouted forth the ten flowers revered by all, those goodly pearls of Christ our God, those verdant boughs of the Martyrs; for although they were but ten, the most blessed men put to shame the ten thousand armoured host of the wicked demonic ranks. And hence, they have received crowns of glory as stout-hearted Martyrs of Christ Saviour.

Kontakion in the Fourth Tone
Shining like a morning star, the Martyrs' contest, worthy of all reverence, hath shown beforehand unto us Him that was born in a lowly cave, and Whom the Virgin conceived without seed of man.

Megalynarion
Let all the faithful honor with hymns and praise Crete's Ten Martyrs of Christ, who valiantly endured the tortures of the tyrants and shed their blood at the hands of the lawless.

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Young Russians Turning to Islam

Will Englund
December 21, 2010
Washington Post

Rustam Sarachev should have had a hangover the first time he set foot in the central mosque here. He had wanted to throw a raucous party the night before, a send-off for himself on his way to Islam. But the guys he was with had mocked him for even thinking about the mosque, and had gone off drinking on their own.

So here he was, regretfully clearheaded in the daylight, 500 rubles unspent on vodka and still in his pocket, heading up the steps of the big salmon-colored mosque that dominates one end of this minor oil city east of the Volga.

It was late September 2006, the beginning of Ramadan. As he looks back on it now, he remembers that he wasn't sure why he had decided to come, or what to expect. He was 17, at loose ends, a self-described hooligan, a troublemaker, starting to get hardened by a life that was heading for the verges of the law, yet still vulnerable to the insults and disdain that seek out young men with no future here.

When he walked through the great double door of the mosque, he was taking his first steps toward joining an intense Islamic revival here in the Muslim heartland of Russia that is drawing particular strength from its young people.

Sarachev was 2 years old when the Soviet Union collapsed, 5 when the first war in Chechnya broke out, 12 on 9/11. His whole life has been an era of cataclysms, of an old world being torn apart, of war against Muslims, at home and abroad. Old identities, old certainties, have proved empty. And now he was joining others here of his own generation who are finding, in religion, an alternate authority. They are joining a global community, and at a time when great passions are stirring that community.

They learn at the mosque that Allah is punishing Iraqis for their heresies. They learn that 9/11 was carried out by American agents, or maybe agents from somewhere else, to provoke a war against Muslims. But they learn, too, that those who want to go and join the fight in Afghanistan, or Pakistan - and young men who aimed to do precisely that have passed through Almetyevsk - are in error. This is not the time. Islam needs them here, in Russia.

Their faith, in any case, is not ignited by politics. If it were, the Russian authorities would have cracked down on the mosque long ago. Sarachev came up those steps, on that day four years ago, not out of anger but in search of a way out of the pointlessness of his own life.

Built in the 1990s with Saudi backing, the mosque makes a strong physical statement. Inside, it features intricate woodwork, handsome red and green carpets and painstakingly assembled blue tile mosaics. On holidays, believers pack its services. During afternoon prayers, as they face to the southwest, toward Mecca, a window to their right might give them glimpses of a glorious pearly pink sky, otherworldly almost, even as the setting sun glints off the five golden domes of the Orthodox church across the way.

"I was shocked," remembers Sarachev. "I couldn't understand where I was. There were only young people, all around. They treated me so well. I'd never been welcomed like that before."

He saw familiar faces. Almas Tikhonov, who had been a big partier and a roughneck, and then had dropped from sight, was there, praying. Sarachev was impressed by the way Almas looked; there was a compelling serenity about him.

In the days that followed, that picture lingered in Sarachev's mind. He decided to go back to the mosque, and then again, and again. He had to endure the jibes of his old friends, and that was hard - but maybe it stiffened his resolve, too. As he began to see them in a new light, it made it simpler to give up the drinking, the hanging out on street corners, the sneaking off to a village where they could party all night, away from parents' eyes. Sarachev eventually came to understand that the world is full of devils, and that the duty of a good Muslim is to overcome those devils.

And somewhere here, he knows, though he's still working it through in his own mind, lies the meaning of jihad. "It's a struggle against those who don't believe," he says. "It's not a test. Jihad is a war."

Read the rest here.

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Conspiracy Fears At Fever Pitch

Tanveer Ahmed
December 21, 2010
The Sydney Morning Herald

It was the ultimate post-modern attack, the crash of planes into one of New York's most recognisable landmarks, recorded in bursting colour by television on September 11, 2001.

The ideas underpinning the attacks could be explained by the tremendous force of conspiracy theory. In al-Qaeda's case, its belief that the trajectory of world affairs and modern history in general could, in part, be explained by the West's desire to dominate Muslims.

In the classification of conspiracy theories, the belief is not unlike that of Hitler and National Socialism, for it sought to explain economic and political problems in a specific group's perceived exploitation of another.

Advertisement: Story continues below The year is ending with WikiLeaks, the release of diplomatic cables which, for the most part, are rather bland and show US diplomats essentially doing their job. But perhaps the greater significance of the leaks will be to reinforce a view among many that the world's levers are pulled by a shadowy elite seeking to deceive or oppress the majority for their own ends.

To further bookend the arc of a decade through the lens of conspiracy, both WikiLeaks and the September 11 attacks are now being linked by some, albeit fringe, elements who see Julian Assange's arrest as part of a plot to ensure the truth about the World Trade Centre attacks is not exposed.

In the mid-1990s, the American sociologist Ted Goertzel surveyed thousands of residents across the United States to appraise their acceptance or rejection of popular conspiracy theories. Goertzel identified three traits that correlated with such beliefs.

They were the experience of anomia - the respondent stated that he or she felt alienated or disaffected by "the system", a tendency to distrust others and a feeling of insecurity regarding continued employment.

Goertzel concluded that conspiracy theories served to provide an enemy to blame for problems that otherwise appeared too abstract and impersonal. They also provided ready answers for the believer's unanswered questions and helped to resolve contradictions between known "facts" and an individual's belief system.

We live at a time where the factors that make people vulnerable to conspiracy theories are arguably at their peak. The notion of anomie could be measured by the massive uptake in psychological services and the growing proportion of people living alone. The decline in trust could be measured by our decades-long fall in joining civic groups, as outlined by the professor turned federal Labor MP Andrew Leigh in his book Disconnected. And modern work has shifted, perhaps permanently, to a more casual, liquid relationship between employer and employee, a trend exacerbated by the financial crisis.

This bodes poorly for the prospect of reason trumping emotion and fear in public debate. For all the pundits that decried the vacuity of debate surrounding our recent federal election, perhaps the politicians and their advisers were just acting sensibly. As the former premier Bob Carr told me recently, it is an enormous political risk these days for a political leader or party to really stand for something.

A closely related theory is that of cognitive dissonance, pioneered by a psychologist in the 1950s, who followed a housewife who was convinced the apocalypse was coming after she received messages from aliens. Leon Festinger followed the housewife and her many followers to see their reaction when the date of the apocalypse, December 21, arrived. On the night of December 20, they assembled in the housewife's home only to find there were no aliens.

While some of the group cried in disappointment, their trusty leader informed them that she just received a new telegram from outer space that the group's gathering and stubborn faith had flooded the world with such goodness that it prevented the apocalypse. The group became more emboldened in its beliefs thereafter.

In other words, the notion of dissonance is that we have a tendency to react to being proven wrong by becoming even more certain that we are right.

In our information age this problem is getting worse, for the internet can allow us to find "evidence" for almost any belief, promoting a Balkanisation of our society. This is already apparent in the fragmentation of media consumption.

There is no doubt WikiLeaks and Assange are worth celebrating. Their computing brilliance has resulted in some of the era's best journalism exposes. But the idea that there is some new transparency that is shifting the relationship between governments and the citizenry is far fetched. What is more likely is that a more fractured, tense engagement between opposing sides is now the new norm, promoted by rigid views on all sides reinforced by their equally blinkered media supporters. The psychological basis for this is a greater preponderance for conspiracy theory and its mental ally, cognitive dissonance. The information age is merely making the voice of reason more stifled and more relative.

If Tony Abbott believes he can be more polite and civilised next year in political debate, I wish him luck. History may not be on his side.

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A French Village Invaded By New Age Fanatics

December 22, 2010
London Daily Telegraph


The mayor of a French village has threatened to call in the army to seal it off from an influx of New Age fanatics and UFO watchers who are convinced it is the only place on Earth that will be spared Armageddon in 2012.

Bugarach, population 189, is a peaceful, picturesque farming community in the Aude region of southwestern France and sits at the foot of the Pic de Bugarach, the highest mountain in the Corbieres wine-growing area.

But in the past few months, the quiet village has been inundated by groups of esoteric outsiders who believe the peak is an "alien garage."

According to them, extraterrestrials are quietly waiting in a large cavity beneath the rock for the world to end, at which point they will leave, taking, it is hoped, a lucky few humans with them.

Most believe Armageddon will take place on Dec. 21, 2012, the end date of the ancient Maya calendar, at which point they predict human civilization will come to an end.

Another favourite date mentioned is Dec. 12, 2012. They see Bugarach as one of perhaps several "sacred mountains" that will be sheltered from the cataclysm.

"This is no laughing matter," said Jean-Pierre Delord, the mayor.

"If tomorrow 10,000 people turn up, as a village of 200 people we will not be able to cope. I have informed the regional authorities of our concerns and want the army to be at hand if necessary come December 2012."

Delord said people had been coming to the village for the past 10 years or so in search of alien life after a post in an UFO review by a local man who has since died.

"He claimed he had seen aliens and heard the humming of their spacecraft under the mountain," he said.

The Internet abounds with tales of the late president Francois Mitterrand being heliported onto the peak and mysterious digs conducted by the Nazis and later Mossad, the Israeli secret service.

Recently, however, interest in the site has skyrocketed, said the mayor, with online UFO websites advising people to seek shelter in Bugarach as the countdown to Armageddon commences.

Sigrid Benard, who runs a local guest house, said UFO tourists were taking over.

"At first, my clientele was 72 per cent ramblers. Today, I have 68 per cent 'esoteric visitors,' " he said.

Several "Ufologists" have bought properties in the hamlet of Le Linas, in the mountain's shadow, for "extortionate" prices, and locals have complained they are being priced out of the market.

Strange sect-like courses are held for up to 800 euros ($1,066) a week.

"For this price, you are introduced to a guru, made to go on a procession, offered a christening and other rubbish, all payable in cash," said Delord.

Valerie Austin, who is originally from Newcastle upon Tyne, England, but settled in Bugarach 22 years ago, said the alien watchers were spoiling the village atmosphere.

"You can't go for a peaceful walk anymore.

"It's a beautiful area, but now you find people chanting and lying around meditating."

Read also: French Village Faces Influx of Apocalypse Believers

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Christmas In Greece

In Greece, there are many Christmas customs that are similar, yet slightly different from the West.

While other cultures have Christmas elves, the Greek equivalent is not so benign. They are called "Kallikantzaroi" and are monkey-like mischievous black almost invariably male creatures.

There are a number of beliefs connected with these spirits, which are supposed to be a species of goblins that appear only during the 12-day period from Christmas to the Epiphany (January 6). These creatures are believed to come from the center of the earth where they try to cut the tree that supports the earth with a hand-saw and to slip into people's house through the chimney at night. More mischievous than actually evil, the "Killikantzaroi" do things like extinguish fires, ride astride people's backs, braid horses' tails, and sour the milk. Descriptions of them vary, and in one area they are believed to wear wooden or iron boots, the better to kick people, while other areas insist that they are hooved, not booted. In folktales, the twelve days of their power figure in a "wicked stepmother" story where a young girl is forced to walk alone to a mill through the twelve days, because her stepmother is hoping that the "Kallikantzaroi" will snatch her away.



Some households keep fires burning through the twelve days, to keep the spirits from entering by the chimney. A "yule log" in this case used to be a massive log set on end in the chimney, is burning or at least smouldering for the entire period. Protective herbs such as hyssop, thistle, and asparagus were suspended by the fireplace, to keep the "Kallikantzaroi" away. Other households, perhaps less devout, leave the kitchen strainer out so the Kallikantzaroi will spend the whole night trying to count its holes or trying to bribe them, would put meat out for the them . On Epiphany, the ceremonial blessing of the waters by the local priest was believed to settle the nasty creatures until the next year. Some local festivals still include representations of these entities, which may be a survival from Dionysian festivals.

It is the custom on Christmas Eve for children to travel from house to house offering good wishes and singing 'kalanda', the equivalent of Christmas carols. The children accompany the songs using small metal triangles and little drums. Afterwards, the children are usually given sweets and money in appreciation.

In Greek Christmas, the feast itself becomes the main attraction by both adults and children alike. Pork, roasted, in the oven used to be the traditional meal but in the last decades especially in the cities they have turkey stuffed with minced meat, chestnuts, rice and pine-cone seeds and on every table are loaves of 'christopsomo' ('Christ bread'). This bread is usually made in large sweet loaves of various shapes and the crusts used to be engraved and decorated in some way that reflected the family's profession. Nowadays are decorated with the cross.

In Greek homes, Christmas trees were not commonly used in the past, but the last half of the century every house decorates a Christmas tree with a shining star on top in remembrance of the Bethlehem star and usually at the bottom there is a manger with Joseph, Mary and the baby Jesus. Decorations with missletoe and colourful lights adorn the balconies and gardens .



On New Year’s Eve children go around the houses singing New Year’s carols "kalanda" using metal triangles and they are offered sweets and money.

At exactly midnight on December 31 the father or the older person in the household turns off the main power switch so "new light" will come with the New Year. Then a special kind of cake called "vassilopita" containing a coin is cut along the members of the family and friends. Every person and even the pets of the household are entitled to one piece. One piece is dedicated to Jesus and one to the house itself. Whoever finds the coin in his piece is considered to be lucky for the whole year. Gifts, are exchanged at that moment or on the following morning , St. Basil's Day (January 1).

The festive season ends on Epiphany day (January 6) when the Church celebrates the baptism of Jesus and the priests throw a cross in the sea, rivers, lakes or even water reservoirs. In the islands young men dive to retrieve the cross and the person, that catches, it is considered blessed. In the other areas the cross is tied on a ribbon and retrieved back by the priest.

Source



Until recently, Christmas in Greece was a quiet family holiday. While that is still true in many places, more and more public celebrations, such as the Christmas in Athens events, are making it feel very familiar for expatriates in Greece for the Christmas and New Year's holidays.

Christmas in Greece offers an array of homecooked specialties, many of which are easy to make and a few of which have even become Christmas traditions in other countries. The nutty pale white cookie covered in powdered sugar? That's Greek.

Bigger cities and towns, such as Athens and Thessaloniki, will have many civic events for Christmas and New Year's. Athens provides a Christmas tree in Syntagma Square surrounded by a marketplace and child-friendly activity areas. On the islands, keep an eye out for decorated boats. Many villages will have a banner of lights stretching over the main road.

Source

For more on Greek Christmas, see here.

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Christmas in Ukraine

Ukraine celebrates Christmas on January 7. A Christmas tree on Independence Square in Kiev doubles as a New Year's tree. While celebrating Christmas was not accepted during much of the 20th century, an increasing number of families celebrate Christmas in Ukraine.

The season of Christmas begins with advent (Pylypivka) - four weeks of fasting and preparing one's self for the birth of Christ. In preparation for Christmas, the house is cleaned from top to bottom and the outside of the house is whitewashed. A sheaf of wheat (didukh) is saved from the harvest. The didukh represents the family: the living, the dead and those unborn. Before Christmas Eve (Sviata Techera), the sheaf is decorated with ribbons, flowers and a small wreath of basil. It is put under an icon in a corner of the room on Christmas Eve. Those who are familiar with Ukrainian culture will understand the importance of grain to Ukraine – even the Ukrainian flag, with its blue and yellow colors, represents golden grain under a blue sky.



Ukraine's Santa Claus is called Did Moroz (Father Frost) or Svyatyy Mykolay (St. Nicholas). Ukraine has a special connection with St. Nicholas, and the figure of St. Nicholas and Did Moroz are closely associated. St. Nicholas Day on December 19th, not Christmas, is the usual gift-giving day in Ukraine, though today it is altered to Christmas day. On this day people invite guests in and sleighs would be ridden around the village to see if the snow was slippery [icy]. This is the holiday for young children, for they would receive gifts from St. Nicholas, the patron saint of children. "St. Nicholas" was often accompanied by "angels" and might have quizzed the children on their catechism. Father Frost rides a sleigh, which is carried by reindeers. Snowflake Girl, who dons a silver blue costume that is trimmed with white fur and a crown of snow, assists Father Frost in his journey.

Sviaty Vechir, or Holy Evening, is the Ukrainian Christmas Eve. Families celebrate with special food. Hay may be brought into the house to remind those gathered of the manger in which Christ was born. Families wait until the first star appears in the sky before beginning to eat and may attend church services late that night.



On the Christmas Eve, church services begin before midnight and continue till the next morning. The traditional Christmas greeting 'Khristos rodyvsya!' or 'Khristos razhdayetsya' (meaning "Christ is born!"), is recited by the head of the family. The other members of the family answer him by saying 'Slavite Yoho!' ("Let Us Glorify Him!"). The entire family sings Ukrainian Christmas carols or Kolyadky after supper. In some Ukrainian communities, the ancient tradition of caroling is still continued. Youngsters or members of church go from door to door and collect donations from celebrators. 'Boh predvichny' is the most popular Ukrainian carol. Ancient pagan songs converted into Christian carols are also sung.

The traditional Christmas customs in Ukraine used to be colorful and full of conviviality. However, the contemporary celebrations are more focused on the ‘Holy Supper’ and the religious services of the church.

The tradition of spider webs on the tree, which is a symbol of good luck, is based upon the following legend:

There once was a widow, who lived in a small hut. One day a pinecone dropped on the floor and it took root. Her children were excited that they would have a tree for Christmas. All summer long they made plans on how they would decorate the tree. They were very poor, so poor that they did not have anything to decorate the tree with. The widow went to bed on Christmas Eve knowing that the tree would not be decorated. Early on Christmas morning, the woman was awakened by her children. "Mother, mother wake up and see the tree it is beautiful!" The mother arose and saw that during the night a spider had spun a web around the tree. The youngest child opened the window to the first light of Christmas Day. As the shafts of the sun crept along the floor, it touched one of the threads of the spider web and instantly the web was changed into gold and silver. And from that day forward the widow never wanted for anything.

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Christmas With Papa Tychon

By Elder Paisios the Athonite

Every Christmas, the elder would get a herring for the joyous Twelve Days of Christmas, since there is a dispensation for fish for the feast. He did not, however, throw away the backbone of the fish, but hung it by thread on a nail. On feast days of the Lord or the Mother of God, he would boil a little water in a tin can, dip the fishbone two or three times in the water so that it took on a bit of a smell, and then throw in a little rice. In this way, he observed the dispensation for fish but also condemned himself for eating fish soup in the desert! Then, he would hang the backbone on the nail again for the next dispensation, until it became quite white and only then would he throw it away.

From Athonite Fathers and Athonite Matters, p.33.

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The Origins of the Word "Goodbye"

Few people are aware that the origin of the farewell greeting "goodbye" has its origin in a parting prayer: "God be with ye".

To understand this, it is helpful to see earlier forms of the expression, such as God be wy you, god b'w'y, godbwye, god buy' ye, and good-b'wy. The first word of the expression is now good and not God, for good replaced God by analogy with such expressions as good day, perhaps after people no longer had a clear idea of the original sense of the expression.

In a quote from 1659, we still have "god":

"But mum for that, his strength will scarce supply His Back to the Balcona, so God b' wy."

And then by 1694, we have transitioned to "good":

"He flings up his tail..and so bids us good-b'wy."

A letter of 1573 written by Gabriel Harvey contains the first recorded use of goodbye: "To requite your gallonde [gallon] of godbwyes, I regive you a pottle of howdyes," recalling another contraction that is still used. Shakespeare used "God be wy you".

The substitution of good for God seems to have been mainly due to the influence of such phrases as "good day" and "good night".

So next time you say "goodbye", remember the origin of the word is in fact a blessing.

God be with you!

Source 1 and 2

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Russian Cartoon: The Christmas Visit (1959)

THE CHRISTMAS VISIT (1959)
Made in Russia, translated and dubbed in English.

The vintage animated story features a Russian boy named Koyla from Moscow. The boy tries to take his 'holiday' tree to his father, who's serving in Antarctica, since there are no trees there. Santa Claus loans the boy his magic jet to get there, and other speaking creatures help him on his way later. The cartoon was made during the rise of the cold war.

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Increasing Intolerance of Jews Towards Christians in Israel

A few weeks ago, a senior Greek Orthodox clergyman in Israel attended a meeting at a government office in Jerusalem's Givat Shaul quarter. When he returned to his car, an elderly man wearing a skullcap came and knocked on the window.

Amiram Barkat
December 23, 2010
Haaretz

A few weeks ago, a senior Greek Orthodox clergyman in Israel attended a meeting at a government office in Jerusalem's Givat Shaul quarter. When he returned to his car, an elderly man wearing a skullcap came and knocked on the window. When the clergyman let the window down, the passerby spat in his face.

The clergyman prefered not to lodge a complaint with the police and told an acquaintance that he was used to being spat at by Jews. Many Jerusalem clergy have been subjected to abuse of this kind. For the most part, they ignore it but sometimes they cannot.

On Sunday, a fracas developed when a yeshiva student spat at the cross being carried by the Armenian Archbishop during a procession near the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City. The archbishop's 17th-century cross was broken during the brawl and he slapped the yeshiva student.

Both were questioned by police and the yeshiva student will be brought to trial. The Jerusalem District Court has meanwhile banned the student from approaching the Old City for 75 days.

But the Armenians are far from satisfied by the police action and say this sort of thing has been going on for years. Archbishop Nourhan Manougian says he expects the education minister to say something.

"When there is an attack against Jews anywhere in the world, the Israeli government is incensed, so why when our religion and pride are hurt, don't they take harsher measures?" he asks.

According to Daniel Rossing, former adviser to the Religious Affairs Ministry on Christian affairs and director of a Jerusalem center for Christian-Jewish dialogue, there has been an increase in the number of such incidents recently, "as part of a general atmosphere of lack of tolerance in the country."

Rossing says there are certain common characeristics from the point of view of time and location to the incidents. He points to the fact that there are more incidents in areas where Jews and Christians mingle, such as the Jewish and Armenian quarters of the Old City and the Jaffa Gate.

There are an increased number at certain times of year, such as during the Purim holiday."I know Christians who lock themselves indoors during the entire Purim holiday," he says.

Former adviser to the mayor on Christian affairs, Shmuel Evyatar, describes the situation as "a huge disgrace." He says most of the instigators are yeshiva students studying in the Old City who view the Christian religion with disdain.

"I'm sure the phenomenon would end as soon as rabbis and well-known educators denounce it. In practice, rabbis of yeshivas ignore or even encourage it," he says.

Evyatar says he himself was spat at while walking with a Serbian bishop in the Jewish quarter, near his home. "A group of yeshiva students spat at us and their teacher just stood by and watched."

Jerusalem municipal officials said they are aware of the problem but it has to be dealt with by the police. Shmuel Ben-Ruby, the police spokesman, said they had only two complaints from Christians in the past two years. He said that, in both cases, the culprits were caught and punished.

He said the police deploy an inordinately high number of patrols and special technology in the Old City and its surroundings in an attempt to keep order.

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Video: Athonite Ascetics Celebrate Christmas

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The Great Martyr Anastasia the Pharmakolitria

St. Anastasia the Deliverer From Potions and Bonds (Feast Day - December 22)

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

This glorious heroine of the Christian Faith was born in Rome into a wealthy senatorial family of a pagan father and a Christian mother. From her early youth, she clung in love to the Lord Jesus, guided in the teaching of Christ by a devout teacher, Chrysogonus.

Anastasia was forced by her father to enter into marriage with a pagan landowner, Publius. Excusing herself on the basis of a female illness, she in no way wished to enter into physical relations with him. For this, her husband tortured her harshly by confinement and starvation. He inflicted even more tortures upon her when he learned of her secret visits to the prisons of the Christian martyrs: bringing them provisions, ministering to them, bathing their wounds and loosening their bonds. But by God's providence she was freed from her wicked husband. Publius was sent to Persia by the emperor, and while sailing on the sea he was drowned. St. Anastasia then began to minister freely to the tortured Christian martyrs and to comfort the poor, giving them alms from her great inheritance.

At one time the Emperor Diocletian was in the town of Aquileia and ordered that Chrysogonus, the confessor of Christ, be brought to him. St. Anastasia accompanied him on the way. Holy Chrysogonus was beheaded by order of the emperor, and then three sisters - Agape, Chionia and Irene - also suffered (April 16): the first two were cast into fire and the third was shot through with arrows. St. Anastasia took their bodies, wrapped them in white linen, anointed them with many aromatic spices, and honorably buried them.

Following this, Anastasia went to Macedonia, where she helped the sufferers for Christ. There she became well known as a Christian, for which she was seized and brought before various judges for interrogation and torture. Desiring to die for her beloved Christ, Anastasia constantly longed for Him in her heart. A certain chief of the pagan priests, Ulpianus, lustfully tried to touch St. Anastasia's body, but he was suddenly blinded and breathed his last.

Condemned to death by starvation, St. Anastasia lingered in prison for thirty days without food, nourishing herself only on tears and prayer. Then she was placed in a boat with several other Christians to be drowned, but God delivered her even from this death. She was finally tied by the feet and hands to four wheels over a fire, and she gave up her holy soul to God. She suffered and took up her habitation in the Kingdom of Christ in the year 304 [or 290].

A Reflection From Her Life

The merciful God often sends comfort to those pleasing to Him on earth from the other world through his saints. St. Theodota suffered for Christ before St. Anastasia. Anastasia was then cast into a confined and dark prison to die of hunger, according to the judgment of the torturers. During the thirty days of her imprisonment, St. Theodota appeared to Anastasia every night from the other world and strengthened her in her suffering.

Anastasia spoke of many things with St. Theodota and asked numerous questions. One night she asked her how she was able to come to her after her death. Theodota replied that the souls of the martyrs are given special grace from God, so that after departing this world they may return to speak to whomever they desire for the imparting of instruction and comfort.

When thirty days had passed, the torturer brought St. Anastasia out of prison and was amazed to see her still alive. He then condemned her, along with several others, to be drowned in the sea. The Christians were put into a small boat by the soldiers, who set sail in another. When the Christians were brought out into the deep, the soldiers upset the boat, so that the water would enter and drown the condemned. Then a miraculous vision took place: St. Theodota appeared on the water and guided the boat to shore. Thus, all who were condemned to death were saved with Anastasia. Seeing this miracle of God, one hundred and twenty pagans immediately believed in Christ and were baptized.

HYMN OF PRAISE: The Holy Great Martyr Anastasia, the Deliverer from Bonds

The holy maiden Anastasia serves God;
She shines before God by faith, hope and deeds.
The maiden leaves husband, honor and riches,
And gladly serves the captives, glorifying God.
She looses the bonds, and washes the wounds of the martyrs;
She looses their bonds, giving gifts and not fetters.
She seeks payment neither from men nor from the earth.
Christ God eases her soul and heart.
Her pains have passed, and Anastasia remains in glory;
She now rejoices with the angels in heaven.

Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone
Your lamb Anastasia, calls out to you, O Jesus, in a loud voice: "I love You, my Bridegroom, and in seeking You I endure suffering. In baptism I was crucified so that I might reign in You, and I died so that I might live with You. Accept me as a pure sacrifice,for I have offered myself in love." Through her prayers save our souls, since You are merciful.

Apolytikion in the Fifth Tone
As a martyr you emulated the deeds of the martyrs, to whom you ministered, and, striving valiantly, you overcame the enemy. You are an abundant and overflowing source of grace for all who come to you, O godly-minded Anastasia!

Kontakion in the Second Tone
When they that are found in trials and adversities flee unto thy church O Anastasia, they receive the august and wondrous gifts of divine grace which doth abide in thee; for at all times, O Saint of God, thou pourest forth streams of healings for the world.

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Georgian Patriarch Takes Over Abkhaz Diocese

December 22, 2010
Interfax

The Georgian Patriarchate announced the transfer of control over the Abkhaz Diocese to the leader of the Georgian Orthodox Church.

"The Holy Synod has examined a very important issue and made a historical decision: that on the basis of historical documents and the current situation, control over the Tskhum-Abkhaz Diocese be handed over to Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II of All Georgia," the Patriarchate said in a statement issued on Wednesday.

The territory controlled by the diocese covers Abkhazia and part of the Georgian region of Samegrelo.

Meanwhile, Abkhaz cleric Vissarion Aplia said on December 9 that recognition by the Georgian Patriarchate of the independence of the "Abkhaz Church" must be a pre-condition for their dialog.

The lack of such recognition today is "the main obstacle to visits to Abkhazia by Georgian clergymen," he said.

Related articles:

Decision by Holy Synod

Ιερά Σύνοδος της Γεωργιανής Εκκλησίας άλλαξε τον τίτλο του Πατριάρχη Ηλία

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Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus Spreading Conspiracy Theories Based on the "Protocols"

Metropolitan Seraphim has been instrumental as of late in spreading conspiracy theories and unfounded fears among Greeks. This year alone he has appealled to the Greek government for the dissolution of Freemasonry in Greece based on the accusation that they worship Satan, opposed the new Greek Citizen's Card because it is a forerunner to the Mark of the Antichrist, and supported the Artemian schism in Serbia. Below is his latest spread of misinformation, obviously infuenced by the discredited Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion.

Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus says Hitler was just a Zionist instrument to convince the Jews to leave Europe to Israel and 'establish the new Empire', JTA reports.

December 22, 2010
Haaretz

A leading priest in Greece said that the world Jewry was to blame for the country's financial problems, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported on Wednesday.

While being interviewed on a morning show of Greece's largest television station, Mega TV, the Metropolite of Piraeus Seraphim said that international Zionism tries to destroy family values by promoting one-parent families and same-sex marriages, and said there is a Zionist conspiracy to enslave Greece and Christian Orthodoxy.

The Metropolite also said that Hitler was just a tool used by Zionists in order to ensure the establishment of Israel.

When the Greek host asked him, "Why do you disagree with Hitler's politics? If they are doing all this, wasn't he right in burning them?," the Metropolite answered, "Adolf Hitler was an instrument of world Zionism and was financed from the renowned Rothschild family with the sole purpose of convincing the Jews to leave the shores of Europe and go to Israel to establish the new Empire."

He went on to say that Jews such as "Rockefeller, Rotchschild and Soros control the international banking system that controls globalization."

The JTA quoted the president of the Athens Jewish community, Benjamin Albala, as saying: "Watching and listening to the program, I felt disgust hearing the Metropolite of Piraeus expressing himself like that against world Zionism, and shamelessly saying that Hitler with the help of Jewish bankers did what he did."

See also: A Greek Bishop’s Anti-Semitic Tirade

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Patriarch Bartholomew Defends Ecumenical Dialogue

December 21, 2010
AsiaNews

The Ecumenical Patriarch defends the choice of dialogue with Catholics, Jews and Muslims, despite criticisms from some sectors of Orthodox traditionalists.

On the eve of the holiday season, Bartholomew I delivered a major address before an highly qualified audience from the Orthodox world, defending the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s choice for inter-faith dialogue. "We will insist on dialogue, despite the criticism that we suffer," he said. "There is, unfortunately, a certain religious fundamentalism, a tragic phenomenon, which can be found among Orthodox and Catholics, among Muslims and Jews. These are people who think they alone have the right to exist on earth, almost as if they alone have the right to rule on this our planet according to the Old Testament. And they say there is no room for anyone else, and are therefore opposed to any dialogue. "

The Patriarch continued: "We are subject to criticism and attack because we maintain relations with the Pope (because we are strong supporters of the ecumenical dialogue between Orthodox and Catholics), with Islam and the Jewish world. But we will continue to move forward on our journey, according to the path laid by our predecessors, well aware of our actions, regardless of the criticisms of which we are object. These fringes, characterized by extreme positions, are everywhere. It is therefore natural that we suffer their criticisms, according to their ideological dictates, all of us who try to widen our horizons and have a theological view of things. Because we want the peaceful coexistence of all, based on the principles of charity and friendship. "

Bartholomew I added: "This is the credo of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and I want to remember that in 1920 the regent of the patriarchal see, along with the synod, had addressed to Catholics and Protestants an encyclical, called 'The community of churches', along the lines of the newly created 'society of nations'. That encyclical is considered today by the World Council of Churches as the 'Charter' of the ecumenical movement of our time. This is a well known fact to insiders, and it is good that it should be made as widely known to as many people as possible”.

Then Bartholomew I went on to highlight: "With regard to interreligious dialogue, it is our belief and our creed. Because we need to know each other better, to work together while respecting the religious beliefs of others, their cultural identity, without oppression. This is the only way to live in peace. For this reason, the Patriarchate, in addition to having a dialogue with other Churches and Christian denominations, has established over the past 25 years a dialogue with Islam and Judaism. We have had several successful meetings. With the Muslims and Jews, our brothers, we do not discuss purely theological issues as it would be difficult. But we talk about social issues, social issues that effect all people, all humanity, all over the world. "

Ecology has been one of the favorite themes of the Ecumenical Patriarchate since 1989. The Patriarch said: "Everything that we try to do, we do because we believe it is our duty, because the Church should be actively present in the contemporary world and be sensitive to people's problems, raise awareness and encourage them to love and protect nature like their own homes". He added: "The environment, nature, is God's creation and do not belong only to us who live today in 2010. They belong to all future generations. "

Bishop Dositheos, spokesman for the Patriarchate, commented on the Patriarch’s homily for AsiaNews, "a certain confusion prevails in some sectors of the Orthodox Christian world between the two terms, tradition and traditionalism. Tradition, to which those minorities often refer, is the ongoing search to interpret and understand the truth, while traditionalism which essentially belong to these minorities, is an intellectual sterility which often is identified with nationalism in the Orthodox world”.

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A Divine Liturgy of the "Apostolic Constitutions" Celebrated In Cyprus

At the Church of Panagia of Agia Napa at the Metropolis of Constantia and Ammochostou in Cyprus on December 20th, an ancient Divine Liturgy was celebrated. December 20th is the feast day of St. Ignatius of Antioch. The Divine Liturgy was celebrated according to the rubric of the eighth book of the Apostolic Constitutions, which was in use by the Antiochian Church of the early Christian period.

After readings from the Old Testament and New Testament and the prayers and dismissals of the Catechumens, this Divine Liturgy immediately goes to the consecration of the Holy Gifts.

More can be read about this Divine Liturgy here, and more can be read about the Divine Liturgy celebrated in Cyprus on December 20th here which also shows many photos.

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Does Christmas Have Anything To Do With Jesus?

With Christmas trees lighting up around the world, the festive season is upon us. While many are getting into it, others view Christmas as a purely commercial event. So what exactly is Christmas spirit? Lori Harfenist asks people in New York what the season means to them.

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Christmas In Serbia

The Serbs celebrate Christmas for three consecutive days, beginning with Christmas Day. The Serbian Orthodox Church uses the traditional Julian Calendar, as per which Christmas Day (December 25) falls currently on January 7 of the Gregorian Calendar. This day is called by Serbs the first day of Christmas, and the following two are accordingly called the second, and the third day of Christmas. During this festive time, one is to greet another person with "Christ is Born," which should be responded to with "Truly He is Born." The Serbian name for Christmas is Božić (Cyrillic: Божић, [ˈbɔʒitɕ]), which is the diminutive form of the word bog, meaning 'god'.



This holiday surpasses all others celebrated by Serbs, with respect to the diversity of applied folk customs and rituals. These may vary from region to region, some of them having modern versions adapted to the contemporary way of living. The ideal environment to carry them out fully is the traditional multi-generation country household. In the morning of Christmas Eve an oak tree is felled, and a log cut from it is in the evening ceremoniously put on the domestic fire. A bundle of straw is taken into the house and spread over the floor. The dinner on this day is festive, copious and diverse in foods, although it is prepared in accordance with the rules of fasting. Groups of young people go from house to house of their village or neighborhood, congratulating the holiday, singing, and making performances; this continues through the next three days.



On Christmas Day, the celebration is announced at dawn by church bells and by shooting. A big importance is given to the first visit a family receives that day. People expect that it will summon prosperity and well-being for their household in the ensuing year; this visit is often pre-arranged. Christmas breakfast is the most celebratory meal a family has during a year. A special, festive loaf of bread is baked for this occasion. The main course is roast pork which they cook whole by rotating it impaled on a wooden spit close to an open fire. It is not a part of Serbian traditions to exchange gifts during Christmas. Gift giving is, nevertheless, connected with the holiday, being traditionally done on the three consecutive Sundays that immediately precede it. Children, women, and men, respectively, are the set gift-givers on these three days. Closely related to Christmas is New Year's Day by the Julian calendar (January 14 on the Gregorian calendar), whose traditional folk name is Little Christmas.

For more deatils about Christmas in Serbia, read here.

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Christmas in Russia

Under the USSR, all religious activities were suspended in Russia. Yet, to witness the revival of Christmas celebrations and the rejuvenation of old customs, one can only conclude that the ban was not entirely successful. If it had been, the Russian people would have had to look to exiles to learn their old ways and this is clearly not the case.

Russian Christmas is always blessed with snow. The beauty of the snow laden Russian countryside in many places seems to have jumped from a postcard. The Russians are proud of their Orthodox customs and comfortable about the way in which they, like all Christian societies, have incorporated certain pre-Christian traditions that are associated with that time of the year.

Orthodox observers in Russia abstain from meat for 39 days before the 12 days of Christmas, eating meat only when the first star appears in the sky on Christmas Eve. The festivities begin in earnest at this time, since they also abstain from social gatherings (parties) during the 39-day period of fasting. Christmas corresponds to a period of the year known as sviatki, a time when pre-Christian Russians feared supernatural forces. They would attempt to divine their intentions or placate them with rituals, many of which have been preserved in the foods eaten at this time of the year.

The Russian Christmas season is characterized by guessing games (gadanie), games of fortune-telling, carols (kolyiadki), feasting on traditional foods and of course, the solemn, yet joyous religious services. One food that is noteworthy is kutya, a type of sweet porridge made from wheat berries, honey and poppy seeds. The origin of the recipe is lost in the mists of time. It is said to have the magical power to summon ancestors. Eaten from a common bowl, it is also a symbol of unity.

The nineteenth century was a golden age for many Russian Christmas customs, music and art. One only need recall The Nutcracker, Tolstoy's War and Peace (in which many Christmas customs are found) and The Snow Maiden to see what contributions Russian artists have made to many Christians world-wide as they celebrate this season.

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The New Year

An especially gorgeous and luxurious New Year's Day was on September 1, 1698, under Peter the Great. Peter the Great named everyone a brother, gave out apples to everybody, and wished a happy New Year and a lot of happiness. A volley of 25 guns accompanied each toast of His Majesty! In 1699 Peter the Great changed the New Year's Day to January 1. His name is connected with the custom to decorate houses with branches of the evergreen trees, mostly from the coniferous trees. In the 30s of the 19th century only the Germans, living in St. Petersburg (Russia), decorated their houses with New Year Trees. Since1852, they had started putting the New Year Trees in the squares of St. Petersburg. Only by the end of the 19-century people started putting them in the houses.

In 1918, the New Year Tree was banned because it was a reminder of Christmas. And as you know, during those years Russia was ruled under the Bolsheviks (Communists). They were atheists. More and more Christmas was forced out and New Year's Day became the most important, beloved and favorite holiday for the Russians. But at first, it was prohibited to celebrate this holiday with the New Year Tree. Only in 1935 Stalin, "the best friend of children and all the peoples", gave his permission to make the New Year Tree the center of New Year's parties.

In the former Soviet Union we did not celebrate Christmas so openly as it is celebrated again now. Though sometimes somewhere people did mention this great holiday in their private talks and even celebrated it at home. Only after the so-called perestroika people started celebrating Christmas again. Do you know that we actually have two Christmases? One is celebrated based on the Gregorian calendar - December 25, and this celebration is not official. That is the date when people in pre-Revolutionary Russia celebrated Christmas. The other one is an official Christmas and celebrated by our Orthodox Church January 7. This is a holiday now and it quickly becoming one of the most popular celebrations of the year. So we celebrate New Year's Day on January 1, and later -- January 7 -- is our Christmas Day. But if you are in Russia, you will be amazed at our traditions. Some people celebrate both Christmases with the same great enthusiasm! Isn't it funny? Besides, we have the so-called Old New Year's Day! It is celebrated on January 13 and 14, but it is not an official holiday.

Still nowadays, New Year's Day is the most popular holiday and celebrated nationwide. We put up a New Year Tree (usually it is a fir-tree, or in Russian it is "yolka") decorate it just the way people do in the USA, and presents for our relatives and children are usually set under the tree. At midnight, a bottle of champagne is opened and people wish each other, "Happy New Year!" Some residents wish their neighbors and friends a Happy New Year dressed as Grandpa Frost. There are huge trees in our main city and town squares, with ice towers and snow-towns and other stuff made of ice: horses, wolves, rabbits and other animals and fairy tale characters: Grandpa Frost (sort of Santa Clause, but his history is different!) and his Granddaughter Snow Maiden.

Schools are closed for the holidays and lots of children are out in parks and squares, playing in the winter frosty weather and enjoying the ice world. There are circuses, performances at all Palaces of Culture and play houses and other theatrical presentations as well as traditional outdoor parties with troika (three-horse sleigh), rids, folk games, and dancing around New Year Trees.

Then comes January 7, our Christmas Day. Cathedrals and churches are especially enchanting and visitors are welcome. Some of them go to worship, the others - to observe. The mass starts at midnight and lasts till dawn. There are no seats in Orthodox Churches, but even non-believers are likely to stay longer than they have planned.

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One of the most famous things about Christmas in Russia, to people in western Europe and the USA, is the story of Babushka. Babushka means Grand Mother in Russian. It tells the story of an old women who met the Wise men on their way to see Jesus.

However, most people in Russia have never heard of the story and I've had many emails from Russian visitors to the site who have never heard the story before! It seems that it was probably created by an American poet and writer called Edith Matilda Thomas in 1907. Here's more information about how the story of Babushka came into being on another site.

The Story of Babushka

Once in a small Russian town, there lived a women called Babushka. Babushka always had work to do sweeping, polishing, dusting and cleaning. Her house was the best kept, most tidy house in the whole village. Her garden was beautiful and her cooking was wonderful. One evening she was busy dusting and cleaning, so busy that she didn't hear all the villagers outside in the village square talking about and looking at the new star in sky.

She had heard about the new star but thought, 'All this fuss about a star! I don't even have the time to look because I'm so behind with my work. I must work all night!' So, she missed the star as it shone brightly, high overhead. She also missed the little line of twinkling lights coming down towards the village at dawn. She didn't hear the sounds of the pipes and drums. She missed the voices and whispers of the villagers wondering whether the lights were an army or a procession of some sort. She missed the sudden quiet of the villagers and even the footsteps coming up the path to her door. But the one thing that she couldn't miss was the loud knocking on her front door!

'Now what is that?' she wondered, opening the door. Babushka gaped in amazement. There were three kings at her door with one of their servants! 'My masters need a place to rest,' the servant said, 'and yours is the best house in the village.' 'You want to stay here?' asked Babushka. 'Yes, it would only be until night falls and the star appears again,' the servant replied. Babushka gulped. 'Come in, then,' she said.

The kings were very pleased when they saw all of the of the home-baked bread, pies and cakes. She dashed about, serving them, asking lots of questions. 'Have you come a long way?' 'A very long way,' sighed Caspar. 'Where are you going?' 'We're following the new star,' said Melchior. 'But where?' The kings didn't know, but they believed that it would lead the to a new-born king, a King of Earth and Heaven. 'Why don't you come with us?' asked Balthasar. 'You could bring him a gift like we do. I bring gold, and my colleagues bring spices and perfumes.' 'Oh, I'm not sure that he would welcome me,' said Babushka, 'and what could I bring for a gift? Toys! I know I could bring a toy. I've got a cupboard full of toys,' she said sadly. 'My baby son, died when he was small.' Balthasar stopped her as she went to tidy the kitchen up. 'This new king could be your king too. Come with us when the star appears tonight,' he said. 'I'll think about it,' sighed Babushka.

As the kings slept, Babushka tidied up as quietly as she could. 'What a lot of extra work there was!' she thought, 'and this new king, what a funny idea, to go off with the kings to find him.'

Babushka shook herself. There was no time for dreaming, all this washing-up and putting away had to be done. 'Anyway,' she thought, 'how long would she be away? What would she wear? What about the gift?' She sighed. 'There is so much to do. The house will have to be cleaned when they've gone. I couldn't just leave it.' Suddenly it was night-time again and the star was in the sky. 'Are you ready, Babushka?' asked Balthasar. 'I'll come tomorrow,' Babushka called, 'I must just tidy here first and find a gift.'

The kings went away sadly. Babushka ran back into her house, keen to get on with her work.

Finally, she went to the small cupboard, opened the door and gazed at all the toys. But they were very dusty. They weren't fit for a baby king. They would all need to be cleaned. She cleaned all of the toys until each one shined. Babushka looked through the window. It was morning! The star had came and gone. The kings would have found somewhere else to rest by now. She could easily catch them up, but she felt so tired. She had to sleep. The next thing she knew, she was awake and it was dark outside. She had slept all day! She quickly pulled on her cloak, packed the toys in a basket and ran down the path the kings had taken.

Everywhere she asked 'Have you seen the kings?' 'Oh yes,' everyone told her, 'we saw them. They went that way.' For day Babushka followed the trail of the kings and the villages got bigger and became towns. But Babushka never stopped. Then she came to a city. 'The palace,' she thought. 'That's where the royal baby would be born.' 'No, there is no royal baby here,' said the palace guard when she asked him. 'What about three kings?' asked Babushka. 'Oh yes, they came here, but they didn't stay long. They were soon on their journey.' 'But where to?' asked Babushka. 'Bethlehem, that was the place. I don't imagine why. It's a very poor place. That's where they went.' replied the guard. She set off towards Bethlehem. It was evening when Babushka arrived at Bethlehem and she had been travelling for a long time. She went into the local inn and asked about the kings. 'Oh yes,' said the landlord, 'the kings were here two days ago. They were very excited, but they didn't even stay the night.' 'And what about a baby?' Babushka cried. 'Yes there was.' Said the landlord. The kings asked about a baby, too.' When he saw the disappointment in Babushka's eyes, he stopped. 'If you'd like to see where the baby was,' he said quickly, 'it was across the yard there. I couldn't offer the couple anything better at the time. My inn was really full, so they had to go in the stable.'

Babushka followed him across the yard. 'Here's the stable,' he said. He left her in the stable. 'Babushka?' Someone was calling her from the doorway. He looked kindly at her. She wondered if he knew where the family had gone. She knew now that the baby king was the most important thing in the world to her. 'They have gone to Egypt, and safety,' he told Babushka. 'And the kings have returned to their countries. But one of them told me about you. I am sorry but you are too late. It was Jesus that they found, the world's Saviour.'

Babushka was very sad that she had missed Jesus and it is said that Babushka is still looking for him.

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Turkish Town Cashes In On Saint Nick Legacy

Ivan Watson
December 22, 2010
CNN

The hometown of the man who inspired the legend of Santa Claus is a long way from the snow and arctic lights of the North Pole.

The land Saint Nicholas is originally from rarely sees snowflakes -- it is a village of palm trees and orange groves on the Mediterranean Sea in what is modern-day Turkey. Nicholas, patron saint of sailors and children, lived and died there nearly 18 centuries ago.

The legend of the 4th century bishop who gave gifts to the poor has spread since the earliest days of Christianity.

Eventually, Saint Nicholas evolved from the bald and bearded man depicted in Orthodox icons -- dressed in long robes and clutching a bible -- to the more rotund and secular character of jolly old Saint Nick.

Though Santa Claus is today inextricably intertwined with Christmas, hardly any of the residents of Saint Nicholas' hometown celebrate the holiday.

Demre is an overwhelmingly Muslim town where the call to prayer periodically echoes from minarets over the sun-bleached stones of chapels and a sprawling Roman amphitheater that was constructed long before the days of Saint Nicholas.

"Nobody celebrates Christmas here. It's interesting," said Baris Yuksel, speaking in his shop amid a sea of gold-framed icons of Saint Nicholas -- a man locals know here as "Noel Baba," or Father Christmas.

Like many other residents of Demre, Yuksel grows and exports tomatoes from some of the many greenhouses that surround this small community.

But in recent years he has also made a lucrative business selling images of Demre's most famous son to the hundreds of thousands foreign tourists who visit the Church of Saint Nicholas every year.

"We are so happy with Saint Nicholas," Yuksel said. "After lots of centuries we are earning money thanks to Saint Nicholas."

Demre's gratitude is evident in the town's official logo -- which features the familiar bearded face of Santa Claus -- and a bronze statue of a slimmer Saint Nicholas holding hands with two smiling children, which overlooks the central town square.

The man behind the legend is believed to have died in Demre in 343 AD, when the city was then known as Myra and many of the inhabitants spoke ancient Greek.

"Nicholas is a real man. He lived here and he died here, and he talked about Christianity in a widespread area," said Nevzat Cevik, a Turkish archaeologist unearthing history about one of the world's earliest Christian civilizations.

Cevik said Nicholas of Myra was a Christian bishop, who is depicted in ancient engravings chopping down a tree that symbolizes the region's earlier pagan Roman religion.

"He destroyed pagan temples also," Cevik said, referring to the Temple of Artemis, which is believed to have been raised to the ground on Nicholas' order. "They destroyed the pagan buildings ... and then they used the materials of those buildings to build their churches."

As evidence, Cevik points to a 12th century Byzantine chapel his team recently discovered buried next to the house of an elderly Turkish man named Ahmet Gezer, whose bushy white beard was surprisingly Santa shaped.

Part of the floor of the chapel is constructed out of stones pillaged from the sarcophagi of earlier pagans.

After his death, Saint Nicholas was honored as a martyr. Cevik argues that his legend began to grow after it was retold by another Christian priest named Nicholas of Sion, who lived in the area more than 100 years after Saint Nicholas' death.

Cevik theorizes that Christian believers began combining the stories of the two men named Nicholas. "After the 6th century AD, there are 2 Nicholases in one figure," Cevik said. "They come together and we know only one Saint Nicholas."

In subsequent centuries, the tomb of Saint Nicholas became a place of pilgrimage for Christians traveling from around the Mediterranean Sea.

Gradually, other European cultures adopted the popular saint, and added their own twists to his image.

The Santa Claus we see today appears to have evolved out of a Scandinavian version of the saint, who was later popularized by 19th century American writers and U.S. companies like Coca Cola, which used Santa's image to promote their products.

The mayor of Demre is a big fan of this contemporary Santa Claus, which some Turks refer to as the "Coca Cola Santa."

"Indeed, he is something that the Americans invented," said Mayor Suleyman Topcu, "[but] he is nice and colorful."

Topcu said he planned to put a big red Santa statue up overlooking the new street and beach he recently named after Father Christmas.

But some of Demre's younger residents want to set the record straight on their town's most famous son.

"He didn't have magic powers or flying reindeer. That's only in the cartoons," said 10-year old Habip Erdogan. His friend, Batuhan Katilimis, also 10, said: "He was a good man who gave gifts."

No matter what version you believe in, everyone in Demre seems to agree -- it is the spirit of Saint Nicholas giving to those who are in need that is the legendary man's most enduring legacy.

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The Erythraean Sybil and Her Prophetic Acrostic Concerning the Coming of Christ

The word Sybil comes (via Latin) from the ancient Greek word sibylla, meaning prophetess. The Erythraean Sybil was the prophetess of classical antiquity presiding over the Apollonian oracle at Erythrae, a town in Ionia opposite Chios, which was built by Neleus, the son of Codrus. Many Church Fathers believed that she prophesied the coming of Christ through the acrostic ΙΗΣΟΥΣ ΧΡΕΙΣΤΟΣ ΘΕΟΥ ΥΙΟΣ ΣΩΤΗΡ ΣΤΑΥΡΟΣ or JESUS CHRIST GOD SON SAVIOR CROSS. The translation below of the Oration of Constantine from the 4th century is poetically formed to fit the original, but the original Greek can be read here and a more literal translation here.

By Saint Constantine the Great

My desire, however, is to derive even from foreign sources a testimony to the Divine nature of Christ. For on such testimony it is evident that even those who blaspheme his name must acknowledge that he is God, and the Son of God if indeed they will accredit the words of those whose sentiments coincided with their own.

The Erythræan Sybil, then, who herself assures us that she lived in the sixth generation after the flood, was a priestess of Apollo, who wore the sacred fillet in imitation of the God she served, who guarded also the tripod encompassed with the serpent's folds, and returned prophetic answers to those who approached her shrine; having been devoted by the folly of her parents to this service, a service productive of nothing good or noble, but only of indecent fury, such as we find recorded in the case of Daphne. On one occasion, however, having rushed into the sanctuary of her vain superstition, she became really filled with inspiration from above, and declared in prophetic verses the future purposes of God; plainly indicating the advent of Jesus by the initial letters of these verses, forming an acrostic in these words: Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour, Cross.

The verses themselves are as follows:

Judgment! Earth's oozing pores shall mark the day;
Earth's heavenly king his glories shall display:
Sovereign of all, exalted on his throne,
Unnumbered multitudes their God shall own;
Shall see their Judge, with mingled joy and fear,

Crowned with his saints, in human form appear.
How vain, while desolate earth's glories lie,
Riches, and pomp, and man's idolatry!
In that dread hour, when Nature's fiery doom
Startles the slumb'ring tenants of the tomb,
Trembling all flesh shall stand; each secret wile,

Sins long forgotten, thoughts of guilt and guile,
Open beneath God's searching light shall lie:
No refuge then, but hopeless agony.

O'er heaven's expanse shall gathering shades of night
From earth, sun, stars, and moon, withdraw their light;

God's arm shall crush each mountain's towering pride;
On ocean's plain no more shall navies ride.
Dried at the source, no river's rushing sound

Shall soothe, no fountain slake the parched ground.
Around, afar, shall roll the trumpet's blast,
Voice of wrath long delayed, revealed at last.
In speechless awe, while earth's foundations groan,
On judgment's seat earth's kings their God shall own.
Uplifted then, in majesty divine,
Radiant with light, behold Salvation's Sign!

Cross of that Lord, who, once for sinners given,
Reviled by man, now owned by earth and heaven,
O'er every land extends his iron sway.
Such is the name these mystic lines display;
Saviour, eternal king, who bears our sins away.

It is evident that the virgin uttered these verses under the influence of Divine inspiration. And I cannot but esteem her blessed, whom the Saviour thus selected to unfold his gracious purpose towards us.


Many, however, who admit that the Erythræan Sybil was really a prophetess, yet refuse to credit this prediction, and imagine that some one professing our faith, and not unacquainted with the poetic art, was the composer of these verses. They hold, in short, that they are a forgery, and alleged to be the prophecies of the Sybil on the ground of their containing useful moral sentiments, tending to restrain licentiousness, and to lead man to a life of sobriety and decorum. Truth, however, in this case is evident, since the diligence of our countrymen has made a careful computation of the times; so that there is no room to suspect that this poem was composed after the advent and condemnation of Christ, or that the general report is false, that the verses were a prediction of the Sybil in an early age. For it is allowed that Cicero was acquainted with this poem, which he translated into the Latin tongue, and incorporated with his own works. This writer was put to death during the ascendancy of Antony, who in his turn was conquered by Augustus, whose reign lasted fifty-six years. Tiberius succeeded, in whose age it was that the Saviour's advent enlightened the world, the mystery of our most holy religion began to prevail, and as it were a new race of men commenced....

Source: Oration of Emperor Constantine to the Assembly of the Saints, Chs. 18 and 19.

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