 © Window Frost ~ Undine DeFilippo "O Most High, Almighty, Good Lord God, to Thee belong praise, glory, honor and all blessing. Praised be our Lord God, with all his creatures, and especially our brother the Sun, who brings us the day and who brings us the light: fair is he, and he shines with a very great splendour. Oh Lord, he signifies us to Thee ! Praised be our Lord for our sister the Moon, and for the Stars, the which He has set clear and lovely in the heaven. Praised be our Lord for our brother the Wind, and for Air and Clouds, calms and all weather, by which Thou upholdest life and all creatures. Praised be our Lord for our sister Water, who is very serviceable to us, and humble and precious and clean. Praised be our Lord for our brother Fire, through whom Thou givest us light in the darkness; and he is bright and pleasant and very mighty and strong. Praised be our Lord for our mother the Earth, the which doth sustain us and keep us, and bringeth forth divers fruits and flowers of many colors, and grass. Praised be our Lord for all those who pardon one another for Love's sake, and who endure weakness and tribulation; blessed are they who peacefully shall endure, for Thou, O Most High, will give them a crown. Praised be our Lord for our Sister, the Death of the Body, from which no man escapeth. Woe to him that dieth in mortal sin. Blessed are those who die in Thy most holy will, for the second death shall have no power to do them harm. Praise ye and bless the Lord and give thanks to Him and serve Him with great humility." Saint Francis of Assisi  © Window Frost ~ Undine DeFilippo FEEL FREE TO LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW
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 When I was a child, growing up in New York City, we kept European traditions on Christmas Eve. After an early seafood supper, we dressed in our finest outfits, got on a bus and walked our way to an evening Church service. Those evenings were always cold and crisp, but my favorites were making the trip as fresh snow fell. I sang First Soprano in the Children’s Choir and LOVED wearing the long white robe and large red collar that overlaid it. Each one of us was fussed over and given a candle with last minute reminders. Once the Church bells stopped pealing, the Music Instructor gave a whispered cue to thirty three of us waiting outside the door. Candles lit and held chest high, we followed a lucky boy carrying a GIANT GOLD CROSS, the luckiest boy with a giant candle stick almost as tall as himself and the clergy. Single file, double spaced, we sang JOY TO THE WORLD and neatly placed ourselves stage left to the Altar.  Undine DeFilippo singing OH TANTE BAUM After the service we hurried home for coffee and cake, sweets and gift giving. There was always laughter... once the adults settled in with their Christmas toasts. Each child, was expected to perform a recitation, song or tune BEFORE getting any gifts. It seemed this part of Christmas was something the adults waited for all year ! I had come to understand at a very early age that Saint Nick,{ the Christmas Man aka Santa Claus }, was a very real person who lived a LONG LONG LONG time ago.  Illustration By Hedda Obermaier-Wenz Born in 280 AD, in what is now Turkey, he was known as The Gift Giver of Myra. So that his identity would remain secret, he gave his gifts in the dead of night. St Nicholas was eventually named the Patron Saint of children, sailors, Russia and Greece. He was a very rich person and became a Christian Bishop with an earned reputation of being wise and kind. The tradition of hanging stockings at the fireplace followed one of his middle of the nite gift giving bonanzas. St. Nick dropped BAGS OF GOLD into the stockings of three sisters on their wedding day because their father had nothing to give them.  Illustration By Hedda Obermaier-Wenz In the year 303, the Roman Emperor Diocletian commanded ALL to worship him as a god. St. Nicholas refusal landed him in a nasty tiny cell, where he suffered from cold, hunger and thirst for better than five years. When Constantine became Emperor in 313, he was released and continued to carry out his gift giving, until his death at age 63 on December 6 th. 343. Because of his exceptional kind heart and generosity, he was Sainted and thereby BLESSED to continue having the ability to accomplish kind deeds during the Christmas season for the deserving, ESPECIALLY CHILDREN and ANIMALS. I believe I did see him thru a key hole that year, as I practiced "OH TANTE BAUM" but the angle only afforded me his black boots. I thought I was singing praises to someone’s age old Aunt dressed in something frilly and green which brought knee slapping peales of laughter from the adults. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT !!! |
 Undine DeFilippo
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