The Angels Are Singing Again

 

As usual I'm putting up my Christmas decorations gradually. For this weekend (3rd Advent), I have added my angels and my Nativity scene. The glass angels with the electric candles in the living room; the rest in my study. The angels all came as gifts from friends on different occasions; the nativity set I bought myself many years ago. (Originally it was just the stable, the family and the three wise men. I've added the other pieces from different sources...)

See the little red wooden horse on the left? It is typical of the Swedish province Dalarna (and nowadays a well-known Swedish souvenir found in almost any tourist shop all over the country). This little one lives on that shelf in my study all year round, but gets to stay for Christmas as well. Partly because of its size; but also as a reminder that its province of origin is also famous for old illustrations of Biblical stories painted in a very special style. Like the one below, of "the three wise men on their way to Bethlehem", by Back Olof Andersson (1797). He and others who made paintings like these knew the Biblical stories from listening to them in church, but had never been to those far-away places themselves, and pictured things very differently in their head...

...Which may in turn serve as a reminder that how we in our time picture things from the past may perhaps not always be all correct either... ;-) 

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing...

 

For the 2nd Advent weekend, I brought up my Angels from the basement storage room. The glass angels + matching Christmas tree go under the electric candlestick in my living room:

The rest of them are forming a mixed choir on the window sill in my study.

I've probably mentioned it before, but all the angels are gifts I've received from various friends over the years. The one I've had the longest is the porcelain angel to the left; a gift from cousins of my grandmother when I was quite little, so she's been with me as long as I can remember.

My nativity set is also up now, on its usual shelf in my study.
They're a bit of a "motley crew" as well. ;-)
 

♫ Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the newborn King:
peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!"
Joyful, all ye nations, rise,
join the triumph of the skies;
with th'angelic hosts proclaim,
"Christ is born in Bethlehem!"♫

(Charles Wesley/George Whitefield)

 

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve is the main day of Christmas celebrations in Sweden. That's also when 'Santa' (Jultomten) comes knocking on the door here... (well, at least where there are children...) (As we're rather close to the North Pole, I guess it's only logical that he stops by here first, before he goes on to drop things down chimneys in other countries...) 

Yesterday, I woke up to find a much nicer day outside than expected: Bleak sun shining, a very thin layer of powder snow on the ground, trees white with frost again, and temperature hovering around -5°C (~23°F). As I also woke up fairly early, I decided to walk into town and resume my (sometimes) tradition of attending a short 'nativity' service in the old 17th century church there, at 11 am. The time suits me well when spending Christmas on my own (and if it's also a nice day for a walk). Now I hadn't been since 2019, though, because of the you-know-what...

It's a short service with focus on the (Sunday school) children. Some traditional hymns and songs are sung, the nativity story from the Gospel of Luke is read - and then re-told again in simpler words for the children, who then also get to sit up front by the church's nativity set, and also get to help place the figures in the crib. 

I did not go up front afterwards to have a closer look at the crib this year, but I did in 2019, so here is that photo again:

 

On my way back home, I took a little detour along the river in the city centre. It was a perfectly still and frosty day. (Icy streets, but I had my studded winter boots on, and had also brought one of my walking poles for extra safety in tricky places.)

Looking back at the church I had been to.

 Looking in the other direction

 Walking along the river, on the opposite side from the city park, with the temporary art exhibition that I've also showed from other angles in a couple of earlier posts.

 

You can see the sun is very low here this time of year, even around noon!

My own nativity set at home. It sits on a shelf in my study.

Angelic choir singing on the window sill, also in my study. They're all gifts from friends. The second from the left I've had since early childhood, the others have come along one by one in later decades...

In the afternoon, I had a Skype video chat with my brother, as has also become a tradition (even before the pandemic) when we don't meet in person at Christmas. 

Today, back to grey and slushy weather, which I'll take as an excuse to just be lazy and stay in and read and watch old favourites on TV/DVD etc. 

Happy Christmas to all friends around the world, however you're celebrating (or not)!

 

The Angels

It's my tradition to put up my Christmas decorations gradually from 1st Advent to Christmas. For 3rd Advent and St Lucy's Day, I put up my Angels.

 

 

The Happy Angelic Choir sings on the window sill in my study.
All of them were gifts from friends through the years.

 

Three glass angels and a glass Christmas tree reside in the living room window.
These too were all gifts from friends, on various occasions.

 

 

 

My old porcelain Christmas angel (left) and the small one-piece (plastic) crib in my bedroom window were given to me in my early childhood by two 'old ladies', cousins of my grandmother.  The three little wooden shepherds were a gift from a penfriend in Germany.  And the porcelain angel who likes to climb flower pots came as a gift from a friend as well.

 

I like the fact that all the angels came flying into my life one by one over the years, and as gifts. It reminds me that friends are 'angels' (messengers and helpers) too! :)

 

December 24 – Chrismas Eve

December 15 - The Angelic Choir

Laundry, vaccuming, and unpacking the angelic choir.
There's another December day gone by! 

The calendar angel seems happy to have company at last. (Obviously she can't wait for Christmas - having already set the date forward one day, thinking I would not notice...)

Weekend Reflections & Shadows

I have to confess I’m suffering from writer’s block just now. My thoughts seem to escape and wander off, refusing to get trapped into words and organised to make sense of things…

It’s been a week of big black news headlines.

First it was my own country, Sweden, reintroducing border controls in the south (on Thursday 12th Nov), in an attempt to cope with the rapidly increasing number of refugees arriving by ferries, or across the bridge from Denmark. (10.000 seeking asylum here only last week.)

Then on Friday 13th there was the terror attack in Paris, which probably hasn’t escaped anyone, wherever you live.

For now I’m really just making note of the dates here for my own memory. And repeating, as I wrote to a friend earlier today: I so do not envy the leading politicians and officials (in Sweden and elsewhere) who right now have to stay alert 24/7, making lots of important decisions, one upon another. And in between have to try to explain it all to the media and the rest of us.

The last three photos are from the memorial chapel in the cemetery close to where I live; which was open to visitors for prayer and reflection at Halloween.

Linking to:

Weekend Reflections

 Shadow Shot Sunday 2