LOOKING BACK: Christmas at the home of Panama City s founder
By Nancy Hudson and Robert Hurst | Special to The News Herald
When I read the diary and other publications of George M. West, I can t help but feel that he had a sense he was contributing a bit of history in our city. After all, he came to realize in his lifetime that he was a founder of our city. One part of this was his detailed descriptions of Christmas with the West family.
The new exhibit at the Bay County History Museum attempts to portray a part of their holiday tradition.
Louise Carroll: Hear the bells and spread Christmas good will
By Louise Carroll
For The Ledger
I keep hearing that Christmas will be different this year, but that s not true. Christmas, the birth of the Christ child, will always be the same; the way we celebrate it is very different. My holiday traditions are precious and important to me, being with my family, Christmas Eve Service, parties with friends and enjoying all the love and friendship and special events and food.
Much of this will not happen this year as I stay home trying to be part of the solution and not part of the problem.
Ten Broeck open for holidays, with more stories told
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Back in the 18th century, when the Ten Broeck family was residing in the Arbor Hill mansion that still bears their name, Christmas was no big deal.
“Among Dutch Reformed churchgoers like the Ten Broecks, there was not a major emphasis on Christmas,” said Kathryn Kosto, executive director of the Albany County Historical Association (ACHA), which is based at the mansion. “That said, there was a persistence of the medieval celebration of saints’ feast days, so the Dutch retained customs of a family feast, children’s treats and celebration for St. Nicholas Day on December 6.”
Have yourself a Jewish little Christmas 12/14/2020 at 6:44 PM Posted by Kevin Edward White
By Jeff Jacoby, Boston Globe, December 14, 2020
For Jews in old Europe, the Christmas season was a time to be watchful and wary and to keep out of sight. For their descendants in America, the Christmas season which is also the season of Chanukah, of course is a time to celebrate and give thanks for the freedom of religion that protects the menorah in their living room window no less than the Christmas tree in their neighbor’s.
In medieval and early modern Europe, this time of year often brought sermons filled with invective against Jews for the supposed crime of crucifying Christ. Instead of “good tidings of great joy,” there were apt to be blood libels and pogroms. In some Polish and German communities, Jews referred to Christmas Eve as Vay Nacht (Woe Night), a bitter play on Weihnahchten , the German word for Christmas. So great was the fear of antisemitic violence that r
American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow more than 200 years ago said “Music is the universal language of mankind, and Harvard scientists in a recently published comprehensive scientific study on music supports Longfellow’s declaration.
And, here in Gainesville, students at M.K. Rawlings Elementary Center for the Fine Arts recently connected with non-English speaking children through their participation in the International Concert Exchange for World Disability Day with students from India to share an artistic experience via a live Zoom concert held Dec. 3.
The concert was a collaboration between students at Rawlings and students in the Margika Organization for Special Learners in India that works with underserved children.