Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward all... (The Gospel According to Saint Luke, Chapter 2, Verse 14)
I grew up in a family whose descendants on my mother's side were Swiss German. My maternal grandfather served as a soldier with Patton's Army during World War II in Germany. In my early 20s (eons ago), I lived in Austria for nearly a year and a half and spent two Christmases there. All that to say, our Christmases as a family have always had a very Swiss-German-Austrian flavor to them. My favorite Christmas song of all time is Stille Nacht (Silent Night.)
In America, we sing this song any old day of the month in December, but in Austria--where the song was written in the village of Oberndorf by Father Josef Mohr and the church organist Franz Gruber--the song is only sung on Christmas Eve. I like it like that and offer you this photo of my sister's Nativity creche and the Vienna Boy's Choir singing Stille Nacht.
Fröhliche Weihnachten!
Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 12/08
7 comments:
I love the story of how Silent Night came to be. The Nativity Scene is not to be denied. Beautifu!
Gorgeous photo and the boys' voices sound like angels. Merry Christmas my friend.
V
I love that song. It is my mother's favorite Christmas song (she is German) and it makes her cry when she hears it because it reminds her of her childhood Christmas'.
Merry Christmas!
D.C, that's how it should be! Wishing you a very merry Christmas. Enjoy!
marley :)
Lucy: It's a lovely story, isn't it? (Although the American version is actually more myth than fact. But still...)
Virginia: Thank you! And Merry Christmas to you, too!
Maya: Isn't it a beautiful song? It makes me cry, too, when I sing it--especially in a church setting--because it reminds me of when I lived in Austria. Merry Christmas to you, as well!
Marley: Isn't it, though? The message and meaning are so simple. A happy Christmas to you and Phoebe! Cheers!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
I love Christmas music, especially Silent Night and Adeste Fidelis. Beautiful nativity.
Coming to D.C. in a couple of months.
I will let you know.
Have missed you. I'm back.
Andrea: Yeah! Welcome back! I've missed you 'round these parts. Let me know when you're going to be in D.C. and we'll see about meeting up. Merry (belated) Christmas and a Happy New Year to you, as well!
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