Una Joia del Gòtic Català* - Part II

The Cloister of the Monastery of Pedralbes

Often I have found that in the midst of many a bustling city there is a place of quiet and peace:  as an example Ibun Tulun  Mosque in Cairo, the chapel of St Faith at Westminster Abbey or the Cloister of the Monastery of Pedralbes in Barcelona.  On the day of our visit, unlike La Sagrada Famillia, Las Ramblas and other sites in the city, there were maybe twenty other people who were wandering leisurely through the Monastery complex.  Though known it would seem that it is not on everyone's bucket list of "must-sees" in Barcelona - a shame in one way but a blessing in another.  It allowed us to visit the monastery and its precincts undisturbed and enjoy the peacefulness.

The tomb of Queen Elisenda: this is the Cloister side of her double-sided tomb.   Unlike the sculpture on church side, here she is divested of all symbols of royalty and wears the habit of a penitent.  She did not take holy orders but took part in the daily life of the Monastery after the death of her husband.

As I mentioned in my previous post the Monastery was built by Queen Elisenda on land she had purchased from Admiral Bernat de Sarriá.  The area - named after the good Admiral - was an independent township and remained so until 1927 when it was incorporated into Barcelona.  The Monastery itself remained in the hands of the Poor Clares - save for a brief period during Catalan Revolt of 1640 - until it was purchased by the corporation of Barcelona in 1971.  A new Monastery was built nearby for the small community that remained of this once great house.  The site had been declared a Spanish national monument as early as 1931 but was not opened as a museum until 1983.

There is no access to the monastery from the church - a separate entrance leads you through a small series of halls and opens up into the cloister, the largest in the world.   A spacious and graceful area, it is a three story structure with twenty-six columns on each of the four sides.  The main level was part of the original Monastery, the second level was added in 1419 and the third level later the same century.  The cloister garden was used to grow medicinal plants and flowers - the nuns were known for the elaborate bouquets of roses, orange flowers and jasmine they made for the celebration of holy days in Barcelona. 

The Cloister is three stories high, with twenty-six graceful Gothic columns on each side, making it one of the largest cloisters in the world.   The first level was part of the original building; the second story, in the same style, was added in 1419.  The third story, added in the late 1400s, is squatter and supported by thicker more widely spaced columns giving it an almost Romanesque look.

Following the suggested route the first enclosure off the cloister is St Michael's Chapel - one of the treasures of Pedralbes.  The chapel is decorated with murals by Ferrer Bassa and depicts the Joys of the Virgin and the Passion.  Painted between 1343-1346 they were contracted by  Francesca ça Portella, the niece of Queen Elisenda, who was Abbess of the Monastery from 1336 to 1364:

It is agreed between the lady abbess of Pedralbes and Ferrer Bassa that the said Ferrer shall paint in fine colours, with oil, the Chapel of St. Michael ........

And the abbess shall pay Ferrer Bassa two hundred and fifty sous, his food and that of those who help the painter in the said work; and out of the two hundred and fifty sous, the said abbess shall pay the said Ferrer Bassa one hundred sous in advance and the remaining one hundred and fifty sous when the work is finished.

Extract from the contract in the Monastery archives

There seems to have been some dispute between the good lady abbess and the painter and he many not have received all the money due him.  It has been suggest that much of the work was not by the artist himself but by his son Arnau or an Italian assistant.  Bassa was greatly influenced by the Italian school and followed the Gioto techniques of both "fresco" and "secco" painting in his work.  He also used many technical innovations that had been introduced in Tuscany in the early 14th century.

The tomb of Francesca ça Portella is in the same niche as that of her aunt, Queen Elisenda.  She was Abbess for almost 30 years and commissioned the painting of Capella Sant Miquel by Ferrer Bassa in 1343.  It is said she intended the chamber as her own day cell.

 It has also been suggested that Abbess Francesca's original intent had been to use the chamber as her day cell and it may well have served that purpose.  Over the 700 year history of the Monastery it has seen several uses other than that of chapel.  At some point it was the Monastery archive and between 1801-1870 it served as a cloakroom then as the Abbot's cell.   While it was being put to those different uses the murals were protected behind furniture and hangings until they were  rediscovered in the late 19th century.

A left click on this panorama of the Murals of the Capella de Sant Miquel will take you to an extensive website devoted to the project.  It is "worth the detour" for the rich animations and virtual tours its offers.  I'm still exploring it.

Unfortunately the Chapel is currently closed and a massive restoration project is underway.  However there was a fascinating exhibition on the current two stage project: first a detailed investigation of the work and techniques involved then stabilizing the paintings and restoring them to their original splendor.  A feature of the exhibition was a short film showing how the murals were painted - I suggest that you use the expand symbols on the control panel to get the full effect.

If we could not view the "jewel" of the Monastery there was still enough to fascinate in both cloister and in the rooms accessible to the public.  As well as the Cloister side of Queen Elisenda's doubled-sided tomb the wall adjacent to the church was lined with the tombs of women who had served as Mother Abbess or were influential in the history of the life of the Monastery.  The final resting places of Abbess Francesa,  Beatriu de Fenollet, Constança de Cardona and Elionor de Pinós are examples of Catalonian Gothic sculpture, decoration and architecture at its peak.

The south wall of the Cloister contains the tombs of several of the women who were influential in the foundation and workings of the Monastery in the 13-14th centuries.  Their resting places are amongst the finest  examples of Gothic sculpture, painting and architecture in Catalonia.

The passageways on two levels give public entrance to a series of day cells, which provided the sisters with their own personal retreats, as well as the offices, an infirmary, the refectory and kitchen, chapter house and dormidor or the nuns' sleeping quarters.   The later - a enormous timbered-ceiling room - is stunning in its simplicity and looks almost modern in its design.  It now houses many of the votive treasures given to the Monastery as well as the day to day furniture and utensils used by the Poor Clares over the 700 year history of the complex.

This large second floor room was the Dormidor - or common sleeping quarters - and now houses many of the Monastery treasures.  Built to display the artwork the contemporary pop-art coloured walls cannot hid the clean, austere lines of the original stone and wood work of the room.  An almost modern (it is in fact from the 15th century) spiral staircase leads to the the third floor and the quarters of the Lady Abbess.

The Chapter House was constructed in 1419 however it is believed that part of the stain glass dates from the 1300s when the Monastery was first constructed.  Sadly my camera would not pick up the glory of the stain which includes the personal coat of arms of Queen Elisenda.

The Gardens of the Cloister follow the standard pattern of four quadrants surrounding a central fountain.  Each quadrant serves its function within the quadrangle:  orange trees in one, herbs in another, flower garden in the third and well-head in the fourth.  As well it serves as a cool, quiet place to spend the day during the heat of summer.

The Cloister quadrangle followed the pattern of the time - a central fountain surrounded by four quadrants each serving an important function in monastery life:  An herb garden, a flower garden, a rest area of shade and a well-head.

Looking at the artistic wealth of the Monastery it is perhaps easy to be slightly cynical about the "Poor Clares" however it must be kept in mind that many of the sisters of the congregation came from privilege.  Most were noblewomen and the founder herself was royalty and they practiced the arts of the gentlewomen of their time as well as observing the rules of their order.

A gentlewoman of the period would be expected to excel in the art of needlework and the good sisters of the Monastery were no exception.  They worked vestments for both their Church of Santa Maria and for other parishes in the region of Sarriá and nearby Barcelona. The red chasuble was meant for a festive mass while the black figured with the symbols of the Passion was possibly for an event during Holy Week.

It is interesting to note that in the early years of the 19th century, the victim of the French Revolution and advancing secularization, the Order of Poor Clares declined everywhere in Europe except Spain.  In an 1909 census there were 247 monasteries with 5543 confessed sisters in Spain - nearly a third of the order at the time.  A search for the current state of the Order has produced no numbers but in the past decade there has been a resurgence in Spain of entry into the novitiate.  Many of the women are mid-aged, well-educated, professionals - a historical pattern set by their predecessors.  

As a side note: In one of those strange traditions, its origins lost in the fog of history, on the Feast Day of Saint Eulàlia the Alicante of Barcelona brings a dozen eggs as a gift to the sisters of the Monastery.  This may be because it is believed that the Saint (who is the patron of Barcelona) was born in  Sarriá.  But why eggs, why a dozen and how exactly this guarantees good fortune in the following year has not been explained.  Nor is it mentioned if the Mayor stays for a breakfast frittata.

December 12 -1915: President of the Republic of China, Yuan Shikai, announces his intention to reinstate the monarchy and proclaim himself Emperor of China.

Mercoledi Musicale

It has been said -  perhaps with a grain of truth - that I never saw a Christmas tree ornament I didn't like. This has led to a a stock of (garish) goodies for our Yule bush that has reached the point where we have to pick and choose - this year only 4 of our silver balls made the cut.  Now there are some ornaments that grace the tree every year because of  memories of people, places and Christmases past - that's a given.  Of course it doesn't help that our current tree is much smaller than the one we had back in the days of the big old Victorian house and grand Roman apartment.

Now means that there is an embargo on any new ornaments!  Yeah right, like that is going to happen in the lifetime of the reigning monarch!  Though I did say that the ornaments we bought in Copenhagen,  Helsinki and St Petersburg last year were the the absolute last!  Well okay I lied.

Anyone who reads this blog with any regularity will know that one of the great loves of my life is Angela Lansbury.  Not the Angela of Murder She Wrote but the Angela of Broadway musicals, stage plays and incredible film performances.  I've been in love with her since the first time I saw her on stage in 1966 at the Schubert Theatre in Boston.  I posted about that eventful trip back in 2008 and that miraculous moment when a beautiful lady in a backless gold lame jump suit with a trumpet in hand appeared at the top of a spiral staircase and led us in a musical celebration of "Today" and erased all the horrors of that weekend.

Well that lady is appearing this year on our Christmas tree.  When I saw this ornament at Broadway Cares I knew that just one more wouldn't hurt.  Its the last one I swear.  No I will not get the other Broadway Legends ornaments - sure I love Gwen and Bernadette (Julie - not so much) but I now have THE Broadway Legend on our tree - so that's it for ornaments!  Honest!  

And here's the lady herself as an unemployed and broke Mame - heralding the season with the late, and wonderful, Jane Connell, Frankie Michaels and Sab Shimono. 

One of the lovely things that date's this a bit is young Patrick's observation that it's a bit early to be celebrating Christmas as its only "one week past Thanksgiving Day" - hell these days with "Christmas creep" the decorations seem to go up just after Labour Day!  A modern revival would have to change the lyrics to "it's two months 'til Thanksgiving Day".

And as much as the recording captures the joy of that original production there's nothing like seeing the lady in person to show you what "star power" is really about:

We've all grown a little learner (okay maybe not), grown a little colder, sometimes a little sadder and definitely a litte older but we still need a little Christmas.

December 11 - 1934: Bill Wilson, co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, takes his last drink and enters treatment for the last time.

Lunedi Lunacy

Perhaps this is not safe for work - Aunt Chippy is not known for her restraint - or it would appear her gift wrapping skills.

And a Joy to Your World Too!

Thanks to my friend Linda for this one.

December 9 - 1960: The first episode of Coronation Street, the world's longest-running television soap opera, is broadcast in the United Kingdom.

Second Sunday in Advent

Offertory for the Second Sunday in Advent

Wilt thou not turn again, O God, and quicken us, that they people may rejoice in thee; show us thy mercy, O Lord, and grant us thy salvation.

A Manual of Catholic Devotion

For Members of the Church of England (Revised 1969)

In 2011 and I posted a series on Christmas carols and included several of the carols that Sir John Stainer and Henry Ramsden Bramley had compiled in their Christmas Carols Old and New.   Published in 1871 that slim volume contained twenty carols, many that are sung today - by the last edition in 1878 it had expanded to over seventy. As we approach Christmastide I thought I'd celebrate the Sunday's in Advent by seeing if I could find versions of some of the lesser known carols in their collection and sharing them with you.

Though better known than some of the other carols, A Virgin Unspotted is heard more often these days performed by choirs in concert than as a congregational hymn.  Perhaps it is feared that its jaunty tune will lead to dancing in the pews ... or worse!


Its melody is certainly in the style of the old carole and could have just as easily served for a country dance.    It was a particular favourite in Gloucestershire and the first known printings of a text was in 1661.  Samuel Harward (b1740 - d1809), a local ballad printer, published a set of the words in Tewekesbury in the late 18th century. 

It is possible that it derived from A Virgin Pure that appears in several collections prior to the Stainer-Bramley collaboration.  In his introduction to this earlier carol in his Songs of the Nativity William Henry Husk notes that this version was first printed by Rev. Arthur Bedford around 1734.  He finds the Reverend gentleman rather suspect in his knowledge of Christmas music or language:

Mr. Bedford, in the title of the carol, has given us a singular etymological derivation of the word carol from Carolus; viz. "A Christmas carol, so called because such were in use in K. Charles I. Reign."! The reader of the present volume will not, it is feared, entertain a very high opinion of Mr. Bedford's antiquarian learning, at least on the subject of Christmas carols.

Until recent times both variations were sung at Christmas in various Gloucestershire villages though A Virgin Pure was often set to the tune of Admiral Benbow, a popular ballad.  The tune most commonly used and included by Stainer and Bramley is Herefordshire.

This version of Herefordshire by the Riga Dom Cathedral Boys Choir  brings out the dance like rhythm of the carol.  The choir's recordings of Christmas music is quite enjoyable and features both the sacred and secular - including a rollicking Jolly Old St Nicholas.

 Many carols were brought to the New World and sung in community celebrations at Christmastide.  A Virgin Unspotted was a well known carol in colonial America and there are variations recorded as far as Appalachia.   The tune was also used in a variation known under the title  In Bethlehem City.
 

 In 1778 William Billings published his The Singing Master's Variations and included the carol set to a new tune:  Judea.  The carol was to appear in various forms in at least four other collections of shape-note song books however of the American settings Billing's remains the favoured.

No matter the version used the refrain always exhorts us: 

Therefore be merry
Set sorrow away!
For Jesus our Savour
Was  born on this day!

December 8 - 1596: Luis de Carabajal the younger, one of the first Jewish authors in the Americas, died in an auto-da-fé in Mexico City.

Una Joia del Gòtic Català* - Part I

  It is a "jewel of Catalonian Gothic*" according the Barcelona tourist website and it would be difficult to argue with this description of Reial Monestir de Santa Maria de Pedralbes. On our first visit to Barcelona several years ago we had wanted to visit it but time just ran out - we weren't about to let that happen a second time. The route on the Hop-on Hop-off bus isn't the most direct from Plaça de Catalunya - its a rather circuitous trip via La Sagrada Familla, Park Guell, The Tramvia Blau and several sights in between. But it was worth both the hour it took us to get there and the three year wait.

Il Reial Monestir de santa Maria Pedralbes is approached today through one of the medieval
gates between  the defense towers of the old walls.  Its position outside the city made
it vulnerable to attack and the Barcelona civil guard were charged with its protection.

  Founded in 1326 by Queen Elisenda de Montcada as a house for the Poor Clares, it remains a working monastery for the order today but on a vastly reduced scale.  The Order is housed in a small part of the original complex; the major buildings have been a museum since 1983.  The church is still used by the Sisters for their daily worship and serves as a parish church for the local residents.

The cobblestone street leads up past buildings that are currently used by the order - greatly reduced
in size to a handful of nuns.  The order has been expelled several times from Pedrables but has returned each time. 

  In 1328, a year after the death of her husband, James II, Elisenda moved into a palace next to the monastery and lived there until her death in 1364.  Though she did not take religious orders she was closely involved in the workings of the monastery; her presence encouraged the nobility to send their daughters - those that they couldn't arrange advantageous marriages for - to the monastery and endow it with votives and gifts of the finest workmanship and highest value.

Santa Maria de Pedrables faces a large and pleasant square which is now part of a residential complex. 
At one time it was monastery grounds which occupied much of the area.  The building is a considered one
of the best examples of Catalan Gothic.

A broad expanse of stairs once led to gardens and the palace of Queen Elisenda - it now leads to a residential area of Sarrià.  The sector has always been considered one of the more desirable places to live in Barcelona.

  When the church and monastery were built they were on a royal estate in the township of Sarrià a good distance from Barcelona.  Under orders from the Queen the complex was under the protection of the city and the civil guard was charged with it care.  Because of its position it was originally encircled by defense walls and towers - only remnants remain today.  The approach is through one of the original defense gates, up a steep cobblestone road lined with white stone (pertas albes - Pedralbes) buildings that included guest houses and monastery outbuildings.

  Queen Elisenda chose the site for the new monastery herself on one of the royal estates in the area of Pedralbes - a name which derives from the Latin Petras Albas or white stones.  The first stone was laid by the monarchs in March 1326.  By May of the following year work was sufficiently advanced that the first community of nuns - from the Convent of Saint Antony in Barcelona - took up residence. 

  The church is attached to the monastery but only accessible to it through the upper cloister passages leading to the Nun's gallery.   The nave is spanned by ribbed arches and the sanctuary has a retable by the Catalan painter Jaume Huguet.  The austerity of the interior is broken by glorious 14th century stained glass in the chancel and a rose window window at the gallery end.  Unusually for the time there are three choir levels:  upper, lower and a separate Friars' choir.

Unusually the tomb of Queen Elisenda is double-sided and depicts her in the two periods of her adult life. 
Facing the church is the Queen (below) while it is the widow and penitent that faces towards the cloister.

  An unusual feature is the tomb of the founder - Elisenda's resting place is two sided.  One side is built into the wall of the chancel of Santa Maria and the other into the wall of the cloister of the Monastery. The two tombs are mirror images save one important detail:  the figure of Elisenda facing the church is that of a Queen, the figure facing the cloister that of the widow and penitent.   The two phases of her life commemorated equally.

  As impressive as the soaring and solemn Gothic splendor of the church is what caught my attention were a simple row of  pews** at the back of the nave.   It would have been easy to miss them as the church was dark and my camera had been acting up but I was able to get a few photos of the charming, and in at least one case amusing, grotesques that were carved into the pew ends.  They are the work of an anonymous wood carver and the pews themselves are not in the best of shape - showing the marks of five centuries of worship.

  I have no idea what these creatures symbolize - if indeed they are anything other than the fantasies of the carver's imagination but I found them beguiling as so often these easily overlooked little details can be.

  These two creatures have a slightly Jurassic Park look to them - dinosaurs? Probably not but whatever they are they are very unhappy with each others presence in the pew. Sort of like a few people I remember from my church going days.

  These two are casually ignoring each other.  The one on the left seems to be grooming his rather lush tail; while the one of the right is just preening.  Again I am reminded of people I've seen sitting in pews like this of a Sunday morning.  Could the carver have been making a satirical jab at church goers?

  This bird - a peacock? - and what appears to be a squirrel are pairing off against each other.  My money's on the rodent - it looks pretty vicious from here.

  But the most delightful of these fantasy images has to be this marvelous carving of a dog tugging on an old man's beard.  Did it have some sort of meaning that is lost to us today?  Does it record some bit of local folklore in Sarrià?  Was the carver getting his own back at someone he disliked?  Or again is it just a little piece of artistic fantasy meant to intrigue - and in this solemn place bring a smile? 

  It is little details like this that have always fascinated me - that and the incredible talent of the wood carver in creating this small - easily overlooked - treasures.

 **Until I was writing this post I hadn't thought much of the etymology of the word "pew"; apparently it comes from the Middle French - "puwe" which means a seat.  It was first used to refer to seats in a balcony but later came to refer to benches or seats. 

05 December - 1766: In London, James Christie holds his first sale.

Mercoledi Musicale

I know that the commemoration of what would have been the 90th birthday of Maria Callas was two days ago but thought I'd wait a day or two as the internet was awash with tributes on December 2.

As a young opera queen goer I was not a big Callas fan - my taste ran more to (gasp!) Renata Tebaldi for Verdi-Puccini and Joan Sutherland for the bel canto.  I did have - and oft played - her Mad Scenes recording with its famous Anna Bolena finale.  That I had to admit was pretty damned exciting stuff.  She only made two appearances in Toronto during her career: once on October 21, 1958 when she performed in concert at the mammoth Maple Leaf Gardens hockey rink and again during her, sadly unsuccessful, farewell concert with Giuseppe di Stefano on February 21, 1974 at old Massey Hall.  

My appreciate of her came later in my opera-going life, long after she had retired from both singing and public life.  I came to realize that there is more to singing than beautiful sound - there is the ability to take a piece of music and with it create a vast array of emotions in the listener.  The sounds may not always please the ear but they touch the heart - and perhaps more to the point the gut.   I recently heard it explained that Callas was a "great artist" not necessarily a "great singer".  I think I know what the commentor was getting at - particularly as she ran into more and more vocal difficulties after 1958.

Though she sang Puccini and Verdi on stage, notably Tosca, La Traviata and Macbeth, she was best known for her bel canto roles - Anna Bolena, La Sonnambula, Norma, Il Pirata.  However in the recording studio she committed many of the Puccini and Verdi roles to disc.  Desdemona in Verdi's Otello was a role she never sang on stage and only recorded excerpts from in 1963.  By that time the voice was in decline - a decline that many claimed had started as early as 1955 - but that ability to take a piece of music and with it create a vast array of emotions was still there.  Some may not consider it great singing but no one can deny that it is great, and moving, artistry.

As her gentlewoman Emilia brushes her hair, Desdemona prepares for bed and she recalls a song that Barbara, a maid of her mother's sang after she had been deserted by her lover.  Frequently she breaks off to refer to the poor jilted mad girl; at one point the wind at the shutters frightens her; as Emilia leaves she is suddenly gripped with anguish and bids her not "good night" but "addio - farewell".   Turning to her prayers she says her Ave Maria - her voice fading away into troubled sleep as she repeats:

per noi, per noi tu prega, prega sempre e nell'ora della morte nostra, prega per noi, prega per noi, prega. Ave Maria. . . nell'ora della morte. Ave!. . .Amen!

for us, pray for us, pray now and at the hour of our death pray for us, pray for us, pray Ave Maria.... at the hour of our death. Ave! ....  Amen

While I was doing a Google search - they did a wonderful tribute to La Divina on December 2 - for an image I came across an Al Hirschfeld caricature that I had never seen before.  It is Callas as she appeared in the finale scene of La Sonnambula in Luchino Visconti's production at La Scala in 1955.  No longer Annina, the simple village maiden of Romani's libretto but a grand diva of the ottocento - bejeweled, grand and showing us the vocal technique at her command.   As he always did I think Hirschfeld caught the essence of the character and the singer - both as seen by Visconti and projected by Callas.

December 4 -1909: 1st Grey Cup game is played. The University of Toronto Varsity Blues defeat the Toronto Parkdale Canoe Club 26–6.

Lunedi Lunacy

Let the Yule Fun begin!

Strangely in my house as I was growing up who brewed the tea in the morning was never a question. It was my father. From the day they were married until he was incapacitated 35 years later my father brought my mother a cup of tea to bed every morning of their married life. And I always got mine - more milk than tea and with lots of sugar. Rather sweetly Laurent would do that for my mother whenever she visited us - I'm still waiting for mine.

December 2 - 1763:  Dedication of the Touro Synagogue, in Newport, Rhode Island, the first synagogue in what will become the United States.

Advent 2013

This is the first Sunday in Advent - the days of the Christian church calendar leading up to the Feast of the Nativity.

Advent Wreaths

When I was a child only Lutheran churches, and perhaps a handful of Anglican churches, followed the custom of Advent Wreaths.   It has now become a widespread tradition in many Christian faiths - Roman, Orthodox and Protestant. I remember my surprise a few years ago when I saw a Presbyterian church - a faith I grew up in -  advertising their service to light the first candle of their Advent Wreath.  Advent Wreath? Presbyterians?  Dear god what next dancing?

There are many theories as to where the custom began.  Is it a Christian carry-over from a Northern pagan rite?  A good possibility as the use of the circle, greenery and fire as symbols of regeneration in the face of winter is not uncommon in folk traditions of Northern peoples. Or as has been suggested was it a 19th century creation by a Lutheran pastor who used it as a way to mark the time until Christmas for the urban poor he was ministering to?  As with many traditions the truth of its birth probably lies somewhere between the two with many regional and parochial variations.

Within the Christian faith there are differences in the form and ritual surrounding the Advent Wreath.  In some churches the candles reflect the colour of the vestments traditional worn by the priest on the four Sundays of Advent:  violet for the penitential days and rose for Gaudete Sunday in the Roman church, Sarum blue and rose for those respective days in the Anglican church.  In Protestant churches the candles are normally red - a traditional colour of the season.   In some churches a fifth white candle is placed in the centre of the wreath to be lit on Christmas Eve - the Christ candle.  In keeping with the longer Advent period in the Orthodox church there are seven candles and I found a very fine explaination of the colours and their meaning on the site of St John the Evangelist Orthodox church.

In some churches the candle is simply lit with the singing of a hymn, in others there is a prayer and a hymn or Advent carol (yes there are Advent carols).  Still other churches include it as a more meditative element with a traditional service.  Several years ago when we were in Munich we attended a simple but lovely Advent Vespers at the Michaelskirche which I wrote about at the time.

Advent Calendars

A more secular tradition is the Advent Calendar - again a Lutheran creation, perhaps created by that same pastor.  At first they would have been homemade but by the late 1800s had become a stationery item in many countries.  Most were made in Germany or by German immigrants and consisted of a single sheet of cardboard with doors cut into it; it was then backed by a thinner sheet of paper with the verse or picture for the day printed on it which would be revealed as doors were opened.

The first Advent Calendar designed and printed by Richard Seller in 1946.  It became a very
popular import in North America when the Eisenhower family received one.  It is still available today.

With the rationing of paper and printing restrictions in the Second World War the custom disappeared however was revived in the late 1940s by Richard Sellmer.  He created the first calendar by hand in his Stuttgart living room and was given permission by the American command responsible for the sector to print them in December of 1946.  The company Richard Sellmer Verlag - still owned by his family - produces some 120 designs a year (a click will take you to some of this year's designs). Many of the designs are traditional and some are reproductions from earlier years.

The Rathaus in Hündfeld, Germany becomes a gigantic Advent Calendar for the Christmas Season.

Most Advent Calendars begin on December 1st though the actual season can begin anytime in late November-early December.  And they can take many forms - elaborate creations with gifts behind each door, simple cards with a Christmas picture or text behind each door; the subjects can be secular or sacred; they can be store bought or homemade.  They can be the size of a city block or they can be virtual and fit on an iPhone.

A handcraft Advent Calendar made from painted, recycled tin cans and a branch -
an ingenuous example of a homemade countdown to Christmas.

My friend Larry has been creating a virtual Advent Calendar on his blog since he arrived in Rome.  In 2007 we opened "windows" of Rome; in subsequent years "doors", "gates", "angels", "fountains" and "modern churches" of the Eternal City have revealed a thought, verse, text or music for the Advent season.  Though he doesn't blog much anymore Larry is once again posting his virtual Advent Calendar and this year we are climbing the "stairs" - and there are so many - of Rome to count down to Christmas.  As in year's past I will be posting a sidebar to Larry's Calendar which I will update daily to lead you to his post of the day.

Let's begin by mounting the stairs at Larry and Vin's apartment building in Garbatella which will take us up our first Roman staircase towards the Feast of the Nativity.  We took that staircase a good many times to celebrate Christmas, birthdays and good times with two of our dear friends. 


December 1 -1966: The first Gävle goat, an annual Swedish Yule Goat tradition, is erected in Gävle.

World AIDS Day 2013

Every World AIDS Day since 2006 I have uploaded this post that first appeared in 2005 on a long-gone blog called Everything is Not Real.  Though anyone who has followed my blog has likely read it every so often I feel the need to remind myself, and perhaps you won't mind being reminded also, of how fortunate most of us are. 

Christopher was a party lad on the London scene who wrote funny, frivolous, bitchy posts about his club and love life but in the midst of it all would suddenly post something that made you realize the man behind the Armani suits, the parties and the trendy bars and clubs.

Each time I reread his entry for World AIDS Day 2005 I am made more aware of the truth of what he wrote: for myself and so many of the people I love and care about.

December 1, 2005
I have lottery fantasies.

I dream about being able to buy fast cars and designer clothes until they come out of my ears. I want houses in London, New York, East Hampton and Rio. I want to be able to travel first class and work out at The Third Space and get reservations at Annabel's just because of who I am. I want to be able to take hot dates on tours of the National Gallery. When it's closed. Because I'm one of it's biggest benefactors.

Needless to say, twice a week, I am disappointed.

This morning, on the way to work on the tube, I was reading a Times article, written by Annie Lennox, about the millions and millions of people in Africa who are suffering with HIV and AIDS, and dying, and how the governments of the richer nations, such as the one I live in, have pledged support over an eight year period. And how they absolutely must stay committed to this goal.

One of the kids she spoke to on a recent trip to Africa was dying of AIDS. But before he got sick he lost his mother, father, brothers, sisters and pretty much everyone else he cared about to the same disease. He was totally alone in the world. With no hope. And certainly no dreams of fast cars or a nice comfortable house, anywhere. And that shit isn't even near the important stuff.

There are approximately 6,450,000,000 humans on Earth.

Most of them are not 33 year olds who have careers which afford them access to guest lists to the best clubs and bars the city has to offer. They don't have friends who will stick with them no matter what (and slip them Jil Sander dress shirts every now and then.)They don't have housemates who have Thai cuisine prepared and ready to eat when they arrive home. They don't have comfortable beds to sleep in at night.

6,450,000,000.

When I think about it I kinda did win the lottery.

About 33 years ago

EVERYTHING IS NOT REAL - Christopher

I look around me and see all the things that truly say I have won the lottery.

For Pierre, Brian, Lawrence, Bill, Don, Andrew and Jim and the others - remembered still.

December 1 - 1420: Henry V of England enters Paris.