A wonderful Christmas book! ~ The History of Christmas: 2,000 Years of Faith, Fable and Festivity

Heather's wonderful book on Christmas, 

The History of Christmas: 2000 years of Faith, Fable and Festivity, 

came out this year!  I was given a copy to enjoy and give an honest review of it!

I had reviewed it on social media but never put my review here,

so I am doing so now!  

This book on the History of Christmas is wonderful! You learn a lot about the different era's of the Christian church and how Christmas is celebrated in the past 2000 years! Heather did a lot of research and includes fun lists of ideas of how to celebrate Christmas, do Christmas crafts and make delicious food from different eras and it is really beautifully illustrated! 

See @heather_winslow_lefebvre wonderful Instagram page and also you can get this book via Amazon! I'm sure Heather can tell you other places to get it as well! It's a wonderful gift and would be perfect for your Christmas this year! 

Heather's book, The History of Christmas: 2000 years of Faith, Fable and Festivity has beautifully illustrated pages that begin with a fictional story that draws the reader (or listener!) into the time of Christmas from various centuries.  It traces Christmas from the beginning of Christ's birth, to St Boniface, St Francis Assisi, to London England in 1066, to the early days of the USA and on to current times.  Each chapter has a story, an engaging discussion of Christmas in that place and time, interesting discussion questions and a page with a list of ways to do things at Christmas time like they would in the time period discussed.  I can see this book being enjoyed by many!  Heather is a God-loving Protestant so the book is written from this perspective but with a respect for the wider Christian tradition as well.  I learned a lot and enjoyed her book very much!  I can see this book enriching family Christmas time in both the stories and the ideas to practice Christmas from various eras.  It's a inspiring book in terms of creativity and also pondering what Christmas really is all about.

Do check out her book and her beautiful Instagram page! 

(113) A good but somewhat unexpected day

I have been enjoying cinnamon raisin  toast with PB 

lately... and hot tea...always hot tea...

I finally ordered my Christmas photo cards! 

I went to a lovely Asian Restaurant today and had lunch 

with a friend!

This clear noodle dish / soup hit all of my culinary

happy buttons... you should know, however, that for some it will be 

very spicy.  They use a lot of chili oil in it! 

It was so warming; the noodles were so good...

Clear glass noodles... this version was vegetarian from what

I understand... it was really good... we had scallion pancakes with it,

the best ones I have ever had... 

I had to use lots of napkins to blow my nose and had 3 or 4 glasses of water...

which will not help with the heat by the way....

if something is too spicy for you ... you need milk or yogurt or bread or plain rice.

It was such a flavourful noodle soup.

I did not have tons of the broth... my friend was amazed that I was able to eat it...

both she (she is Chinese) and the server did not think I would be able to eat it or that I

would like it...but I eat lots of ethnic food (a big change from when I was 18 or 19 I admit!) and

like heat in food.  That said... I had it again tonight...

the noodles had soaked up most of the broth...

and it was much hotter, so much that my lips felt that they were burning...

and I did eat more and I did enjoy it but could tell that it was a bit much even for me...

that said, I would get this soup again, it really hit all of my 

culinary comfort buttons, especially in winter when it is colder out... 

so warming, clears the sinuses in such a good way, so fun to eat,

such good noodles...a wonderful broth...

(my friend showed me how to eat it with chopsticks and was graceful

when I realized that I was holding them wrong, as in I had the bigger part of them 

in the soup instead of in my hands!)...

the restaurant was so incredibly attentive...

at one point I accidentally dropped my chopsticks, which I had resting on top of the bowl, 

onto the table.  The table, mind you, not the floor.  Within seconds I was handed a new 

set of chopsticks wrapped in a clean napkin and I gave the other ones to the server.

It was really nice to catch up with my friend and was a real highlight in my day!

Here are some recipes that are similar (but not vegetarian) that give a sense

of how it was made... hot and sour glass soup noodle soup  or 

Ants Climbing a Tree-vermicelli recipe

It was such a wonderful soup and the scallion pancakes paired so well with it!

I felt like it was akin to the North American affinity for Chicken Noodle Soup for

warmth and comfort.... I love how different cultures give us the same thing

in such different (taste, ingredients, spice level) but similar way (soup, noodles)!

***

So that was that... I got another Asian cookbook at a book sale recently... 

I am already excited about it! I was reading some of it to Mr Husband...

I like Asian cookbooks esp for fast days and fast periods... and I have a lot of 

noodles from the Chinese store near us...so making something like this

(though being careful with the amount of spice) would be great... 

I need to look up my Asian cookbooks and think about making a new

dish sometime soon...

***

So the unexpected... 

well... we were all geared up to go to my Husband's holiday party...

but!... we found out that all of the ones we would know are not able to go...

and that was our biggest draw to it...

and it's going to be high of 37F and RAIN all day.  It's raining already actually...

and with the fact that we have St Nicholas vigil on Wednesday

(on the 'old calendar' of our far away church) and liturgy on Thursday... and I have 

to pack all of the baked goods for it tomorrow...so... super busy...

so we decided NOT to go to the party tomorrow...

I am relieved, given everything else.

***

Well, tomorrow is clean house day + St Nicholas cookies prep.

***

So many are struggling with sickness or loss or other great struggles.

May God help us and have mercy! 

(110) A Quiet Feast Day

This morning I went to liturgy for St Herman...

my very first Saint that I really knew of was St Herman,

as I went to a church dedicated to him...

when I would look at his icon in this church,

he always looked so worried,

like a Father looks on to a child... 

***

I love that the Alaskan people (St Herman was a monk

from Russia who lived in Alaska) called him Apa which means

Grandfather...

He's a wonderful and loving Saint...

***

I was really tired after liturgy...

I went home, had some delicious hot oatmeal with dried cherries

and honey and tea and then had a nap

and later more food!

***

I made an impromptu meal for dinner... it was easy...we used what we had...

which was... a packet of miso soup, pre-cooked noodles, a can of clams (drained)...

packet of soup with 2 cups hot boiling water, mixed well.

Can of clams opened and drained.  Hot soup over noodles, clams on top.

Mix together.  And you have a soup!

It was pretty good.  We had a salad and crackers with vegan 'cheese' too!

***

I cleaned my favourite (green) teapot really well today with 

baking soda and hot water.  My friend S who is Russian reminded me of 

doing this and it worked great.  

I love hot tea so much, esp in the cold NJ/NYC winter days of rain.

Feels cold in the house on those days.

So tea is esp welcome! 

***

I am slowly getting more wash done,

finally washed the white thin rugs in the bathroom...

they look better!

Little by little, right? :)

***

I pray that each of you are well.

There is so much struggle in this life.

May God have mercy on us and give us His peace

in the midst of the difficult and the hard... 

(109) Quiet and Cleaning + Vespers for St Herman of Alaska

Today was a quiet day.

Did I mention that our dryer needed repairs

and was repaired yesterday?

Sure is nice to be able to use it again!

Machine dried towels are just so much softer!

We went to vespers tonight for St Herman...

I drove...at night...most of the way there...

my Husband parks the car...city driving is not 

up on my things to do list!

So dark... but I made it and being at church was such a blessing.

(108) A Peaceful Day ~ Elder Ephraim's funeral observed ~ prayer and quiet

It's been a hard few weeks in so many ways.

I feel like I can't keep up with the number of people we know

who we heard who have died.

I feel that we are past a certain tipping point where

this is just going to be a lot more common.

We are of that age now I guess.

***

I had a much better day considering how difficult yesterday was.

***

I went on a walk; had good conversations; and watched Elder Ephraim's funeral 

on and off as I could amidst phone meetings and making dinner and such things. 

For those who wish to see it or could not watch it but wished they could have,

one of my friends shared where it is archived.

Here it is:

May Elder Ephraim's Memory be eternal! 

***

I watched parts of it that I missed and when I was watching

the monks and novice monks giving the final kiss

(in Orthodox funerals you kiss the Gospel and also often the 

hand and forehead of the one who has left us)...

I cried.

I cried thinking/feeling that I was seeing my own 

salvation because of the prayers of these present there.

I know/know of a few people who were at this funeral;

my Husband and I prayed for them again tonight;

it is a blessing to be able to share in this small way

in the momentous week for them of loss, of grief, of hope, of prayer. 

***

There is so much grief and loss in life.

***

May God have mercy on us and save us!

(107) A Hard day, a peaceful end

I ended up having a up and down day

but it was better by the evening,

when Mr Husband listened to well to my day's troubles

that I felt relieved of them.

I am so blessed to have such a Husband.

There is so much to pray for.

Everyday now a death, a tragedy, a deep struggle

is discovered in a life of ones I know.

May the Lord have mercy on us!

+Elder Ephraim's funeral can be watched live tomorrow

Picture of Elder Ephraim from here, sourced from here.

Live services can be watched via the Monastery in Quebec,

the one that my Husband and I's relationship was so impacted by.

See here for the live feed tomorrow Mountain Time 1 PM

which is 3 PM Eastern Standard Time. 

Memory Eternal! 

Memory Eternal!

Memory Eternal! 

(106) Remembering ~ Reflections on what I have been given

You know how you vaguely know that there are many people you are not deeply aware of but how have touched or even changed your life?  

Or that you never stopped to fully consider the implications of that person? 

Or maybe you or I or all of us don't stop that much to think 

about the fact that there may be others in our lives, 

in our world, whose life was lived in a way that causes our life to be saved.  

I think we all love stories of how a person's kindness can impact another's life 

and then that person's life impacts another's life and 

somewhere along the line, someone's life is dramatically changed

 or spared because of a person who someone else who was impacted

by an person earlier on....  

I have been trying to think of how to explain a little of who Elder Ephraim is

 to you, dear friends and readers, who may not know a lot about 

Orthodoxy or Monasteries, etc.  

And I don't know (compared to others esp!) much about Elder Ephraim 

though I knew of his holiness for many years now; 

but perhaps this is better, that I know very little 

so I can explain to those who are not in the Orthodox Church...  

I don't even know how to really begin trying to explain how the Greek Monasteries 

that began by Elder Ephraim's work and guidance, have impacted my life.  

The main Monastery for me remains the Romanian one in Michigan 

that long time readers know that I love very much.  

My love of monasticism and monasteries began there.  

Well, when I lived in Ottawa, there was and is a Greek Monastery 

about 1 hour 20 minutes outside of Ottawa.  

I went there various times, including when I was really struggling 

(job-wise and health-wise).  

I don't have time to fully explain how God used this Monastery

 to bring my now Husband and I from writing to 

each other to professing our interest in the other 

and how we began dating because the Abbess told my Husband 

to come to her Monastery 

(and thus he said maybe we can meet there and I said, MEET ME you want to MEET me?

 Define Our Relationship, is something changing??)

 and within a few days, we were dating.

  I figured that meant marriage in a year (I was right or off by one week!)

Our wedding icons, our wedding crowns, candles... they are all from this Monastery.  

They were praying for us.  The Abbess gave me instruction on what to do at my wedding

 (pray the Jesus Prayer, i.e. Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me) 

and miraculously I was able to pray this.  

Miraculously I say because when I am really happy and excited

 I inwardly very bouncy and quite unfocused.  

My Husband has been to 8 or 10 of 17 North American Elder Ephraim's monasteries.  

This fact was one of the many that not only drew me to him 

but pretty much blew my "what I want in a Husband" list out of the water.  

Anyway, Elder Ephraim was a monastic from his early 20s on Mount Athos 

which is a peninsula in Greece that is inhabited ONLY by Monks, 

as in men monastics and only men are allowed on the island. 

 (It's been that way for 100s of years and is so that the men monks don't get distracted in prayer).  Anyway, Elder Ephraim prayed a lot and grew in the Holy Spirit to a great degree.  

He radiated the love of Christ to others and his deep holiness drew many to him.  

His love of Christ, deep prayer life, his humility and how the Holy Spirit 

was so strongly with him, helped him repopulate monasteries on Mount Athos 

there are many monasteries there; it's beautiful, 

my Husband has been about 2 decades ago, 

my friend AR from Romania just got back recently from 

being there again for spiritual refreshment). ...

Later Elder Ephraim was lead by God to move to 

America when he realized what spiritual poverty 

so many of his own people (from Greece) had come to there.  

And he began his work in America and Canada this way.  Like others "plant churches" he planted monasteries - both for monks (men) and for nuns (women). 

And his main monastery he planted in the desert of Arizona 

where there was no water known.  It was the desert after all! 

 One of the first stories I heard about

 Elder Ephraim was that God showed him where to find water there.  

Like he told the people who look for water (to drill for it) where to drill...

water, where no water is...

 

My dear friends, when my Husband and I visited in 2018 in March, being there was like being in a garden of Paradise.  You will see this by the pictures.  

This Monastery is in the middle of the desert and the water that was found,

and the prayer that was continually poured out, 

and the enormous effort and hard work, such beauty! Such gardens! 

So beautiful that tourists come by the the busload 

just to take a tour of the beautiful gardens.   

This does not even mention the beauty of the many churches and chapels there.  

1995 6 monks came there.  And now, this monastery! this garden! this oasis! 

You can see it from my pictures...the beauty of it! 

When I was staying there and my Husband was waiting for me on the path

(woman and men are in separate buildings there, it's really great actually,

it's like a sleep over with all woman friends or all men friends) and when I opened the door

on that beautiful sunlit morning, I literally felt like I was in a dream

and was seeing my Husband in a garden in Paradise... 

My Husband and I's lives are both impacted deeply because of Elder Ephraim's Monasteries.  Elder Ephraim's funeral is Wednesday.  

My local priest, who is my spiritual father now, said a beautiful homily recently and in part talked about how we are called to love, love love, 

to care and care and care, to give, give, give of our selves... 

I pray that by Elder Ephraim's prayers that we can love Christ more and have greater love and forgiveness and peace in our families, in our relationships with others.... 

Many many are coming to Elder Ephraim's funeral; I just know this.

His impact was very vast. 

***

I can't imagine the grief that others are in; though I know grief myself;

I recognize it; I see it and know that it with God one can be saved even 

in the flood of grief... 

***

Think of them this week, as they go to their beautiful oasis, the 

miracle of the garden in the desert.

I can only thank and praise God that He allowed me to be there at this 

beautiful Monastery with such gardens!

May Elder Ephraim's Memory be eternal!

May we grow in Christ through the prayers of this holy Elder Ephraim! 

(105) A Good Sunday

In someways today began with finding out that

the much beloved Elder Ephraim of Arizona died.

See here for more information and here.

I lit a candle for him (one of the red ones in the glass).

My Husband and I talked a lot about his death today;

he founded many (17) Greek Monasteries in the States

and when I learned of his death, my first thought was

that I had been told that a Saint had died. I am not alone in Orthodoxy in 

thinking this; it's hard to explain here, to many of you who are so kind to me

and comment on my blog ... but if you want to know more just ask.

Sometimes it's easier to know what to write if I know what you want to know

about such things! :) 

Meanwhile, we are praying for the Monks at St Anthony's and everyone

who was close to Elder Ephraim (he had thousands of spiritual children) and who

can be feeling that difficult grief of losing one who was a father/spiritual father and/or guide

or one who they knew or served in some fashion.  

The loss is great; far greater than I can understand that some people will feel;

HOWEVER Orthodox Christians believe that those who have fallen asleep in 

Christ are in Christ still and can pray for us.  As my friend A in Romania said,

we have gained a great heavenly intercessor.

I know that all of us who love Orthodoxy and Orthodox Monasteries are feeling

his passing, that this is suddenly a very holy solemn time,

but that grief in Christ is a bright-sadness. 

***

We stayed local for church, which was great.

We saw L. after church and she is much more herself today

than yesterday - prayer sure works - yesterday she herself said was

super difficult - she could barely talk 6 minutes on the phone with breaks to me- 

but today was much better.  Please keep praying for her; pneumonia when you are older

is no joke, as it were.  She really wants to be back in her own home by Christmas.

Having major surgery and now pneumonia it's hard to say but 

we will keep praying and hoping. 

I don't know what to think other than to keep praying.

***

We had leftovers (Fish and Pasta) for dinner.

And the last of the apple crisp!

It was a blessing! 

***

I am slowly getting the house packed up from the St Nicholas luncheon...

and our dryer is being fixed on Wednesday... 

tomorrow I go to NYC, Tuesday cleaning house + church,

Wednesday phone meetings and my Husband working from home,

Thursday vespers locally, Friday morning liturgy... all DV

It's a good season but very busy.

***

It is a hard time for so so many!

May God have mercy on us!