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School Christmas Program (Christmas leftovers)

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I know it’s a little late, but I was looking at the videos I took over the last little while and thought it would be worth it to show the video from the Christmas program at the kids’ school.  It’s only about 3 minutes long.

Here are a few things to note before you watch:

  • Our coworker Rod Fry was asked to lead the children in a couple of songs.  They did a really good job.  You’ll hear "Joy to the World", and then a song to the tune of "Jingle Bells".  The words to both are different in Spanish.  In the first, you’ll hear Jesus gives forgiveness, for example.  The second is totally different in this popular Spanish song.  You’ll hear bells, but the song isn’t about bells.  For example, when Hannah’s trio sings, some of the words are:  I love you, my Jesus, I will sing your glories, I will rejoice this happy day.  Then the chorus starts Christmas, Christmas, today is Christmas…
  • This past semester Rod and I were talking to the English teacher about some of the music the kids learn and learn about.  I don’t know if that discussion had anything to do with it, but there was an unusual amount of religious music in this program!  For an English song, one class sang Paul Wilbur’s "Up to Jerusalem", a song based on Scripture (Psalm 122).  (If you look closely, you’ll see someone in a devil costume singing that one – more on that later!)
  • Nathanael was a shepherd, Hannah a shepherdess.  They wore typical costumes for their roles.
  • The Christmas story was also pretty typical… although it may not be what you’re familiar with if you just read the account in the Bible.  In this version, the shepherds (pilgrims), from a far away land, follow the star to Bethlehem.  But while they travel, a devil tries to trick them while an angel tries to stop the devil.  (You might argue that the devil and angel are probably historical realities.  However, the typical portrayal of a devil in a red suit trying sneaky but usually harmless tricks on the shepherds leaves something to be desired!  The devil is almost always the most popular character in these Christmas programs…)

Well, I’ll let you figure out the rest for yourself!  Enjoy.  😉

Looking Back – The First Free Mexico Team (video)

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Yes, at long last I have for you a video of the team from the First Evangelical Free Church in Calgary.  All right, it’s not a cinematic masterpiece (and it doesn’t cover some pretty significant moments of the trip – time with Mexican families, the drive up to the ruins… yeah, the team knows what I’m talking about!), but it will give you a bit of an idea where the team was and what they were up to.

Thanks to the team, once again, for being open to friendships, for giving the community centre activities a boost, for serving both children and parents at conference, and so much more.  I’ll let the video say the rest…

Canadian/Mexican Sushi? (video)

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On Sunday, Shari Hannah and Nathanael were a bit under the weather.  When I got home from our morning service, Nathanael was feeling quite a bit better, Hannah was so-so, and Shari wasn’t feeling well stil.

So, to keep Nathanael entertained, he and I decided to make sushi.  That’s all.  Here’s the video proof.

The Days of the Dead and the United Nations (video)

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Over the last few days I’ve seen people on the streets carrying orange flowers, people mobbing the bakeries for "Day of the Dead Bread", and children bringing various fruits to school for offerings to the dead.  Yes, it’s that time of year again.

I learned something new recently – the Days of the Dead actually has an official worldwide status.  The United Nations, in its effort to catalogue and preserve what it considers to be cultural treasures, has included this celebration on it’s list called the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.  This is a list of 90 intangible items from all around the world, and so apparently the Days of the Dead is one that they consider to be among the most important on a worldwide scale.  (See their write-up on the Days of the Dead here)

The video below comes from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.  From what I know, it’s fairly accurate, although I think it misses the "festive, fun and mocking" side of the celebration that I’ve written about before.

Also, it sort of makes it sound like this is an indigenous festival in just some communities, when in reality it’s a Mexico-wide holiday that’s a highly valued part of the culture.  The recent bicentennial celebration was proof of this, if you happened to see it – of all the things about Mexican culture and history that could have been celebrated, the Days of the Dead took an honoured place…

A Visit to the Basilica in Mexico City (video)

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The basilica in Mexico City is the most visited Roman Catholic shrine in the world.  The basilica itself can accommodate up to 50,000 people, but the grounds include many buildings, chapels and shrines.  You can read more about it here.

We went to visit with Charlene (CAM Canada’s director) this past week, and I took some video so that you could share the experience.

A couple of brief notes first.  One thing that we commonly see (and, in fact, saw that day but didn’t video), is people crawling across the pavement, or through a chapel, or up stairs, on their knees.

One more note – you might want to watch this before your children do, so you can explain to them what they are about to see.

Amazing Technology

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Yes, another video.  This has nothing to do with Mexico, but I thought you’d like to learn about an amazing technology, in English or Spanish.  via Challies.com

Ah, so true.

Did you know that some researchers believe the early church was responsible for the switch from scrolls to codexes, which had pages?  Perhaps they found it easier and quicker to find certain passages.

And now almost 2000 years later, the book is still one of the best bits of technology we have…

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