On the fourth day of Christmas....

On the fourth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

Today is the Fourth Day of Christmas. In this verse, The "four calling birds" refers to the four evangelists who wrote the Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke and John—which sing the song of salvation through Jesus Christ.

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This post is one of a series explaining the Twelve Days of Christmas. Over the next 9 days of the Christmas season (ending on January 6th "The Epiphany") I'll post more information about the following verses of this song. I hope you'll find the "coded" meanings as interesting as I have! For more information, you can also check out appleseeds.org and CIN. Picture from AtHomeWithGod.com

On the third day of Christmas....

On the third day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

Today is the Third Day of Christmas. In this verse, the "three French hens" stand for faith, hope and love—the three gifts of the Spirit that abide (1 Corinthians 13).

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This post is one of a series explaining the Twelve Days of Christmas. Over the next 10 days of the Christmas season (ending on January 6th "The Epiphany") I'll post more information about the following verses of this song. I hope you'll find the "coded" meanings as interesting as I have! For more information, you can also check out appleseeds.org and CIN. Picture from AtHomeWithGod.com

On the second day of Christmas....

On the second day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

Today is the Second Day of Christmas. In this verse, the "two turtle doves" refers to the Old and New Testaments.

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This post is one of a series explaining the Twelve Days of Christmas. Over the next 11 days of the Christmas season (ending on January 6th "The Epiphany") I'll post more information about the following verses of this song. I hope you'll find the "coded" meanings as interesting as I have! For more information, you can also check out appleseeds.org and CIN. Picture from AtHomeWithGod.com

On the first day of Christmas....

Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you are filled with the peace and joy of the season, as we celebrate the birth of Christ over 2000 years ago.
Today is Christmas day - the first of the Twelve Days of Christmas. Do you remember the popular song - "On the first day of Christmas, my true love sent to me..."? Although it may seem like a nonsense rhyme, it was originally written to convey a coded message! Appleseeds.org explains the Twelve Days of Christmas:

Catholics in England during the period 1558 to 1829 were prohibited by law to practice their faith either in public or private. It was illegal to be Catholic until Parliament finally emancipated Catholics in England in 1829.

"The Twelve Days of Christmas" was written in England as one of the "catechism songs" to help young Catholics learn the basics of their faith. In short, it was a coded-message, a memory aid. Since the song sounded like rhyming nonsense, young Catholics could sing the song without fear of imprisonment. The authorities would not know that it was a religious song.

"The 12 Days of Christmas" is in a sense an allegory. Each of the items in the song represents something significant to the teachings of the Catholic faith. The hidden meaning of each gift was designed to help Catholic children learn their faith. The better acquainted one is with the Bible, the more these interpretations have significance.

So this song that we sing today as a simple game was originally a teaching tool! The song begins like this:

On the first day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
A partridge in a pear tree.

The first day, of course, is Christmas itself. But the "true love" referred to is no earthly love. The song refers here to God himself, who is the "true love" of every Christian. This is the foundation of the song, on which every other verse builds.

The "partridge in a pear tree" is Christ Jesus upon the Cross. In the song, Christ is symbolically presented as a mother partridge because she would feign injury to decoy a predator away from her nestlings. She was even willing to die for them.

The tree is the symbol of the fall of the human race through the sin of Adam and Eve. It is also the symbol of its redemption by Jesus Christ on the tree of the Cross.

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Over the next 12 days of the Christmas season (ending on January 6th "The Epiphany") I'll post more information about the following verses of this song. I hope you'll find the "coded" meanings as interesting as I have! For more information, you can also check out the sources below.
Have a Blessed Christmas!

Sources: appleseeds.org and wikipedia.org.

A Smile in the Moon and the Stars (and Planets!)

"Smile!"

Moon and Stars

A few nights ago, a friend rang up from Brisbane saying "step outside and have a look at the moon!" So I went out to see what all the fuss was about - and then smiled. The moon and two "stars"* were aligned perfectly to create a smiling face.The mouth was formed by the brilliantly gleaming crescent moon, with two tiny spots of light above representing eyes. It was almost as if God was looking down on us saying "Good night!".

So remember to smile today. Everyone needs a smile, and it's something you can always give away without running out! Who knows what good a simple smile could do to brighten someone's day.

This photo taken with the Fujifilm S9600 digital camera.

* Yes, I know, they were actually the planets Jupiter and Venus, not stars. But I never let the facts get in the way of a good story! NASA has a wonderful picture of the event - you might like to check it out for a further explanation.

Dandelion Flowers

Dandelion Flowers

It's been quite rainy here recently. This has given the grass - and weeds - a chance to grow. Dandelions in particular have taken over our lawn. This picture shows two dandelion flowers - one open, and one closed. You might also like to check out my picture of the next stage in a dandelion's life.

This photo taken with the Fujifilm S9600 digital camera.

Submission - Growing up in the Rainforest

"Submission"
Leaves sprouting from tree stump in the rainforest

"Submission" is the title I chose for this photo in a recent photography competition. I don't know exactly why, but it seems to fit the photo somehow. Perhaps it's the modest curve of the leaves, which give it a rather frail and gentle air. This is another one of my Goomburra shots, taken while walking to the Cascades.

This photo taken with the Fujifilm S9600 digital camera.

Spring has come!

We're well into Spring now. In the back yard the peach and apricot flowers are blossoming, and the sun's daily path is approaching the zenith again. The familiar sound of bees buzzing can be heard whenever you step out the door, and butterflies are floating everywhere on the warm breeze. As Wordsworth says in his "Lines written in early Spring":

Through primrose tufts, in that green bower,
The periwinkle trailed its wreaths;
And ’tis my faith that every flower
Enjoys the air it breathes.

I hope you enjoy the pictures of Spring here, wherever you are in the world!

These photos taken with the Fujifilm S9600 digital camera.

Mysterious Waterfall

"An Aura of Mystery"

Deep Blue Mountain Waterfall

This blog's had so many WYD photos recently that you could be forgiven for thinking it's no longer a "nature photography" blog! But never fear, today I re-introduce the old theme again.

This photo was taken on my not-so-recent holiday to Goomburra. I was quite surprised at the way the water turned out - there is a very distinct blue-ish tinge to the whole image, and the fall itself seems to be falling through a veil of dark blue. There is a certain atmosphere to this picture which I can't quite define, but the word "Mystery" seemed relevant to me.

What does this picture make you think of?

This photo taken with the Fujifilm S9600 digital camera.

Pillars of Faith - WYD Banners

"Pillars of Faith"
Banners at WYD

During World Youth Day, the streets of Sydney were lined with these banners. I got this photo at Darling Harbour - right along the side of the water these flags were flying high in the air. They made a great subject for a photo - the foremost banners are receding into the picture, and you can even see a few more standing straight in the distance.

Now that the WYD activities are starting to finish up, it's time to look at "Where to from here?" The experience of the week is one to treasure, but also one to move forward from. So far we've had meetings where young people shared their experiences from WYD, and joined together again in song and worship. Some people have also started organising youth groups and ongoing plans, so that we can keep the spirit alive. Already people are noticing that those who went to WYD have been much more joyful and friendly since they returned, and that it has spread to others as well. It's really been an awakening for all of us, young and old alike, to reconsider our life's mission and our interaction with friends and family.

This photo taken with the Fujifilm S9600 digital camera.It is one of a series of photos commemorating the occasion of World Youth Day Sydney 2008.