Skip to main content

Christmas Countdown Characters #2


Today it was a hard decision whether to put the spotlight on Balthazar, one of the Three Wise Men or to focus on a more obscure Christmas character... Basil of Caesarea? 
St Basil - watercolour, ink, pencil - Wilma Simmons
B is for St. Basil ... Most likely very few other than those with a Greek heritage would know of St Basil's connection with Christmas. Basil was a  4th century Greek bishop of Caesarea, an area of what is now known as modern Turkey. He was an intellectual theologian and writer, but better known for his care of the poor and underprivileged. Basil, from a fairly wealthy family himself, gave away all of his own material possessions to the needy. This act in itself qualifies him as demonstrating the true spirit of Christmas, but there are other aspects of his story which suggests that he might be the Greek traditional version of Santa Claus. On St Basil's Day ( 1 January),  children receive gifts from St. Basil. . It is also a custom to serve "vasilopita" - a rich bread baked with a coin inside. Similar Christmas customs like visiting family and friends and singing carols are also customs associated with St Basil. I think St Basil, given his history and with  a name which means "king" deserves to be in the line up of Christmas characters - St Basil the Great.
Tomorrow, C is for Christmas, but who else will take the stage?
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Thanks for reading my blog and please share your thoughts about my blog post by leaving a comment.Your comment won't appear immediately as comments are verified before publication in an effort to reduce the amount of spam appearing. Anonymous comments will not be published.

Popular posts from this blog

Too Precious to Waste

 Stitched tea bags/ old doily "tea lights" - Wilma Simmons  More than a year ago, a decision was made.  The annual exhibition of NCEATA ( Newcastle Creative Embroiderers and Textile Artists) 2015-2016 will have the theme "Mottainai". Mottainai in Japanese refers to more than just physical waste (resources). It is even used to refer to thought patterns that give rise to wasteful action. Grammatically, it can be used in Japanese as an exclamation ("mottainai!") or as an adjective phrase ("it feels mottainai"). There is no plural form. The collection of mottainai things could be called mottainai koto ( もったいない事 ? ). As an exclamation ("mottainai!") it means roughly "what a waste!" or "Don't waste." [2]  A simple English equivalent is the saying "waste not, want not." A more elaborate meaning conveys a sense of value and worthiness and may be translated as "do not destroy (or lay waste to) that
Post a Comment
Read more

'Anything Goes" and It Does Matter.

 When 'anything goes", does it follow that "nothing matters" ? .... I think not.  When I interpret "anything goes", I think it means taking a few risks and experiment, but also care about what you are doing and finding a purpose in the process.  Currently, the Tag Tuesday theme is "Anything Goes" ... This describes my daily art practice at the moment. I am doing #the100dayproject and each day I am responding to weekly published colour prompts #coloricombo, curated by  artist, Este McLeod.  During the last week, the suggested colours were jade green, primrose, vermillion and  purple grey.  Each day, I've been trying to experiment with colour and technique with the goal of developing and learning.  Here are some of the tags I created using these colours, or at least as close as I could manage with stuff from my stash...  I have titled these "Fragments from Afar" as all of them feature an image or a postage stamp from somewhere far from
Post a Comment
Read more

Wednesday's Child /2

Work in Progress - 3 of the 193 for "Stitched Up"- Wilma Simmons   The work for the "Stitched Up " Project  continues. See the previous "Wednesday Child" post for the background to this art project celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Newcastle Industrial School. I have been documenting the progress of my work, so I thought it might be interesting to share some of the early stages of the "stick dolls" ... Here are some of the beginning steps.. Sticks collected while walking the bushland in my neighbourhood  Drying and getting rid of any insects - oven heat 75 degreesC for approx 1-2 hours.  Trimmed and cut if necessary  Ends sealed with matte sealing solution.  Drying  - solution goes on white but dries clear.  First wrapping - foil to create a body shape  Second wrapping - stretch fabric.  Third wrapping - fabric strips  Some stitching - more stitching and embellishment to come.  Follow thi
Post a Comment
Read more