Toga, Toga, Toga

While out walking the other day, I wondered why the new year begins January 1.  Why was not some other month or day chosen?  For example, it could be tied to some significant seasonal event, like the vernal equinox in mid-March.  Less than two weeks after the official start of winter, we start the a new year, rather than start the year with some change of season, or some other month. The start of spring, it seems to me, would have some logic.  In the case of the date to start the new year, its association with the vernal equinox already occurred--I am 4,000 years too late.

The first recorded celebration of the new year is in Mesopotamia in 2,000 BC, and was believed to relate to the vernal equinox. While other cultures would use dates related to the seasons, the season varied. For example, the Egyptians, Persians, and Phoenicians all used the autumn equinox as the start date of a new year.  So, instead of welcoming spring and longer days, they welcomed the coming of shorter days. Much of our western cultural heritage is derived from Greek and/or Roman culture.  The original Roman calendar had ten months, and we can tell this by the terminology we still use today for our months.  September is from the Latin for seven, October for eight, and so on, until December which derives from a Latin term for ten.  January and February would not be added to the calendar until about 700 BC, giving us 12 months in a year.  However, it was not until 153 BC that the month of January was first recognized as the start of the new year, but it would take another 110 years for that to be codified by none other than the powerful and great Oz of the time--Julius Caesar.

(Google images)

Julius Caesar's calendar was promulgated in 46 BC.  His calendar, for the Roman Empire, was based on solar rather than lunar systems. He liked the month of January, named after the Roman God Janus who had two faces, one looking back and one looking forward, as a symbol for the start of the new year. Some sources say Jan 1 was set by Caesar, but National Geographic, in commenting on a tradition in the Ukraine, says the end of the year in the Julian Calendar was January 13, making January 14 the start of each year. This may be a simple relational issue of the Julian to the Gregorian calendar, meaning Jan 1 of the Julian calendar is equal to Jan 14 of the Gregorian calendar.

Roman Empire (Google images)

Showing the brutality of his rule, Julius Caesar celebrated the declaration of his new calendar by ordering the routing of revolutionary Jewish forces in Galilee.  Drunken orgies with Romans and their togas, would replace such direct violent rampages, as the empire would celebrate the end of one and beginning of another year.  In the 4th century AD, even as the Roman Empire started to adopted Christianity, toga parties would continue to prevail in celebration of the new year. Romans apparently knew how to party, a level of which is perhaps equaled only by that at UW-Madison. Christian sects would attempt to counter this heavy-level party atmosphere by setting January 1 as the celebration of the circumcision of Christ and the day of his naming.  The celebration of his circumcision is only celebrated today in a couple faith traditions.  In the US today, Catholics celebrate January 1 as the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God.  It does seem a little odd to celebrate a circumcision, not to mention trying to use that feast to temper the party atmosphere.  One can just imagine the jokes. Perhaps, that was the best they could in about the 4th century AD.

February comes from the Latin Februarius which means to purify.  After the hearty parties of late December and their New Year's Day celebrations, the Romans desired to promote righteous living and would use the month of February as sort of purification to reach that goal. The Romans had a purification ritual that occurred on the full moon of that month.  Perhaps, they thought, having such a ritual would keep the werewolves at bay.  It would seem righteous living saw a decline in the Roman Empire.  When thinking of righteous rulers Nero (Emperor 54-68 AD), and Caligula (Emperor 37-41 AD), to name but two, would not come to the minds of most reasonable persons.  Needless to day, the purification ritual to promote righteousness did not abet a number of Roman rulers.

However, even though many Christian holy days were related to pagan feasts (think All Saints day and Christmas), January 1 was abolished by the Council of Trent (567) as the start of the new year due to its relation to pagan celebrations.  Following this proclamation, celebration of the new year  would shift, but it differed by nations or cultural groups.  Some areas tied it to Christmas, others to March 1 and still others to mid to late March, and the holy day recognizing the feast of the Annunciation, March 25.  As Christmas is close to the winter solstice, the Feast of the Annunciation is close to the vernal equinox.

(Google images)

Pope Gregory the Great, about a 1000 years following the Council of Trent, would establish what we know as the Gregorian calendar.  This is the calendar most of the world uses today.  Established in 1582, this calendar would restore January 1 as the start of the new year.  Most Catholic-oriented countries would adopt the calendar in short order, but it would only realize gradual adoption in countries with Protestant rulers or majorities.  In fact, Britain, and its colonies, would not adopt that calendar until 1752.  Until the adoption of that calendar, Britain and its American colonies would celebrate the start of the new year in March.  It is hard to think of the Puritans as celebrating anything, much less the start of a new year.

(Google images)

In Israel, the new year is celebrated in accord with the Jewish calendar, which is based on a lunar system, meaning that it occurred last summer with Rosh Hashanah.  So if you are in Israel, chances are you will work tomorrow.  Even though the main everyday calendar in use in Israel is the Gregorian calendar, they call New Year's Eve, "The Sylvester", after Pope Sylvester I who died on Dec 31.  To retain their Jewish identity, Israel prefers to retain the start of the new year according to their tradition. While it may not be officially celebrated, many Israeli's, particularly those in Tel Aviv which tends to orient to the west, will mark the event and then dutifully trudge off to work that day.

Prayers at the Wailing Wall, Jerusalem (April 2013)

 To the east of Israel are states that can be rather hostile to the celebration aspect of New Year's Day.  A conservative cleric in Saudi Arabia has noted that neither Christmas or New Year's Day are to be celebrated, although the prohibition apparently is not as strong against ringing in the new year; the reason is that the two are are non-Muslim holidays.  Some nation's, such as China, Taiwan, and  even the Islamic sultanate of Brunei have January 1 as a public holiday.  For some reason, January 1 is thought of in Muslim, and Jewish cultures as a Christian feast day. So there are exceptions to every rule, yet it is the most celebrated holiday worldwide.   Of course, if we were going by the Mayan Calendar, a new year would be every 400 years; but then again the world would have ended on my 55th birthday, and I know that did not happen since I celebrated my 56th birthday.

Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem (April 2013)

Regardless of what Christian feast day may be associated with January 1, it has failed to end, although it has tempered, the level of New Year celebrations, as many celebrations today would probably be put to shame by the Roman toga party.  As the Gregorian calendar has become the most adopted calendar in the world, the natural cross-cultural appeal to celebrate New Year's Day makes it the world's biggest party day of the year.  Whether or not you go to bed early, or stay up and party, drink champagne, eat cannibal sandwiches, or even  take part in a toga party, one should at least spend some time to ponder and reflect on the wonders of what life presents to each of us.

Meddlesome Priest

On this date in 1170 Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, was slain on the altar steps of Canterbury Cathedral.  His murder would deliver him the title martyr, and see him declared a saint within about two years of his murder.  Henry II, King of England, was responsible for the murder and would later do public penance for his role.  Born on 21 December 1118 or 1120, Thomas was from a fairly well-to-do family and was educated in Paris.

Thomas Becket was not originally a clergyman.  Serving as an aide to the then  Archbishop of Canterbury Theobold, Thomas was introduced to Henry II and the two became friends.  Seeing the acumen, intelligence, and administrative capabilities Thomas possessed, Henry appointed him Chancellor.  Henry was looking at ways to curb the power of the Church, and when Theobold died in 1161 he devised a scheme to gather more power for himself.  He would appoint his adviser as Archbishop. Henry petitioned the pope who agreed to the appointment of Thomas.  The fact that he was not even a priest was of little concern, for on June 1, 1162 Thomas was ordained, and the following day was invested as a bishop in the morning and archbishop in the afternoon.  A quick two days of work.

But, Henry would not be able to count on Thomas.  Thomas would shift his allegiance from the crown to church.  A rift over prosecution of clergy crimes from church to state, became but one of the policies of Henry that Thomas would disagree, and would begin to seal his fate.  Thomas would flee to exile in France in 1163.  A meeting in Normandy with King Henry II  in 1170 seemed to clear the air between the two, and on November 30, 1170 Thomas would return to England and his post at Canterbury.  Within a month his brains would be scattered on the floor of Canterbury Cathedral.

The air was not fully cleared between king and archbishop. Becket still refused to remove the excommunication of two bishops who supported Henry. Henry, still in France, upon hearing that his buddies, who were bishops of London and Salisbury, were still under order of excommunication would, it is believed, say the fateful words: "Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest?"  Four knights of the King would travel to Canterbury and confront Thomas during vespers.

Canterbury Cathedral (from Google images)

Edward Grim, a monk who was standing with Thomas and injured in the attack, would recount the event. It would take a knight three slays to Thomas' head before his mortal wounds would send his soul to heaven. The white of his brains was mixed with red blood, and then the further indignity of having his brains squashed about the Cathedral floor.  News of the murder spread over Europe and pilgrimages to Canterbury became commonplace.  The famous Chaucer work Canterbury Tales recounts the story of one such pilgrimage.  Henry VIII, it is said, would put the bones of Thomas Becket on trial and convict him of treason. His grave site would be destroyed in the 16th century rampage which destroyed Catholic religious sites in England.  Yet today, when one hears of Canterbury it is either associated as the seat the Anglican Archbishop, or Thomas Becket.

I am not sure what it is with Chancellor's named Thomas and their King's named Henry.  We know that Henry VIII would have his chancellor Thomas More murdered.  This is one Thomas, who shares the 21 December birthday with Thomas Becket, that prefers that trend not continue.

Is there Someone Inside You?

Forty years ago on this date one of the top horror films of all times was released.  Based on a book by the same name, the movie The Exorcist was well received by the movie going public.  Little known is that when the book was first released in 1971 it was selling so poorly that stores were shipping their copies back to the publisher.  In fact, a major department store at the time, Mays, returned all copies they had been provided.  

However, it was a by chance appearance on the Dick Cavette show that changed everything.  While eating lunch with a publisher at a NY restaurant, the publisher received a call seeing if Blatty, who had been turned down by the show in the past (who wants a failed author on their show) would be able to fill in for a scheduled guest.  Blatty said yes, and literally ran to the studio for taping.  Luck was on his side, his couple minute stint turned to 45 minutes when the primary guest was unable to, apparently, stay sober.  His on -air discussion of the book would launch it to the best seller list, where it would stay for one year.  Let us remember this is the early 1970's well before Al Gore invention of the internet made it the world wide web.  Blatty started writing the book in 1969.  After graduation from college, Blatty who is now in his mid-eighties, was a vacuum cleaner salesman.  Not exactly an illustrious career path, particularly for a Georgetown graduate. But his Jesuit Georgetown education would serve him well in giving him the background to write about demonic possession, and propel him to success.   

The movie received mixed reviews, but was a hit with the public.  Directed by William Friedkin, Blatty would write the screenplay for a movie which garnered many academy award nominations.  Blatty would win an Oscar for his writing of the screenplay.  Top honors were not earned as they would go to The Sting.  The movie also had the affect of making the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington DC rather famous. People would flock to see the locations at which the movie was filmed.  This work is apparently based on a 1949 exorcism that took place in Maryland.  Friedkin was allowed access to diaries of the priests, and medical personnel involved in that 1949 exorcism.  Exorcism today is more regularly practiced by Protestant denominations, than Roman Catholic, even though the book and movie tend to make it a practice by the Latin church.

What is it about the movie, and the book, that made this story so popular?  William Peter Blatty believes it to be a simple message, redemption and salvation.  This of course gets to the core teaching of Christianity, that we often hear, that "God so loved the world that he sent his only son" for our redemption. While classified as a Horror film, I am not so sure that the author would agree of its placement in this genre.  In his 1994 book The Exorcist Tells His Story, Gabriele Amorth makes some telling comments a few of which are:  First, that Satan, having been defeated by Christ, fights against the followers of Christ.  Second, that even Satan was originally created by God, and God never rejects his creatures.  Third, Satan and his angels (I guess contrary to what we usually think, not all angels are good angels) "maintain their power and rank even if they use them for evil purposes" (p. 26).  Finally, in perhaps one of his more poignant statements, at the beginning of his book, Amorth brings up the difference between predestination, and God's providence when he comments: 

When I am told that God already knows who will be saved, and who will be damned, and therefore anything we do is useless, I usually answer with four truths that the Bible spells out for us:  God wants that everyone be saved; no one is predestined to go to hell; Jesus died for everyone; and everyone is given sufficient graces for salvation. (p. 22)

This brings us back to Blatty's comment on the success of the book and movie. Is there anything more powerful than that God loves us and gives us what we need for salvation and eternal life?

Do not be Afraid

Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem
In the distance is the short entry door known as the Door of Humility

On this Christmas Eve many of us prepare to celebrate the birth of the most written about person in world history.  If not for those pesky Romans wanting to get an idea of the population of their empire, Jesus would have been born in Nazareth.  Score one for Bethlehem. Joseph had to journey south from Nazareth to Bethlehem with a very pregnant women.  Bethlehem (actually most of the places we visited) has an interesting geography.  Limestone rock outcroppings are everywhere, and of course water eats away at limestone; Eons ago, the caves today were likely Karst topography.   The chemical reaction between water and limestone gives us what we commonly know as sink holes.  You know sink holes, they devour roads, cars and houses, but I will spare the chemical-geological details. Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and their surroundings have a great number of caves.  John the Baptist was born in one, and so was Jesus.  Caves were not just for animals, but as we know, many people also lived in them.

A shepherd cave, with benches for mass

The first people to visit the Christ child were shepherds.  Considered a lower level occupation, these men (at least they are always portrayed as men) regularly pulled all-nighters, well before it became popular with college students, to attend to a rather docile animal.  They also lived in caves among the fields in which their sheep grazed.   They were in the valley in a small community known as Beit Sahour, although today it is indistinguishable from Bethlehem.  As I looked to the rear of what became my home for four nights this past April, I could see the Shepherd fields. To this day, a shepherd is used as an analogy for members of the church hierarchy. So we have this group of men gathering themselves after a once in a lifetime experience of having an angel appears to them and proclaim: "Glory to God in the Highest Heaven & on Earth Peace Among those Whom He Favors." (Luke 2:14) Over the rocks, between the olive trees, and up the hills they would trudge to visit a small baby boy who would set forth a new course for human-kind.

Shepherd's Field.  The metal structure protects excavations

As we celebrate Christ's birth, let us also recall that in some respects the holy family was not unlike families today. Today the rate of out of wedlock birth is high, as is divorce.  In this Holy Family we have the young woman, Mary, being told by an angel that she would bear a son, and to call him Emmanuel.  Of course, the angel departs, leaving her to figure out what to do.  What, we wonder, does she tell her parents, Anne and Joachim.  How does she figure a way to tell her husband-to-be that not only is she pregnant, but it is not his child. Then there is Joseph.  What must he have felt like to be told his fiance is pregnant, realize no way can you be the father, but be informed that she is giving birth to the son of God.  (Somebody saying that today would be hauled off for psychiatric or for substance abuse treatment.)  To be told such a story, he must have wondered what she had been smoking.  Being the nice guy he was, to avoid scandal and ridicule being heaped upon Mary, he was going to silently leave her.  But, God kept the angels busy and one appeared to Joseph who said to him that the child "conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit."  So for the first time in human history, at least before artificial insemination, we have a virgin conceiving and giving birth to a child.

Birthplace of Christ, Church of the Nativity

Detail of location marking Christ's birth

Poor Joseph, he must have felt like the odd man out in that family.  He married to a women who was chosen to give birth to the son of God, and who was born without original sin.  As if having one holy person was not enough, his stepson outdoes his mother by being the son of God.  Joseph is due the title "Saint" if for no other reason than that identified in Matthew 1:25.  Do you think Joseph ever won an argument in that family? It is hard enough for a man to win an argument with his wife, much less one who lived without actual sin.  I hope she and Jesus cut him a little slack and realized his frailty as a standard human.  On the other hand, God knew something that we need to re-learn today.  A father is important.  A growing literature seemingly supports the view on the importance of a father in the life a child, particularly for boys.  God at least recognized the need for a male figure in Jesus' life and provided him the carpenter; while today one-parent households are more common than perhaps they should, Jesus was not from a one parent household.

But, the difficulties do not end with the birth of the boy in a cave, wrapped in linen and lying in a manger.  A madman decides to kill all young males to avoid the possibility of a usurper to his throne.  Little did he know the chosen kingdom was not of this earth.  To allow Jesus to avoid the slaughter, yet another angel is called upon.  This time it appears to Joseph in yet another cave, just beyond where Christ was born, and tells him to take his family to Egypt.  Further down the path, Mary was breast-feeding the infant.  It is here that some of that nourishing mother's milk dropped to the limestone floor of yet another cave; this location is now known as the Milk Grotto.  As hard as Joseph's choice to leave his home country must have been, think of all the mothers and fathers who lost their young sons in the rant of this madman.  I hope God reserved a special place in heaven for the souls of the young  boys and their parents.  Joseph, Mary and the newborn head off through the desert to find refuge from the madman.  Today, we are left with the places they had been.  I don't think we could make a story like that up today.

Location where an angel appeared to Joseph
telling him to take his family to Egypt

The Mid-East was then, and is now, a hot-bed of discontent. Depending on one's point of view it is either rather ironic, or appropriate, that the Prince of Peace was born at a location where there is constant turmoil.  A place where much of the population has yet to learn to live together peacefully, while drawing visitors from all over the world; a place of constant bickering, but yet home to three of the world's major religions; a place where walls are built to limit movement, but where Christ's message is for an open heart.  While we may dismay over the difficulties and strife in the modern age, on this one day a year we should remember Christ having been born--and the hope, joy, love and mercy offered by the results of that event. In other words, do not be afraid. Nonetheless, when trials and tribulations of daily existence get us down, let us realize that two thousand years ago that Jesus, Mary and Joseph did not have it so easy either.

Moon over Bethlehem.  I should have taken 10 minutes to walk back and
get a shot of the moon  over the Church of the Nativity

Have a joy-filled Christmas!

The photos in this post were taken in April 2013 while in the Holy Land.

Church of the Nativity

It is 1,700 years old, has seen the ravages of time and man, has been the subject of territorial disputes between its varied custodians.  It is a World Heritage Site.  Even with all that, it has survived earthquakes, rebellions, and invasions.  It is one of Christendom's holiest sites, yet it is in an area predominantly occupied by Muslims and Jews.  Some believe its long history is miraculous.  The "it" is the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, West Bank, Palestine, which marks what tradition holds to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ. Roman Emperor Constantine's mother, St Helen, was the first to take charge of the Holy Land and place churches at sites where some of the most important New Testament events occurred. If you recall, until Constantine's conversion, the Roman Empire was pagan and would often blame Christians for negative events, such as when Nero blamed them for burning Rome.  Christian persecution was on-going.

Marker at the church.  Photo courtesy of MBH

The first church built at this site was in about 330 AD, at a location which Christian tradition had held that over three hundred years earlier Jesus was born.  The cave in which he was born is no longer a cave, but it is over this former cave that sits the Church.  Emperor Hadrian, in 135, in order to quell the growing number of Christians is thought to have constructed a temple to Adonis and plant a grove of trees to wipe out the memory of Jesus.  How do we know the location?  It is by faith and tradition of those who continued to recognize the site. Justin Martyr (100-165 AD) wrote in a work of the location of the cave outside of what was then the City of Bethlehem.  This was acknowledged by another writer a few decades later. St Jerome, who wrote the Vulgate next door, also noted the tradition marking this location. Tradition is an important marker to most all of the holy sites in this often disputed region of earth.   It is this tradition that St Helen was following when she began building churches to mark the locations of the important events of the Gospels.

Main Altar.  Below the altar is the small crypt marking the location of Christ's birth
An orthodox religious serve is in progress.  Photo Courtesy of MBH

The original Church was destroyed during the Samaritan revolt against the Jews in 529 AD.  The current structure was built by Emperor Justinian in 565 AD.  Unlike most other structures built for Christian worship, this one structure was not destroyed by the Persian invasion of 614.  Why was it not destroyed?  Because it has a depiction of the Three Magi, and they are in Persian dress. You know the Three Magi, they are of "We Three Kings" fame. A few hundred years later the Crusader's would make additional improvements to the building.  It may have been the same Magi painting that saved this Church from later Muslim invasions following the Crusades. The door of Humility, which is the primary entrance is so low that my even my mother-in-law would need to duck to enter.  But, humility has nothing to do with why the door is short. Overtime, in a response to counter the vices of man, custodians over altered the height of the door so that men on horseback could not enter the building.  

Interior shot

Time took its toll, although in the fourteenth century, England, France and Venice would undertake restoration following significant destruction in 1244 by the Turks. In the 18th century Greek Orthodox were primary caretakers of the facility.  Napoleon III, working with the ruling Ottoman's, would desire control for the Latin Church.  Opposing this move, Russia would send troops to force the Ottoman's to recognize some earlier treaties which they say gave the Orthodox religions control of the building.  It is thought that the theft of a silver star placed displayed above the grotto where Christ was born was stolen, and some say was one factor in the Crimean War.

Artwork on a column
Photo Courtesy of MBH

In 2002 a Roman Catholic church attached to the Church of the Nativity was entered by 50 armed militant Palestinians, desirous of sanctuary, in order to avoid capture by Israeli Defense forces. NOt recognizing the long-held claim of sanctuary, Israeli forces fired upon the Church.  A negotiated settlement would occur, and by mid-May the event was over.  But, some of the big stories involve monks at the church.  Overseen by three different arms of the same faith tradition, Armenian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, and Roman Catholic, infighting among the groups may bring out the worst.  One event was when the Greek Orthodox, in taking down a ladder, encroached on Armenian Orthodox territory and a fight broke out.  

CFL hanging from light cord, notice the horizontal wire above
 the light bulb to which the cord is attached

It is this infighting that is partially responsible for the Church of the Nativity being in a rather decrepit state.  Each group is desirous of its proper share.  All needing to agree on major repairs. Large compact fluorescent light bulbs hang off crude electrical cords, almost like a trouble light, but without the cage.  On my first visit to the in April of this year, rain was literally falling on my head from a leak in the roof.  Lighting is poor, the roof needs obvious work, and old paintings need restoration.  I recently read that some restoration work is starting, in order to prevent water damage to the mosaic floor of the original Church. While it certainly looks its age, hopefully the roof restoration will lead work to inside the building as well, and better relations among its custodians.

Original mosaic floor, below current floor 

Note:  Photos not credited were taken by the author of this post.  All photos were taken in April 2013.

Bulge

On this date in 1944 one of the most famous battles in WWII began.  For historians and those in the European theater of WWII the term bulge has a different connotation than one's efforts to tone their physique after an increase in food consumption, particularly as a result of Christmas celebrations.  The Battle of the Bulge, as opposed to the battle of the bulge, refers to the last ditch effort by Adolph Hitler to divide the Allied lines and get a negotiated, rather than unconditional surrender.  The battle started on 16 December 1944 and would end in January 1945.  Much has been written, and movies made, about this famous World War II battle.  For the Germans battle preparation, and alignment did not happen overnight, and one has to credit to the German high command and troops at the front for keeping preparation efforts a secret.  This allowed the Germans to amass over a quarter million troops in and near the Ardennes Forest of Germany. Before, and after the Battle of the Bulge, there was the longest US battle on German soil, and also the longest in US History, the Battle for Hurtgen Forest, near the Belgium-German border.  The Hurtgen Forest battle would last from 19 September 1944 to 10 February 1945.  A key US division during this battle was the 83rd "Thunderbolt" Division.  The Thunderbolt division was, at the time, part of the Allied First Army under control of Lt General Courtney Hodges.  They were charged with taking control of this 50 sq mi forest area in order to provide another way into the heart of Germany.  During this battle, Hodges would take Aachen, Germany.  Aachen is the town made famous by Charlemagne.  But, Hodges' focus was the Hurtgen Forest, and  it is here that he concentrated his effort in order to protect his southern flank.  It was also in and near this forest that German troops were gathering for the famous counter offensive.

One member of the 83rd division, was Roy Bernard Hovel, a special agent in the Counter Intelligence Corps, with the rank of Technical Sargent.  Special agent Hovel, who passed away in 2003, was one of two CIC agents in Luxembourg for about three days, to testify at a trial of spy prisoners they had apprehended.  During this visit he was able to spend time with a lady friend and her parents.  This lady friend would assist with interpretation while he he undertook Army business.  When he was about to depart for his unit at the conclusion of the trial, Jean Mayer, a friend of Roy's (also the father of his lady friend) and the warden at the Luxembourg Grund Prison, questioned him about what he had heard about German activity in the area of his planned route of travel.  Let us pick up a few words in a letter Roy Bernard wrote to his parents, dated December 19, 1945, headlined simply, "Somewhere in Germany".  The letter begins with a simple phrase:  "I am sorry that I have delayed in writing to you for so long, but a lot has happened since my last letter a week ago."  He would go on to say that the prior night was the first time he had to read their letters from 7 Nov  up to "Daddy's letter of Dec 5th."  It is at a later point in the letter, that he provides a little more information. Recall that his letters are read by censors, and while this letter does not have any information cut, others did, so there will be no direct reference to specific events. The third paragraph reads in part: "I have had a lot of experiences within the past week, including to both extremes the best and the worst living in my experience overseas, if not my life."

Entry gate to Luxembourg Grund Prison

In 1965 Roy Hovel wrote a letter to a person who was looking to write a book on the CIC.  This letter, which provides additional detail to that week, is summarized as follows:  In the very early morning of Dec 16, 1944 Roy and agent Turner were departing Luxembourg City, but due to early time of day had not been in contact with any commanders regarding recent activity. They left early in the morning as they had to drive without lights.  All was quiet on this front as they took the road north of Luxembourg City, which was the one closest to the eastern border.  But the quiet of the morning was about to turn.   Hovel and his partner were about 14 miles outside of Luxembourg City on the way back to their post in Germany east of Aachen, when a tracer bullet went, as he says, "between my eyes and the windshield of the jeep."  As other bullets hit the jeep he was driving, he jumped into the ditch on the left side of the country road, and his partner to the right ditch.  Over the course of the day the two agents were able to make their way to the bottom of a hill and eventually made contact with a reconnoitering Army Captain who took them to his division's intelligence division.  Here they reported what they had encountered.

It is possible that Jean Mayer, as warden at the prison, had heard rumors about German activity in the outskirts of the Luxembourg City, but likely did not realize the significance of that information.  The Allied Army, as we know, was in the dark about German movements;  but at least Roy Hovel, as he left Luxembourg before dawn, knew to keep his eyes open.  He and his partner would later learn that this was start the Battle of the Bulge.  As battle lines became more fluid, he would find his way back to his unit.  The Thunderbolt Division would be relocated to fight in the Bulge, engaging in the battle just after Christmas.

The 19 Dec. 1944 letter raises the question as to what best and worst parts of his time that week had been.  The best part of his time was likely his time with his lady friend Berty.  In the letter he wonders if he may not be falling in love with Berty, who he had met while the 83rd was stationed in Luxembourg.  What American man, or any man, would not think the company of a women was a respite from the fog of war?  The worst was likely the German ambush and his means of transportation arguably being the first US materiel destroyed in the Battle of Bulge.  His quick reaction kept him from being the first human statistic. Anita Hovel, a sister to Roy, would recount that he and his partner were able to gather and enjoy some treats his lady friend Berty and her parents had sent along as they made their way back to allied lines.  

The letters he received from Rudy, Ida and Anita are, as far as I know, lost to history.  His letters home were kept by his parents.  Reading the copies of the letters he wrote home you get a sense of a desire for information, but to be home.   Many of his letters begin with him wondering when his parents or sister would have last written.  Near its conclusion, one can sense the solitary nature of another Christmas away from home.  He writes: "The days are going fast these days and soon Christmas will be here.  I suppose it will be one of the loneliest ones I spent, but it couldn't be worse than last year as over here you know you cannot be on leave for it and so one not too disturbed over that, although I wish I could spend it with you."   He would have spent Christmas 1943 in the US, but unable to obtain leave to spend the holiday with his family.

As to whether he was falling in love with Berty, he concludes that portion by saying time will tell.  Of course, he did not marry Berty.  He would come back to the United States, marry Mary Jeanne Sweeney, and together they would produce a family of ten.

Mayer family temporary home in Dommeldingen, suburb of Luxembourg City.
The family was required to live here during the occupation until 14 Nov 1944

As 2013 starts to wrap up, perhaps we need to think of Christmas in a slightly different way than we have in the past.  While Christmas cookies may give us a bulge to which we need to battle, they provided a comfort food for a man making his way back to his unit during the true Battle of the Bulge.

Former Convent Church, and by 1944 was part of the prison

Crying out in the Wilderness

"The voice of one crying out the in the wilderness:  Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight."  So go the words spoken by the prophet Isaiah regarding John the Baptist. John takes center stage in the Gospel readings for two consecutive Sundays this Advent season.  We all know that John's mother Elizabeth and the Blessed Virgin Mary were cousins, and that John and Jesus were near the same age, about six months apart.  John was born in Ein Karem, which is west of the older part of Jerusalem, while Jesus was born in Bethlehem, south of Jerusalem. From birth John was destined to be a different, or a radical.  First, his father, Zachary, was approached by the angel Gabriel and was told that his wife, who was thought to be beyond child bearing years, would give birth, and they were to name their son John.  This was a radical move as the first born son of a prominent Jewish priest would have been named after the father (or so I was told while at the Church).  Instead of Zachary Junior, we have John.  A sort of training run for God's errand boy, Gabriel.  As we all know, Gabriel also appeared to Mary and told her that she would give birth to a son, and to name him Emmanuel.  Obvious similarities for the two relations.

Birthplace of John the Baptist

Second, after the birth of Jesus, Herod decreed what we know today as the killing of the innocents, the slaughter of young males in and around Bethlehem so as to kill the new born King.  So how did John survive?  While at the advice of an angel, Joseph, Mary and Jesus fled to Egypt, St Elizabeth hid with John in a cave, the rock of which covered the entrance is now located in the church of the Visitation, not far from John's birth place. The Church of the Visitation marks the location of Elizabeth and Zachary's main home, and where Mary proclaimed what we know today as the Magnificat.  John's family actually had title to a cave on the other side of the valley and it was in that cave where John was born. Mary visited Elizabeth at the home.  A Franciscan church, aptly named St John the Baptist sits at the site of the cave in which John was born, and the roof of the area in which he was born is that of the limestone cave; this area is to the left side as one looks at the main altar.  Perhaps it was living in a cave with only his mother, recall she was thought to have been barren, that affected his psyche, and helped turn him into the man he would become. I mean, can you imagine living a number of your first months in a dark, dreary cave, where the door had to be sealed with a stone? No light, no contact with the outside, cold and damp.  No wonder the guy ended up living in the desert.  John the Baptist would live in the Judean desert, sustain himself by eating wild honey and locusts, and wear camel hair skin, and a leather belt. An interesting choice of clothing even for that time.  I wonder if the intent of the Gospel writer in mentioning the detail of a leather belt is to say that he had at least some modicum of how to dress.  It would appear, in lexicon of the 21st century, that John the Baptist had issues.

Rock that reportedly covered the cave in which John and his mother hid

John not only looked like a radical, but preached a radical message.  When I visited the site of the Dead Sea Scrolls this past spring, it was noted in museum commentary, in part likely to appeal to Christian tourists, that John was perhaps (emphasis on "perhaps"), for a few months, part of the community at Qumran.  The story is told of the community hearing of a beheading of a man named John, and wondering if that was the same John who had joined their community for a short while. Qumran is near the Dead Sea, and the west edge of the Judean desert.  Qumran is thought to be a site for the Essene community which followed rigorous rituals to avoid contamination, including that of daily cleansing, the ritual bath.  Dale Robinson has said that:

John preached repentance and ethical living while Essene were concerned with a mechanistic keeping of the law.  John preached that living in faith that results in kindness to one's fellow man was the best way to prepare for the coming of the Messiah.  The Essenes placed their hope in their outward works and ritual purity to make themselves ready for that fiery day of judgement.

Qumran, site of Dead Sea Scrolls, excavations

As we know John would meet a vicious death.  Herod, even though married, took his half-brother's wife, Herodius as a wife.  John criticized the adulterous marriage.  While Herod was scared of the Baptizer, Herodius planned her revenge and would trick Herod in to beheading John the Baptist.  (See Mark 6:21-28 for the biblical account.)  John's head was thought to have originally been buried in Sebastia.  How his head ended up at this location, between Nazareth and Jerusalem, I do not know. Historians have recognized the Sebastian site through ancient tradition via shrines that were erected over the ages.  This is a similar pattern as to how other religious sites have been identified. This site is now next to a Mosque, but had once been a Crusader church. While different religious traditions hold different locations for where his skull is today, Roman Catholic tradition holds that it is now, or at least parts of the skull, are at the Vatican.

Location in Sebastia where head of John the Baptist was buried

John would end up with his own page in history, and is one of the most recognizable of the saints; more popes have taken this name than any other. Jesus had intimated that John was the most important person in history. Of course, if a quirky individual like John the Baptist, were to appear today how would we react to his peculiarities?  In the end analysis we have a man baptizing and preparing the way of the Lord.  He would, of course, be best known for his baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River.  Matthew (11:2-11) tells us that while in prison John hears of Christ preaching and gets word asking if he (Jesus) is the one who is to come or are they to await another.  In a reply to John's messenger, Jesus gives a message of hope; but, he then turns to the crowd, asking "What did you go out in the wilderness to look at?"  We each have our wilderness, and the question becomes what have we learned from our wilderness journey(s)?

On Jordan's Bank--John the Baptist Spring, traditional site of  John's baptism of Jesus, Jordan

As an aside, Terrance Klein, SJ, has a rather nice piece on this time of year using the Grinch.

Additionally, the term "cousins" may have had a different, less specific relational meaning than what we use in our culture today.

It was cold and rainy the day our small group visited St John the Baptist Church in Ein Karem on April 21, 2013.  It was over 100 the day we visited St John the Baptist Spring in Jordan on April 29.

Affluenza

Recently a Texas boy, just old enough to drive, was given probation for killing four pedestrians while driving drunk.  Part of 16 year old Ethan Couch's defense rested upon what a psychologist, testifying for the defense, said was Affluenza. No he did not get the flu.  He has a different condition, which, in my opinion shows, the moral decline of the nation.  News commentators have described the condition this way--"a condition in which children — generally from richer families — have a sense of entitlement, are irresponsible, and make excuses for poor behavior because parents have not set proper boundaries."  I would also add, are likely enabled by their parents as the child who could do nothing wrong.

Now Juxtapose this occurrence with a quote from Pope Francis:  
"If money and material things become the center of our lives, they seize us and make us slaves"

Popularized in a book from the 1990's, the term affluenza, has apparently now reached its zenith as a medical condition, when it was essentially a popular term to describe what we used to call spoiled brats.  Think of the 1986 movie "Ferris Bueller's Day Off", which at the time was funny and entertaining.  Apparently, Ethan Couch felt he had to out-do Ferris Bueller.  

Again Pope Francis:  "How many kinds of moral and material poverty we face as a result of denying God and putting up so many idols."

It would appear that young people, like Ethan Couch, who suffer from this condition, may well be the poster children for the above quote by the Bishop of Rome.  So we have four pedestrians dead due to poor judgement by a boy who, apparently, was given few boundaries and received a sentence of probation.   Four lives wasted.  Material goods and money seem to be at the heart of the affluenza disease.  Perhaps the Judge should have at least sentenced the boy to some type of community service, particularly working with the poor, which may be a cure for this condition.  Although, I have to say there is more affluenza going around that I would like to see. 

To end with a final quote from the Pope:  "With the 'culture of waste', human life is no longer considered the primary value to respected and protected."  

Christmas Cookies

Advent is recognized by some, but not all Christian sects, as a time of preparation.  Although the preparation for advent is not centered around decorating, shopping, or baking, it can certainly appear as that is the case.  Homemade cookies are as much a part of Christmas as Christmas trees, and eggnog.  To get homemade cookies, you can bake your own, join a cookie exchange where you make a bunch of one or two types to share, do a joint effort like many of us had this past Saturday at Bake at the Lake, or a combination of the three.  The unique thing about baking is the conjured memories of a more carefree childhood of  Christmas' past in the aromas produced by the mixture of artery hardening, fat producing ingredients.

It is in the past to medieval 14th and 15th century Europe, particularly Germany, that we find the first commonly recognized Christmas cookies.  The first Christmas cookies were ones we commonly know, and make, today--lebkucher, also  known as gingerbread, and butter spritz cookies.  In a historical aside, some attribute the first cookies, albeit not Christmas, to 7th century Persia, while others say it goes to the Neolithic period setting a paste of grain and water on hot stones to bake.  The first gingerbread may have been conjured up by the Crusaders who made it using breadcrumbs, honey and spices, and then laying it on a flat carved board to dry.  The carvings were typically religious scenes.  This would lead to the cut out gingerbread cookies we know today.

By 1500, Christmas cookie baking, which is thought to have started in Germany, had spread over Europe. The Dutch brought the custom to the new world and it is their word "koekje" that is the origin of our word "cookie".  Of course the Dutch were preceded in European settlement of the eastern seaboard by the Puritans.  The commonly associated meaning we have of the word "Puritan" is an apt description of this group.  Not only did they not want people observing Christmas, but for part of the 17th century Massachusetts, with its strong Puritan influence, fined observers of this holy feast day five shillings.  A traditional holiday mincemeat pie, which, along with the fruitcake, is loosing its luster in contemporary America, was called "idolatrie in a crust" by Governor William Bradford.   The second wave of English settlers, primarily Anglican, were not as religiously doctrinaire and would celebrate Christmas.  Although Scrooge shows that distaste for Christmas celebration was not limited to the high strung Puritans.

The cookie cutter craze took off in the US in the mid 1800's when those objects were allowed to be imported.  Rather than the simple American squares and circles, the ones in Europe had advanced to a variety of shapes, including animals and people.  Think of the Teutonic solider a common symbol of Christmas popularized through a well known ballet.  Being a "melting pot", or what I like to refer to as a "stew", American's are fortunate to have a diffusion of various cultures allowing us to borrow traits we like, and ignore those we don't like, of different cultures.  Cookies come in different varieties, and shapes each formed by their unique culture tradition, and some have been altered in  uniquely American ways, but the presence of Christmas cookies is cross-cultural in Christian traditions.  The gingerbread we make and eat today tastes better than that the Crusader's made 1,000 years ago, although it is not likely any better (may actually be less better) for us.  The importance of the cookies is not something tasty to eat, rather that it is usually for a sharing of time with family and friends.  The next time you sit by the Christmas tree looking at the soldier boy ornament, while eating a Christmas cookie, think of our cultural inheritance from Germany and other parts of Europe.  Most importantly, however, think of the value of giving and service, which is the true meaning of Christmas.

Red Sun Rising

It was early morning on December 7, 1941 that the Red Sun symbol appeared over the Pacific, in route for Oahu.  360 aircraft followed the lead plane for an attack on the US Naval base at Pearl Harbor. The dawn raid, killed 2,400 Americans, rendered much of the fleet useless, and destroyed over 200 aircraft. The Japanese, by contrast, lost about 100 men, 30 airplanes and a few mini-submarines.  Reading the war warnings today, one would wonder why there was a lack of security.  But, hindsight is 20-20, and at that time there were few who expected a Japanese attack on the US.  The three large US aircraft carriers of that fleet were out to sea, and six months later would exact revenge at the Battle of Midway.

Until that day, the nation was thought to be well protected by its geography.  A large ocean on each coast, a friendly neighbor to the north, and a developing country to the south, the country seemed to be well beyond the tyrants wreaking havoc in the continents beyond each bordering ocean.  The war itself, was partly a result of a geography, with Japan desirous of a larger share of raw material wealth.  Black gold was as important then as it is today.  It is rather ironic that a nation looking for resource wealth failed to attack the supply depots in Hawaii, which allowed the US to mount a quicker response than it otherwise would have if its supplies had been destroyed. Although doing so would likely only have delayed the inevitable.  

Some would say that oil has, at least in part, set forth a policy of protection of that supply in the Middle East as crucial to US interests, a doctrine that goes back to Jimmy Carter.  Since 9-11 the nation has been concerned about home grown or transported terrorists.  As much as the Obama Administration and the Air Force think that Dennis Apel's protestations on a roadway easement is a threat to the security of Vandenberg Air Force base, I suspect there are bigger threats to a peaceful existence through school shootings and gang warfare; there is also the new knock-out game.

Our "police" actions in the Balkans, and other world outposts conducted by airplane, combined with drone strikes make ware more antiseptic, and tend to obscure the importance of geography.  Yet, the on-going action of US soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq would argue against minimizing the importance of place.  An army runs on its stomach, and the US Army is no different.  Supply chains are often disrupted due to mechanical failure in the hostile desert environment.  But beyond physical geography, there is also human geography.  Two examples of the recent past show this:  Iraq and Egypt.  Iraq, for most of its time in history has been subjected to invasions and wars.  Robert Kaplan says that Iraq (and Pakistan) are two of the most illogically conceived states between the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Subcontinent.   He goes on to say that every Iraq dictator since the 1958 coup had to be worse than the previous in order to hold together a state with no natural borders and with three ethnic groups, Kurds, Shiites, and Sunnis, and "with a well-articulated degree of ethnic and sectarian consciousness."  (2012, Revenge of Geography, p. 35) A US presence is still required in Iraq, and one wonders if it is a country that can be fixed.  In a similar vein is Egypt, which too has struggled to provide a well-functioning democracy. Until a democracy is put in place that respects the rights of a minority, democracy can turn into another  form of dictatorship.  That was starting to happen in Egypt with the Muslim brotherhood and their removing checks and balances and their attacks against the  Coptic Christians, and non-Muslim groups.

Every person and state is a product of their environment and culture in which they rose--their geography.  Technology, as we have seen with airplanes, war ships, and drones, can mitigate to a degree the effect of physical geography, but not fully.  Unfortunately, the study of geography is depreciated in our globalizing world, just at the time when it can help inform us.  The Japanese knew their geography as shown by their desire for material resources. However, did they realize what they were getting themselves into?  Did they understand how the US  possessed certain geographic elements, physical and human, that would work to its advantage?  The architect of the Pearl Harbor raid, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, has been quoted as saying:  "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve."  While it is important to understand your geography, it is important to understand that of your intended opponent just as well, if not better.