“Jesus ahatonhia,” our last Christmas song of the season, is probably the first Christmas carol written in North America. The title means “Jesus, he is born” in the language of the Huron/Wendat native people of Canada. The Jesuit martyr St. Jean de Brébeuf wrote the song in that language. It is a good example of [...]
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Two nights ago I witnessed an annual event which has become one of my favorite events of the entire year: the Christmas pageant at my daughters’ school. We have the best music teacher ever there, and what she gets the children to do is magnificent. Last year, it was drumming modeled after the opening ceremonies [...]
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I often flinch inside when someone wishes me “happy holidays.” “What’s wrong with saying ‘Merry Christmas?’” says the annoyed inner voice. Nothing, of course, but nevertheless I’m trying to get over my flinching. Hardly anybody who says “happy holidays” does so out of disrespect for the Christian feast. They do it out of politeness. There [...]
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About ten days ago I went to a performance of Handel’s Messiah by the University Musical Society at the University of Michigan. I do this almost every year. A week later I was in New York for a funeral. On Saturday my daughter and I spent the afternoon together, and I did something I hadn’t [...]
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Last Wednesday, we had a blizzard in Omaha and Creighton University was closed. Nine inches of snow was whipped by a ferocious wind onto roofs and in doorways. Suddenly, in the midst of my busy week, I had a day of enforced nothingness. I always dream of a day with nothing scheduled and now here, [...]
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