The gift of music

To end this year, I share with you 3 photos of a violin and harp duo performing yesterday at Hilltop Gardens, where I am chaplain at Resurrection chapel.  Sarah Spiteri is on violin and Jacob Portelli is playing the harp, both performers being Maltese. Among other selections, they played a recital of Christmas carols and a haunting Maltese composition 'Sinfonia Pastorale' by Carmelo Galea and Monti's Czardas. I tried to include a video selection, but the files were to large to include, and I had to settle for just three photos. So, here's wishing you a very Blessed, Peaceful and Healthy New Year.

The Big Tip

Here is a feel-good story to end this turbulent year. It speaks to me about kindness, compassion, love and friendship. Sarah Clark was a server and bartender in a Phoenix, Arizona, restaurant, and got a shocking - but pleasant - surprise from a customer earlier this month: a $900 tip.
"You always hear about these things happening, but you never expect to be the recipient of it. It's a huge, huge help for me and my family." This was the comment from Sarah, who is nine months pregnant -- her due date is January 8 -- and she won't get any paid time off during the pregnancy, which is common in the restaurant industry. Her fiancé will temporarily be out of work too because of knee surgery.
"I couldn't believe what I was seeing at first because it was such a high amount," she said. "Nine hundred dollars is a lot of money. It took a while for it to set in, and once it did I cried for a little while." Clark said the woman who left the big tip had been in the restaurant before and that she had talked with her several times. That's probably because Clark and the woman have a lot in common right now - the big tipper is pregnant too.

"I don't know if she really understands how much this is going to help us this season," Clark said. "Me being on maternity leave and him being out of work, we're not going to be making any income. So this is really going to help with rent and other bills and things like that." Besides the tip, the woman also left Clark with one more bit of kindness, a nice note, written right on the receipt: "This is God's money -- He gave it to us so we could give it to you. God bless." I hope we can see more of these stories in the New Year.

Christmas scenes

'Nativity', a mural by John Grima at Hilltop Gardens chapel

Some assorted Christmas scenes today as we are getting close to the end of this year. Among them is a full page of my photos that were printed in a Maltese Catholic newspaper 'Lehen is-Sewwa,' on Christmas Day, the same paper where I write a full page profile of a different person every two weeks. 

Full page of my photos in a local newspaper.

Some other images are of a baby Jesus made from wax, and a mural done by a local artist whose murals are incorporated in the Hilltop Gardens Resurrection chapel, where I celebrate Mass daily. The Christmas spirit is alive and well all over Malta with concerts, recitals, exhibitions, church services and lit-up streets that accentuate the festive season. (Click to enlarge each image)

Baby Jesus made from wax.

More from my childhood church

Here are a few updated photos from my childhood church, after it’s been fully decorated for the Christmas season. One can see baby Jesus placed on the main altar, as well as lots of flowering vetch, canary seed and other seedlings that are grown in darkness and then displayed on altars around baby Jesus. 

Angels also surround the altar as they herald the news of Jesus’ birth with ‘Glory to God in the highest.’ The work is done by a few enthusiasts led by Niki Papagiorcopulo and Chris Micallef, who are keen on adding a few nostalgic touches and ecclesiastical paraphernalia they find hidden in the sacristy.

The main altar of St Julian's Lapsi church.

Baby Jesus times 2000

I share with you a stunning display of images of Baby Jesus, set up as a permanent exhibition in a private house in Birkirkara, Malta. I first was introduced to this exhibition in 2002, and visited it with my father, incidentally just 3 days before he died. Six years ago, the exhibition was set up as a permanent display with close to 2000 different images of Baby Jesus in various postures as you can see from these few photos. 

Some of them are made from clay, plastic, ceramic, chalk or gesso, and some even from wax. Most of them represent the infant Jesus as he lies in his manger, but others represent the Infant of Prague and others showing Jesus as a toddler. The exhibition is open for the entire month of December, but is also open to visitors on request all year round. The owner said recently that he is trying to expand the exhibition as he is running out of room.

Family Nativity - 50 years apart

A miniature presepio I created, with some of my watercolors in the background.

It was very nostalgic and heart-warming opening the Nativity set my father used for many years during our childhood. I created a small presepio with a few of the characters that I remember from my childhood years. Luckily I have just one old faded photo of the presepio my father used to set up until the 1980s. 

My father's presepio from the early 1970s

This was a slide I took probably in the early 1970s, but one can see the entire town of Bethlehem as my father designed it and planned it every year. He used to meticulously use brown paper with glue to set the rugged terrain, with the cave of Bethlehem right in the middle. The characters included a fisherman, a hunter, lots of shepherds, sheep, besides the main characters of the nativity story and the animals surrounding the manger. More nativity and presepios from Malta to appear all through this week.

Happy Christmas in 65 different languages

Here's wishing all the visitors of this blog a very Blessed and Joyous Christmas, and I repeat it in 65 different languages:

Amharic                          Enkwan laberhana ledat abaqqawot

Arabic                              I'd Miilad Said Oua Sana Saida

Argentinian                     Felices Pascuas y Feliz Año Nuevo

Armenian                        Shenoraavor Nor Dari yev Pari Gaghand

Basque                            Zorionak eta Urte Berri On!

Bohemian                       Vesele Vanoce

Brazilian                          Feliz Natal e Próspero Ano Novo

Bulgarian                        Tchestita Koleda OR Tchestito Rojdestvo Hristovo

Chinese [Mandarin]      Kung His Hsin Nien bing Chu Shen Tan

Croatian                          Srecna Nova Godina I Srecan Bozic

Czech                               Prejeme Vam Vesele Vanoce a stastny Novy Rok

Danish                             Glædelig Jul

Dutch                               Vrolijk Kerstfeest en een Gelukkig Nieuwjaar

English                             Merry Christmas

Estonian                           Roomsaid joulupuhi ja onnerikast uut aast

Eskimo                             Jutdlime pivdluarit ukiortame pivdluaritlo!

Esperanto                        Gajan Kristnaskon

Filipino                            Maligayang Pasko at manibagong bagong taon

Finnish                             Hyvaa joulua

At Hilltop Gardens chapel after playing a Maltese Christmas Carol

Flemish                            Zalig Kerstfeest en Gelukkig nieuw jaar

French                             Joyeux Noël

German                           Froehliche Weihnachten

Greek                               Kala Christouyenna

Hawaiian                        Mele Kelikimaka

Hebrew                           Mo'adim Lesimkha. Chena tova

Hindi                               Shub Naya Baras

Hungarian                       Kellemes Karacsonyi unnepeket

Icelandic                          Gledileg Jol

Indonesian                      Selamat Hari Natal

Iraqi                                 Idah Saidan Wa Sanah Jadidah

Irish                                 Nollaig Shona Dhuit

Italian                              Buon Natale

Japanese                          Meri Kurisumasu

Korean                            Sung Tan Chuk Ha

Latin                                 Descendit de coelis Salvator mundi. Gaudeamus!

Latvian                            Prieci'gus Ziemsve'tkus un Laimi'gu Jauno Gadu

Lithuanian                       Linksmu Kaledu

Macedonian                    Sreken Bozhik

Malayan                          Selamat Hari Natal dan Tahun Baru

Malaysian                       Selamat Hari Natal

Maltese                           Il-Milied it-Tajjeb

Maori                               Meri Kirihimete

Norwegian                     God Jul

Polish                              Wesotych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia

Portuguese                      Boas Festas

Rumanian                       Sarbatori Fericite

Russian                            S Rozhdestvom

Serbia                              Hristos se rodi

With Jake and Shaun who delivered the Christmas sermon

Slovakian                        Sretan Bozic OR Vesele vianoce

Samoan                           La Maunia Le Kilisimasi Ma Le Tausaga Fou

Sardinian                         Bonu nadale e prosperu annu nou

Serb-Croatian                  Sretan Bozic. Vesela Nova Godina

Singhalese                       Subha nath thalak Vewa. Subha Aluth Awrudhak Vewa

Slovak                             Vesele Vianoce. A stastlivy Novy Rok

Spanish                           Feliz Navidad

Swahili                            Heri kwa noeli na baraka nyingi kwa mwaka mpya.

Swedish                           God Jul

Tahitian                           La Orana No Te Noere

Thai                                 Sawadee Pee Mai

Tongan                            Kilisimasi Fiefa & Ta'u fo' ou monu ia

Turkish                            Noeliniz Ve Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun

Ukrainian                        Srozhdestvom Kristovym

Urdu                                Naya Saal Mubarak Ho

Vietnamese                     Chung Mung Giang Sinh

Welsh                              Nadolig Llawen 

Christmas Cards in 3D

In one of the many exhibitions going on in Malta, I came across a display of traditional and vintage Christmas cards reproduced in watercolors in a 3D format. They were all placed in a square box with each scene having 4 to 5 layers at different spacing, to create a 3D effect. 

The artist George Apap next to some of his 3D Christmas Cards

The artist is George Apap and he happened to be there when I was visiting. These are just 3 of the 30 Cards reproduced. Since I've been dong watercolors myself, I was mesmerized by the intricacy and detail of the work produced. If anyone is interested to see more, please send me an e-mail at dungiljan@gmail.com and I will be happy to send a copy of the others. A Blessed Christmas to all visitors of this blog.

Boy and girl reading the Christmas story

The traditional Christmas sermon delivered by an altar-boy

Christmas in Malta - part 2

Yet another facade of a house decorated for Christmas

Christmas trees and Christmas cards are also popular in Malta, although the main emphasis is always on baby Jesus. Santa Claus is called Father Christmas here and he has the same attraction for children, although not as frenetic and believable as in the USA. Nearly in every town and village a procession is held with children carrying a small statue of baby Jesus and singing Christmas carols along the way. This is held in 66 parishes around Malta and Gozo, usually on Christmas Eve. In every parish church in Malta and Gozo during midnight Mass a small child, dressed as an altar-server, recites a sermon narrating the birth of Christ. Recently a boy and a girl (or 2 boys) alternate the sermon, memorized to perfection.

Shaun and Jake, the 2 boys delivering the Christmas Eve sermon.

Christmas offers a splendid occasion for family gatherings. In most houses an attractively decorated Christmas tree is put up beneath which are placed the various presents wrapped in colorful paper. Christmas pudding and turkey dinner became popular during the first and second world wars when thousands of sailors and soldiers from the British Empire were stationed in Malta. Prior to these wars a rooster, rather than turkey, was the bird to be served at Christmas dinner. The traditional Christmas banquet normally includes the delicious Maltese dish called timpana, backed macaroni covered with crusty pastry. A special kind of honey-and treacle rings (qaghaq tal-ghasel) are eaten during the Christmas festivities. Mince pies are also very popular and they are this blogger’s favorites.

An old tradition that survived up to this day is the sowing of vetch, wheat, grain and canary seed (gulbiena) on clots of cotton in flat pans four weeks before Christmas and nurtured in the darkness of cupboards in the kitchen. These seeds shoot up and remain as white as Santa’s beard. They are then placed next to the infant Jesus and around the crib.

Our family's Baby Jesus with gulbiena, which my father decorated before 2002

A custom which unfortunately vanished many years ago was the playing of bagpipes. They characterized the music of the shepherds who tended their flock on Christmas night. The midnight Mass is very popular among the Maltese, and choirs rehearse constantly for their participation. The most popular Christmas carol in Maltese is “Ninni la tibkix izjed” (Sleep, don’t cry anymore) written in 1846 by Andrew Schembri. I was happy to teach this carol to American children in Baker City and Bend, Oregon, and they sang it beautifully in Maltese, plus two English verses which I wrote for them. Pageants and plays about the nativity are also quite popular. The Christmas season ends around January 6, the feast of the Epiphany, and that’s when all the decorations are finally taken down.

Christmas in Malta - part 1

A typical presepio or Nativity depicting the scene of the birth of Jesus.

We are not likely to have a white Christmas in Malta. Weather conditions resemble those of Bethlehem, the birthplace of Christ. The temperature during the Christmas season fluctuates from a maximum of 66 degrees Fahrenheit to a minimum of 52 on very cold day. Christmas is Christmas everywhere, but there are certain characteristics that make a Maltese Christmas different from that of many other countries.

The streets of towns and villages are decorated and lit with multicolored lights (festuni). Shop windows display the usual Christmas decorations and a large variety of toys and presents to lure Christmas shoppers who jam the streets. Christmas trees (is-sigra tal-Milied) and the figure of Father Christmas (Santa Claus) are seen all over the place. The main feature, which is a typically Maltese tradition, is the number of cribs (presepji) that can be seen in public places and in private homes, and of course in churches.

The first Maltese crib we know of is that found at the Benedictine Nuns in Mdina and bears on its framework the year 1826. The main characters in the crib are naturally Joseph and Mary with baby Jesus together with the cow, the donkey and the sheep; some shepherds and the three Kings who will arrive on the feast of the Epiphany. However many people display just the baby Jesus sitting on a rock or sleeping. An incredible display of baby Jesuses is found in an all-year round Museum in Birkirkara with hundreds of images, some of which are a few hundred years old.

The Holy Family after Jesus' birth.

Traditionally, the crib figurines (pasturi) were made of clay. These fragile penny clay figurines were easily acquired few years ago. Nowadays modern plastic figurines are more commonly found in the Maltese family crib. Many crafty enthusiasts prepare quite an elaborate display of the town of Bethlehem, and are usually on display throughout the month of December in various homes, parish centers and other places of interest.

A popular tradition is the Christmas Novena, 9 days of preparation during which a sung Mass is celebrated in churches, with the focus being on a different character from the Nativity story each day, Zechariah, Elizabeth, Joseph, Mary, Shepherds, Kings, baby Jesus, etc. Many children participate in this Novena, especially by singing Christmas carols.

Christmas in my childhood church

St Julian's old church decorated for Christmas 2016

Today I invite you to visit the church where my parents were married, where all of us 5 children were baptized, where I served thousands of Mass and where I celebrated hundreds of Masses, known as the St Julian’s old church, referred to as Lapsi (Ascension) church – as it is decorated  for this Christmas. You can see the contrast between the present photo and the black and white photo taken in 1965 during the feast of Corpus Christi with the large canopy above the main altar, which was brought back to life to enhance the decorations done by a group of enthusiasts, led by Chris Micallef and Niki Papagiorcopulo. An updated photo will appear next week, when baby Jesus will be in place. 

The same church decorated in 1965 for Corpus Christi

The 50-year old Nativity made from Styrofoam, known as jablo in Malta is still a popular attraction. The statues of the Holy Family and other miniature presepios adorn the side-altars, while angels hover above everyone in the front, in the back and by the main altar. Please do click on each photo to enlarge and see a better resolution.

50 year old Nativity made from Styrofoam or jablo, still in good shape.

The Holy Family on one of the side altars of the old Lapsi Church.

More Christmas Lights from Malta

A decorated street in the town of Mosta.

These are only a few photos of street decorations at night. The electricity bill must be exorbitant during these weeks, but people don’t care as long as they cheer themselves and everyone who passes by their houses and drive or walk through these colorfully lit streets. The Government and some local Councils help defray the cost of the electricity bill, but private homes are on their own.

A Baroque church in Sliema framed by lit stars, photo taken from Valletta

Tomorrow we’ll visit inside some of the churches that are dressed at their finest during these weeks with the nativity prominently displayed and plenty of presepios to admire and appreciate. The presepio is the nativity or crèche or crib, and other ways to describe it but the original term is presepio and presepju in Maltese, depicting usually the entire town of Bethlehem.

The main street in Valletta, crowded with holiday shoppers

Christmas Decorations around Malta

Over the next few days, I will be sharing information and photos from Malta about the way the Maltese decorate for Christmas. Since I have not been in Malta at Christmas time for quite some time, I have noticed a lot more decorations and lights outside. And in spite of a stormy weekend we’ve just experienced, the lights are still there, flickering and embellishing the atmosphere for this festive season. I am still thankfully impressed though that the religious aspect is still very prevalent, and many exhibitions are held of different nativities and presepios, which are crafted by several individuals, and are truly a work of art. Lots of hours go into creating these masterpieces, and you will see some of them over the next two weeks. 

But today we focus on a bright Christmas tree erected next to the Parliament building in Valletta, the capital city. I took these photos during the day and at night, to see the contrast, and the beauty light creates. The colorful balls were crafted in Malta by a company called Mdina Glass and contains 2,000 glass balls. The tree has been erected every year since 2011, alternating both in Sliema and Valletta.