Merry Christmas 2017!

This year it is the Spanish army that assembles in preparation for a Christmas Day parade and Mass.

Snow in the mountains in the distance, but none on the ground in their Mediterranean climate.

Looks like the Militia are lagging behind arriving for the festivities!

The village square is filling with troops.

 The Grenadiers have the place of honor in front of the Iglesia.

Oranges are ready for the celebration of the Three Kings arrival in another 12 days.

Those rag tag Militia!  Hurry up, the priests are waiting to start!

 Angel's eye view of the village...  Feliz Navidad!

Mary's Boy Child - Harry Belafonte

Written by Jester Joseph Hairston  in 1956, the song has a Calypso beat. Belafonte, himself of Jamaican descent heard the song and asked for permission to record it; it became a #1 hit in the UK in 1957. I first heard the version by John Denver, which is excellent, but Belafonte captures the emotion of the song, the calypso beat and Caribbean English Lyrics  so well.

Long time ago in Bethlehem
So the Holy Bible say
Mary's boy child, Jesus Christ
Was born on Christmas day

Hark, now hear the angels sing
A new King born today
And man will live forever more
Because of Christmas day

While shepherds watched their flock by night
And see a bright new shining star
And hear a choir sing
The music seem to come from afar

Now Joseph and his wife Mary
Come to Bethlehem that night
And find no place to borne she child
Not a single room was in sight

Hark, now hear the angels sing
A new King born today
And man will live forever more
Because of Christmas day

By and by they find a little nook
In a stable all forlorn
And in a manger cold and dark
Mary's little boy was born


Hark, now hear the angels sing
A new King born today
And man will live forever more
Because of Christmas day

    Curiously, I had occasion to meet Mr. Belafonte and his (second) wife in 1975. My friend Tom, who lived 2 doors down from me in my dorm at UConn, and I both played in the Marching Band all four years we were at the University, and thus we arrived a week early each Fall semester for pre-season practice. We were sitting in Tom's room on a hot afternoon and had the windows and door open to cut the heat, when Mr. and Mrs. Belafonte walked in. They introduced themselves and asked for some directions; they were moving their son into a room a few doors away on our floor. They were both lovely, charming, and utterly unpretentious. 

    Unfortunately, I cannot say much good about his son, whom we seldom saw, and seemingly never went to class. Not surprisingly he flunked out after 1 semester. His roommate was Steve, a Sophomore defensive back on the football team, and a heck of a nice guy... not at all a typical jock type. Steve unfortunately had a concussion after almost every game, and long before the serious consequences of that were really appreciated, he had to stop playing by the end of that season.  Anyway, the only way we knew that Steve's room mate was in was that he would always blast his favorite song on his high end stereo, "What a Difference a Day Makes", a song which I cannot stand to this day as a result, LOL! Evidently he went on to have a successful career in music production, but he was pretty much a waste of oxygen during his short time at UConn!

 Perhaps this year's song should have been "White Christmas"!

View of the back yard just after the snow ended about 9 AM today.

Annie and Zoe love to play in the fresh fallen snow!

Best for last - Grandsons Owen (2) and Oliver (4 months).

Merry Christmas 

to

one and all!