Wednesday, December 26, 2012

The 12 Days of Christmas : now I know how that strange song became a Christmas Carol



There is one Christmas Carol that has always baffled me. What in the world 
do leaping lords, French hens, swimming swans, and especially
the partridge who won't come out of the pear tree have to do with Christmas?

"The Twelve Days of Christmas" is a cumulative song, meaning that each verse is built on top of the previous verses. There are twelve verses, each describing a gift given by "my true love" on one of the twelve days of Christmas.
...and so forth, until the last verse:
On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...
12 Drummers Drumming
11 Pipers Piping
10 Lords-a-Leaping
Ladies Dancing
Maids-a-Milking
Swans-a-Swimming
Geese-a-Laying
Gold Rings
Calling  Birds
French Hens
Turtle Doves
And a Partridge in a Pear Tree.

From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to 
practice their faith openly. Someone during that era used the carol
as a catechism song for young Catholics. It has two levels of meaning: the 
surface meaning of gift giving  plus a hidden meaning known only to members of
the Catholic Church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious 
reality which the children could remember.

-The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ on the Cross for our Sins.

-Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments of the Holy Bible.

-Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love of Jesus for us.

-The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

-The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of 
the Old Testament.

-The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.

-Seven swans a-swimming represented the seven-fold gifts of the Holy 
Spirit --- Prophesy,Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.

-The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.

-Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit ---Love, Joy, 
Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self 
Control.

-The ten lords a-leaping were the ten commandments.

-The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.

-The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the 
Apostles' Creed.

So there is your history for today. This knowledge was shared with me and I 
found it interesting and enlightening and now I know how that strange song 
became a Christmas Carol...so pass it on if you wish.

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

CHUCKLES THE SAD CLOWN

The horrifically moving story of CHUCKLES THE SAD CLOWN

Chuckles was only attempting to pull a daisy from behind a little boy’s ear when the child screamed in fear.

 The boy began kicking causing Chuckles to lose balance. As he fell down the seven steps, his rubber nose squeaked each time his face hit the cement. Dazed, he tried to get up but fell backwards into a newly laid batch of elephant dung.

 Zippy, Bongo, Cupcake and some other clowns rushed toward him but instead of helping, they pelted him with cream pies and pounded him with fake mallets.

 Chuckles slowly raised his bloodied head and saw the young boy beaming with uproarious laughter.

 It was at that moment he thought about this life in show business. 
Through his cream pie filled mouth, Chuckles whispered “Just what is so damn funny?”

A CHRISTMAS DREAM



Eight year old Jonathan was having the dream again. He had been having the same dream several nights in a row. It was the one with the two Santas. Every night the same thing would happen. Just as the Santas were about to turn and reveal their faces, the dream would abruptly end. 
On this night something different occurred. The dream went on a tiny bit longer. Jonathan suddenly woke up, jumped out of bed and quietly made his way to the hallway.
He looked down the stairway at his parents as they were carefully placing his presents under the Christmas tree. He went back to bed and slept soundly knowing the Santas would be with him all year around.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

One the 12 Days of Christmas...

On the 12 Days of Christmas our vent unit gave to us ...












12 Vents alarms alarming,

11 Pumps a beeping,

10 Call lights buzzing,

9 Families a grumbling,

8 Hours of overtime,

7 Toilets a flushing,

6 Pulse ox's a singing,

FIIIIIIVE DRAMA QUEEEEEEENSSSSSSSSSSSSS

4 Doctors Calling,

3 Call offs,

2 Nurses laughing ,

and one med pass to go.

Being the 'Kind Hearted man'

Got an email from my dad ....




Frank and his girl-friend walked past a swanky new restaurant.



"Did you smell that food?" she asked... "Wonderful!"

...

Being the 'Kind Hearted man', he thought,



"What the heck, I'll treat her!"



... So they walked past it again...