HAPPY NEW YEAR!

“If you think in terms of a year, plant a seed; if in terms of ten years, plant trees; if in terms of 100 years, teach the people.” - Confucius

Nikiphoros Lytras (Greek: Νικηφόρος Λύτρας; 1832, Pyrgos, Tinos – June 13, 1904, Athens) was a nineteenth century Greek painter. He was born on Tinos Island, and trained in Athens at the School of Arts. In 1860 he won a scholarship to Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Munich. After completing these studies, he became a professor at the School of Arts in 1866, a position he held for the rest of his life. He remained faithful to the precepts and principles of the academicism of Munich, while paying greatest attention both to ethographic themes and portraiture. His most famous portrait was of the royal couple, Otto and Amalia, and his most well-known landscape a depiction of the region of Lavrio.

In this well-known genre of painting of his, the “Calanda” (= carol singing) he depicts a household scene with great humour and many touching elements. The young singers could singing Christmas or New Year’s carols. Let’s pretend is the traditional Greek New Year’s carol, widely sung by children who still go a-carolling on New Year’s Day:

New Year's Carol

Start of the month and start of the year,

My tall rosemary bush!

And start of the year, a good year,

In church, in church with the holy throne!

Start of the year, when Christ came

Most holy and spiritual;

To walk on earth

And to make our heart good.

St Basil is coming

And welcomes all of us,

He comes from Caesarea,

And you milady are noble woman!

He holds an icon and writing paper,

Sugar candy and a baked cake.

The writing paper and the ink,

Look at me the young brave lad!

The ink wrote on the paper,

My fortune all it wrote,

And the paper talked to me,

My white St Basil!

This post is part of the Psalm Sunday meme.

PSALM SUNDAY - KONTAKION FOR THE NATIVITY

“Christmas is most truly Christmas when we celebrate it by giving the light of love to those who need it most.” - Ruth Carter Stapleton

Merry Christmas!

For Psalm Sunday today, a Greek Orthodox Kontakion that celebrates the Nativity of Jesus Christ.

A Kontakion is a type of thematic hymn in the Orthodox Church and other Eastern Christian churches. Originally, the kontakion was an extended homily in verse consisting of one or two proemia (preliminary stanzas) followed by several strophes called oikoi (singular oikos), usually between 18 and 24. The kontakia were so long that the text was rolled up on a pole for use in the services - the origin of the name kontakion, which means “from the pole” in Greek.

It is typical of the form that each of the proemia and strophes end with the same refrain. Acrostics are also a hallmark of this hymnographic form.  In current practice, the kontakion has been greatly abbreviated. Only the (first) proemium and first strophe are sung or read after the sixth ode of the canon at orthros. The proemium alone is sung at the Divine Liturgy, following the troparia, and most other services of the daily cycle. The kontakion is not sung at vespers.

According to tradition, Saint Romanos the Melodist wrote the first kontakion, the Kontakion for the Birth of Our Lord, by divine inspiration. Legend aside, Romanos established the kontakion in the form it retained for centuries, and he is the most famous composer of kontakia.

Kontakion for Christmas

By Romanos the Melodist

Today the Virgin gives birth to the Transcendent One,

And the earth offers a cave to the Unapproachable One!

Angels with shepherds glorify Him,

The wise men journey with a star to guide them

For our sake the Eternal God was born as a Little Child!

It is illustrated by a neo-Byzantine fresco of the Nativity.

I hope your Christmas was peaceful, restful, contented and well-spent beside those you love.

PSALM SUNDAY MEME - ORTHODOX CHANT

“When we lose one blessing, another is often most unexpectedly given in its place” - C.S. Lewis

Robert is hosting a Psalm Sunday meme and this entry is for inclusion in his list of beautiful religious posts. Thank you, Robert!

This is a Greek Orthodox psalm to the Virgin Mary, asking for her intercession with God to be mankind’s saviour.

«Υπεραγία Θεοτόκε, σώσον ημάς. Πολλοίς συνεχόμενος πειρασμοίς, προς σε καταφεύγω, σωτηρίαν επιζητών· Ω Μήτερ του Λόγου και Παρθένε, των δυσχερών και δεινών με διάσωσον».

“Most Holy Mother of God, save us. Having many temptations constantly around me, I seek refuge in You, wanting my salvation. You, mother of the Word of God and Holy Virgin, save me from all difficulties and suffering.”