Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Advent in San Diego

Southern sun iin my eyes until December 22

Image created with Adobe Firefly AI
Image created with Adobe Firefly AI

With Thanksgiving in the rearview mirror, the first Sunday of Advent, also known as the Christmas Season, is upon us. This is, by far, my favorite time of year even though the sun is directly in my eyes whenever and wherever I’m driving.


Advent is all about preparation. We are to prepare our hearts and minds to receive the salvation that was promised. In Christianity, salvation comes in the form of the baby Jesus. In paganism, it comes from the rebirth of the sun on December 25th. 


The reason I am constantly squinting is that the sun is descending to the south. It will continue to descend until December 22, when it will enter its grave. It will stay there until December 25, which is the first day the sun can be observed to be moving back north. Yes, this gets muddy with Jesus rising from his grave after three days.


Whatever your belief, this remains a season of reflection upon themes of rebirth and salvation, home and hearth, family and faith, culture and value. The music for this season reflects these topics but is all based on the Christian tradition.


Although technically outside the liturgical weeks of Advent, J. S. Bach’s Wachet Auf has come to be a staple of the season. The text is taken from Mathew chapter 25 in which ten virgins are awaiting the arrival of the bridegroom. Five are wise and have brought extra oil while five are foolish and have not. The bridegroom is late in arriving and the five foolish ones miss him because they went back to town for more oil. 


In this season, we plan and prepare for the arrival of the beloved be they family or friend. We decorate, we bake, we purchase, we wrap, we wait for the moment with the beloved to arrive.


Video:

Bach: Wachet Auf




Sponsored
Sponsored

The primary piece of Advent music is the ancient hymn, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”. The text hails from the monastic traditions of the 8th or 9th Century. The tune is from 15th Century France. 


O come, O come, Emmanuel,

And ransom captive Israel;

That mourns in lonely exile here,

Until the Son of God appear.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel.


This is a season to rejoice even if we find ourselves mourning in lonely exile. Salvation will come to us. We do not go find it. This is a season of both preparation and waiting. We must prepare and then wait. That is the magic of Christmas.


Video:

O Come, O Come, Immanuel






The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Yellowtail show off La Jolla, Big tuna south

Spiny lobster doing well
Next Article

The greatest symphonist of them all

Havergal Brian wrote over 30 of them
Image created with Adobe Firefly AI
Image created with Adobe Firefly AI

With Thanksgiving in the rearview mirror, the first Sunday of Advent, also known as the Christmas Season, is upon us. This is, by far, my favorite time of year even though the sun is directly in my eyes whenever and wherever I’m driving.


Advent is all about preparation. We are to prepare our hearts and minds to receive the salvation that was promised. In Christianity, salvation comes in the form of the baby Jesus. In paganism, it comes from the rebirth of the sun on December 25th. 


The reason I am constantly squinting is that the sun is descending to the south. It will continue to descend until December 22, when it will enter its grave. It will stay there until December 25, which is the first day the sun can be observed to be moving back north. Yes, this gets muddy with Jesus rising from his grave after three days.


Whatever your belief, this remains a season of reflection upon themes of rebirth and salvation, home and hearth, family and faith, culture and value. The music for this season reflects these topics but is all based on the Christian tradition.


Although technically outside the liturgical weeks of Advent, J. S. Bach’s Wachet Auf has come to be a staple of the season. The text is taken from Mathew chapter 25 in which ten virgins are awaiting the arrival of the bridegroom. Five are wise and have brought extra oil while five are foolish and have not. The bridegroom is late in arriving and the five foolish ones miss him because they went back to town for more oil. 


In this season, we plan and prepare for the arrival of the beloved be they family or friend. We decorate, we bake, we purchase, we wrap, we wait for the moment with the beloved to arrive.


Video:

Bach: Wachet Auf




Sponsored
Sponsored

The primary piece of Advent music is the ancient hymn, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”. The text hails from the monastic traditions of the 8th or 9th Century. The tune is from 15th Century France. 


O come, O come, Emmanuel,

And ransom captive Israel;

That mourns in lonely exile here,

Until the Son of God appear.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel.


This is a season to rejoice even if we find ourselves mourning in lonely exile. Salvation will come to us. We do not go find it. This is a season of both preparation and waiting. We must prepare and then wait. That is the magic of Christmas.


Video:

O Come, O Come, Immanuel






Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Can three-on-three basketball challenge the NBA?

Union-Tribune owner finds bull rider crowds booing, wearing cowboy hats backwards.
Next Article

Yellowtail show off La Jolla, Big tuna south

Spiny lobster doing well
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader