Saint Lucia’s Day Blessed Me with Light

I paint not by sight but by faith. Faith gives you sight—Amos Ferguson

Saint Lucia

Do you believe in miracles?

On this day, some twenty-odd years ago, after over 12 hours of hard labour, I rejoiced in God’s miracle of creation.  I gave birth to a beautiful son. A soul of brilliant light. My son was born on Saint Lucia’s Day, named after St. Lucy of Syracuse—the saint of light. A day celebrated as a National Day on the tiny island of Saint Lucia in the Caribbean, named after its patron saint, St. Lucy. While I was laboring all night in a Vancouver hospital, the island of Saint Lucia gleamed in the brilliance of the National Festival of Lights and Renewal.

Saint Lucia is one of the earliest Christian martyrs. She was brutally killed by the Romans in 304 AD because of her religious beliefs, refusing to consecrate her marriage to a pagan. Lucia (which literally means light; lux, lucis) secretly brought food to the persecuted Catholics in Rome, who lived in hiding in the catacombs under the city. She wore candles on her head to liberate both hands so she could carry more. You can read more about the story here.

St. Lucia’s Day is a festival of lights primarily celebrated in Sweden, Norway and the Swedish-speaking areas of Finland on December 13^th in honour of St. Lucia. The day is celebrated by choosing a girl to dress in a white dress with a crown of candles on her head as part of a carol-singing procession. The girl’s crown is made of Lingonberry branches, which are evergreen and symbolize new life in winter.

The festival marks the beginning of the Christmas season in Scandinavia and brings hope and light during the darkest time of the years. Scandinavian families celebrate the day with coffee and baked goods such as saffron bread (lussekatter) and ginger biscuits (pepparkakor).

In earlier times, when this festivity coincided with the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year, huge bonfires were constructed to scare off evil spirits and alter the course of the sun. Since the calendar reforms, her feast day became a festival of light. Celebrated most commonly in Scandinavia (with its long dark winters), Saint Lucia’s Day is a major feast day. The Italians also ostensibly celebrate this day, but emphasize a different aspect of her story. The devotions to light predate Christian times with pagan midwinter elements, centered on the annual struggle between light and darkness.

So, on this day, twelve days before Christmas and eight days before the shortest day of the year (the Winter Solstice), I celebrate my miracle.  The miracle of light, but also of chiaroscuro, where light and dark play to create enlightenment. Because, just as you cannot have “up” without “down”, you cannot have light without dark.

“At the place of darkest dark, the light in contrast is the most noticeable,” Marianne Hieb, author of Inner Journeying Through Art-Journaling (2005) tells us. She tells us that it is in the places of greatest contrast … “grace is waiting there for you.”

When my son was born, I was born too. So was my art. I was already creating. I had written some   

My little boy...

short stories and had published a few articles. But it wasn’t until my son was born that my creativity exploded. Became galvanized. Achieved meaning. Just as light helps define texture and form, my son helped me define my balance, movement, rhythm, contrast, emphasis, pattern and unity.

Marianne Hieb tells us that these are the very principles of design. Like the fabric of a fine tapestry, they hold aspects of creativity together and define our art.  Just as they define us.

...grows up

Balance: you find balance when you first walk, ride a bike, skate and ski. In art, balance refers to the distribution of visual weights. It is the visual equilibrium of the elements that comprise the entire image. Symmetrical balance is achieved when elements or sections of equal quality mirror each other. An example of asymmetrical balance with unequal elements would be a painting where one small intense color can balance a grouping of less intense and larger things. This provides excellent metaphor in journal representations and life-journeys. Think of the balances between irregular and simple shapes, intense and subdued colors. Think color, shape, size, texture, value when creating balance or showing the opposite. Balance can indicate movement and can also radiate out from a single point of focus.

Movement: A balance of movement and stillness exists in all works of art, in dance, in music, in painting, sculpture and literature. Says Hieb, “Shapes and colors move the eye most easily through the work. Lines provide visual passage or linkage. Your eyes follow the edges of darkness or edges of light. Visual movement leads your seeing through the work, to a point of focus.” Horizontal, vertical and diagonal are the three main types of visual movement. Horizontal movement usually conveys a calm or restful sense. If you use vertical movement, you may be expressing a feeling of firmness or stability or even growing. Diagonal movement often reflects action and swiftness.

Rhythm: Rhythm is the repetition of visual movement of color, shapes, lines, values, forms, spaces and textures. Movement and rhythm work together, says Hieb. Rhythms are present in all natural things and can be regular, irregular, staccato and progressive. Rhythm has the power of uniting and energizing images and themes, through implied connection and relationship.

Contrast: contrast is delivered through color, texture, and shape. Contrast creates visual excitement, drama. Says Hieb, “at the place of darkest dark, the light in contrast is the most noticeable … [in] the places of greatest contrast … grace is waiting there for you.” Contrast can exist in many forms: smooth vs. rough; light vs. dark; dry vs. wet; playful vs. dour; anger vs. forgiveness — just to name a few. Contrast is drama. It is a place of potential conflict, tension, and great enlightenment.

Emphasis:  Emphasis creates focus. You can emphasize color, shapes, direction or other art elements to achieve dominance, says Hieb. Given that each of these elements is significance with the psyche, what elements you chose to emphasize in your drawing or selection of art can give you additional insight to what was important to you or affecting you at the time. For instance, colors can reflect mood: red emphasizes and reflects passion or danger; green reflects nature and healing; orange is fun and warm; blue is cool and calming, etc. Shapes can be very symbolic. Researchers have shown that angular shapes are less apt to elevate feelings of comfort and well being then circular shapes, which engender feelings of safety, unity and harmony. Squares can reflect conformity and equality; triangles can suggest self-discovery and revelation; spirals can express creativity, and so on.

Pattern: A pattern is basically a recognizable series of elements. For instance, you experience patterns of activities and behavior. Patterns are the planned or random repetitions that occur in nature and in your life. They increase visual excitement. Patterns that occur in nature exhibit unique and exquisite beauty. Pattern — in shape, color, texture — can relate to one’s history, personal experiences, and choices. They can similarly reveal our reactions, reflections and feelings.

Proud Mom...

Unity: the use of a dominant color scheme or overall surface treatment creates a strong sense of unity. Unity provides the cohesive quality that makes an artwork feel complete and finished, says Hieb. “A subjective sense of oneness is the felt experience of the principle of unity,” she adds. Unity is achieved through the harmonious integration of the previous elements I named. What unity looks like will be unique to each individual and to their stage in their life journey.

Happy Birthday, Son. You are my light. 

My miracle.

References:

Hieb, Marianne. 2005. Inner Journeying Through Art-Journaling. Jessica Kingsley Publishers, London. 176pp.

Munteanu, Nina. 2013. The Journal Writer: Finding Your Voice. Pixl Press, Vancouver, British Columbia. 172pp.

Christmas Eve and “Mother’s Night”

I find it interesting that so many of our traditional Christian celebrations not only coincide with already existing pagan traditions and other secular or religious beliefs and philosophies, but in some cases resonate in tone and intent. I feel that all faiths and beliefs serendipitously, if not intentionally, align on some greater, Gestalt-like scale. Let’s look at Christmas and the pagan Yule for example.

According to Wikipedia, “Yule [Jol] is a winter festival associated with the winter solstice celebrated in northern Europe since ancient times and which fell on December 25 upon establishment of the Julian Calendar in 45 BC. Its Christianized form is called Christmas, which is essentially the symbolism and traditions of Yule with the Christian story of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth superimposed upon it. Yule traditions include decorating a fir or spruce tree, burning a Yule log, the hanging of mistletoe and holly, giving gifts, and general celebration and merriment.

In pre-Christian times, Germanic tribes celebrated Yule from late December to early January on a date determined by a lunar calendar. When Christianity was just beginning Christmas was set on the dates of Yule. During Christianization Yule was suppressed by the Christian Church, with many of the traditions being adapted to the new holiday.[2] Thus, the terms Yule and Christmas are often used interchangeably[3], especially in Christmas carols.”

Yule celebrations at the winter solstice predate the conversion to Christianity. The custom of ritually slaughtering a boar on Yule survives in the modern tradition of the Christmas ham and the Boar's Head Carol. Other symbols and motifs associated with the modern holiday of Christmas are derived from traditional pagan northern European Yule celebrations. The burning of the Yule log, the decorating of Christmas trees, the eating of ham, the hanging of boughs, holly, mistletoe, etc. are all historically practices associated with Yule. Another widespread Yule tradition, and one that persists in our Christmas festivities today, was the decoration of the house with greenery.

“According to the medieval English writer the Venerable Bede, Christian missionaries sent to proselytize among the Germanic peoples of northern Europe were instructed to superimpose Christian themes upon existing pagan holidays of the area, to ease the conversion of the people to Christianity by allowing them to retain their traditional celebrations. Thus, Christmas was created by associating stories of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, the central figure of Christianity, with the existing pagan Yule celebrations, similar to the formation of Halloween and All Saint's Day via Christianization of existing pagan traditions” (Wikipedia).

According to the 8th Century monk, the Venerable Bede, Christmas Eve coincided with the ancient pagan “Mother’s Night” (also known as Helya’s Night):

"And the very night that is sacrosanct to us, these people call modranect, that is, the mothers' night, a name bestowed, I suspect, on account of the ceremonies which they performed while watching this night through."

The “mother” connection and the “watching” ceremonies of Mother’s Night consisted of the commitment of children to the protection of a goddess, ancestor, or the female deities known as the Disir. The ceremony became Christianized and the “mother” was naturally equated with the Virgin Mary, Christ’s mother. It is through no accident (despite the explanation I provide above) that the pagan winter solstice celebration of “Mother’s Night” should coincide with Christmas Eve, which belonged to Mother Mary, who was about to give birth to our savior. The Winter Solstice was considered a time for new beginnings, the birthing of the coming spring from the dead of winter, a time of light after dark, of hope and renewal. During the medieval Winter Solstice, houses in various parts of northern Europe were decked with fir and evergreens to welcome the coming of Hertha, goddess of light, domesticity and the home or the winter mother goddess, Rozhnitsa. How fitting that this pagan celebration was adopted by the Christian celebration of Jesus’s birth through Mother Mary.

This brings me to a simple point I wish to make about faiths and beliefs on this planet Earth… First off, I am a Christian. I believe in God and I personally believe that not only did Jesus walk this sacred Earth but that he was the son of God. This belief forms and underlies my actions daily as I interact with peoples of many faiths, beliefs and philosophies. The more I interact, the more I feel we are the same. And although it is important to celebrate our differences and the diversity that keeps us vital and alive, it is critical that we acknowledge how similar we are.

In an article by Douglas Todd in the Vancouver Sun, a Muslim academic, a Roman Catholic archbishop, a Jewish scholar and rabbi, and a Protestant minister provide four views of Jesus, God, and ultimately of their tolerance and inclusion of others’ beliefs:

“Jesus is one in a lineage of five prophets that began with the first human being, Adam, Moses and Abraham”—Seemi Ghazi, UBC Muslim academic.

“The first sound of the son of God on Earth was the cry of a child. The eternal son of God who became flesh is truly God and truly man. It is a mystery we cannot plumb.”—Michael Miller, Roman Catholic archbishop.

“Jews find fulfillment with God not through Jesus but though the Torah, or Jewish scriptures.”—Robert Daum, Vancouver scholar and rabbi.

“When he is called the lamb of God, the son of God, we need to take that metaphorically. Jesus is the lens through which God is illuminated for Christians.”—Gary Patterson, Minister at St. Andrew’s-Wesley United Church.

Here are some other interesting notions:

Did you know, for instance, that virtually all of the more than 70,000 Muslims in British Columbia (where I live) and elsewhere believe in Mary’s virgin conception? The Koran, however has the angel Gabriel involved in the birth of Jesus and focuses on how Mary felt alone and terrified while in labor.

Despite the different status that Jews and Christians give to Jesus, there are distinct similarities between the teachings of Jesus and other Jewish sages.

The traditional Christian claim that Jesus is the only begotten “incarnate” son of God, providing the exclusive route to salvation, remains a key theological sticking point for the Muslim, Jew and liberal Protestant. The archbishop said that the Christmas story is about how “the all-powerful God became humbled like us” through the birth of divine Jesus. The others, however, do not view Jesus as the only son of the Supreme Being, whose visitation on Earth and resurrection were necessary for all to attain eternal life. The Protestant joined the Muslim and Jew in not accepting the traditional concept of humanity’s “original sin”, which had to be atoned by Jesus’ sacrificial death. Instead, writes Todd, they seek “ongoing redemption in a mystical sense through developing a deeper relationship with God.”

So, despite differences, Muslim scholar, rabbi, minister and archbishop agreed that people can grow in their own faith through inter-spiritual and respectful dialogue (I emphasized respectful).

No religion is an island—Abraham Joshua Heschel (20th Century Jewish teacher)

Have a Wonderful Christmas!

Nina Munteanu is an ecologist and internationally published author of novels, short stories and essays. She coaches writers and teaches writing at George Brown College and the University of Toronto. For more about Nina’s coaching & workshops visit www.ninamunteanu.me. Visit www.ninamunteanu.ca for more about her writing.