Category: Holidays & Happenings - trish hermanson

Where in the World is Orientar?

12/20/2021

   Early morning, I’m in my jammies with Oak, my grandson, and we’re discussing where in the world is Orientar, the country the wise men came from to visit Jesus. He didn’t know, just as I didn’t when I was a child. Only when I could read did I understand the song said, “We three kings from Orient are bearing gifts….”
     Christmas songs can be confusing as a child. I wondered whether round young virgin meant she was fat. No, it’s “round yon virgin” - around the virgin over there. The definition of a virgin? No one explained that to me for years.
     Other kids have wondered why shepherds washed their socks at night, rather than “shepherds watched their flocks at night.”    And during this season, why do some sing about walking in our winter underwear? It’s actually “walking in a winter wonderland.”
     This year another grandchild of mine sang “O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree, don’t look at me, I’m changing.” It’s actually “O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree, thy leaves are so unchanging.
     I understand the words of these great songs now, but I don’t think I’ll ever completely understand the mystery of God coming to Earth as a baby to bridge the gap between him and us. It’s a breath-taking story, captured well through questions in this a cappella version of “Mary, Did You Know? Enjoy it to reflect on the wonder of the season.

'Trash Doesn't Lie' but Reveals All

2/1/2021

As we enter Black History month, I recall discovering this pottery shard when Duane and I explored the ruins of a sugar plantation on St. Croix Island in the Caribbean. With the push of a shovel, this piece of history rose to the surface.
     Notice the finely tailored people on this fragment from a dish? They are like the Danish family that once lifted silverware to eat from this plate. But if anything broke, their slaves buried it along with other garbage at the edge of the plantation.
     “Trash doesn’t lie,” archaeologist Michael Prouty says. This particular piece reveals a time when there were ten slaves per each white person on St. Croix. These slaves rebelled in 1848 and gained their freedom, while Southern American whites still maintained their “Gone with the Wind” fantasy of plantations run by “happy” slaves.
We’re more evolved and enlightened now, right? Maybe not. Racism still unearths its ugly head when new fringe groups embrace white supremacy. When anti-Semitics terrorize Jewish neighborhoods. And when some folks label all refugee seekers, including women and children, as crooks. I don’t embrace these beliefs. Yet sometimes to elevate myself, in my mind I subtly put down others who differ from me. Isn’t that the essence of racism?
     Evolution and enlightenment haven’t worked. You’d almost think we have the shards of a broken nature to deal with.

Am I Willing to Speak Up?

1/18/2021

Am I willing to speak up about things that matter? About lies that lead people into conspiracy theories that can lead to anger and sometimes violence?
     But how should I speak up?
      “Time is cluttered with the wreckage of communities which surrendered to hatred and violence,” Martin Luther King Jr. said. “For the salvation of our nation and the salvation of mankind, we must follow another way.”
     King resisted the temptation to fan the flames of anger with more inflammatory language. Instead, he combined truth with love. Am I willing to speak up that way?
  That’s a lot harder.

Beware of the Blind Curve Ahead....

1/1/2021

When I saw this sign along the trail, I realized what good advice this is for me for the New Year. After all, who imagined what would race toward me around the blind curves of this past year? It was pandemic, street pandemonium, and political tirades.
     I can’t predict what’s around the next corner in my life. None of us can. But when it veers toward me, I can choose to “keep right.” I’m not talking politics here. I’m saying I can choose to speak and do what’s right.
     Otherwise, I might get in a wreck.
     We’ve survived the Year of 2020. Now, even as disease and discord still foment around us, let’s do more than survive. Let’s thrive by being redemptive forces in 2021.
     I appreciate all of you! Here’s my toast to you through Regina Spektor’s gentle song welcoming the New Year.

What Ripped You Apart This Year?

12/28/2020

What ripped you apart this year?
     The loss of a loved one to COVID? The loss of a job? The loss of a political candidate?
     We’ve all been ripped apart one way or another. But during these days in which we continue to be pulled apart by political mud slinging, let’s remember our commonality.
     Whether you’re a Democrat, a Republican, a Libertarian, or refuse to associate with any of the above, and whether you’re red, brown, yellow, black, or white, we share this beautiful spinning ball called Earth.
     Together, what lessons can we take from this horrific year?
     That the world can be brought to its knees in a flash.
     That my life and livelihood can be torn away.
     That we desperately need each other.
     And I’ll add, that problems aren’t solved by either the left or the right, but by reaching up to God.
     I want to keep these lessons in mind so I’ll retain 2020 vision in 2021. Otherwise, I’ll suffer from the nearsightedness of forgetfulness.
     As we enter this New Year, let’s virtually hold hands at a safe social distance and discover how we can mend what has been ripped apart. This song by Peter Mayer, recorded in pre-pandemic days when life was cheerier, still speaks to me about our shared future.
     What are your lessons from the year?
     ***    Lego artwork by Nathan Sawaya.