May all my dear readers be enjoying a happy Advent season! This week marks our final week to prepare for the great celebration of Christmas. Buy those presents, decorate your abode, participate in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, meditate with wonder on the Incarnation, show extra kindness and patience, and, first and foremost, be joyful! Buying presents for those near and dear to us in itself helps make us happy as we look forward to the smile on their faces. Many people complain about the spirit of commercialism that runs through Christmas, but this applies mostly to businesses and may easily be avoided as long as we don’t focus on buying things for ourselves. When else do so many people spend so much of their time and treasure in order to bring a smile to other people’s faces?
During some years, however, people can get wrapped up in various misfortunes–suffering, sickness, over-absorbing work, stress, worry, financial strain, death of loved ones, etc., which prevent us from entering into the spirit of joy, love, wonder, generosity, and peace that is Christmas. Also, like me, your environs might show none of the expected hallmarks of the season. Nothing says Christmas as much as seeing a panoply of Christmas lights and decorations against a snowy background. Without snow, it is incredibly difficult for me to think about the holiday. Snow always brings to mind the following verses, which describe Christ’s mission: “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool” (Isaiah 1:18).
Without the aid of the environment, song provides the best avenue for entering into the spirit of the season. But, Christmas music, which begins mid-November, has lost its charm by this time. What was intended to bring us into the joy of the holiday now annoys us. I’ve discovered a trick this year: if English Christmas music bores you, you might simply listen to other countries’ Christmas music. They convey the same joy and sound fresh even if we’ve already heard the English version of a song one hundred times. ( Zvončići sounds great even though I don’t want to hear Jingle Bells until next year.) Check out any of the playlists below. Croatian, German, and Latin are my favorite languages for Christmas music.
And there’s one of my favorite German anime characters: Satella Harvenheit.
Finally, Lord Drako Arakis has combined several fine Christmas songs with pictures drawn in the anime style. Their selection of Christmas music is great and much cleaner than many of his other pieces. I have picked through the following songs, but have a care if you explore his channel! Enjoy!
If you want to hear a sad and touching song, you can listen to the following:
Also, an adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol:
Medieval Otaku 
Toronto is similarly lacking in snow right now…but I shouldn’t complain too much; last year’s ice storm knocked our power out and rendered the streets a rather deadly (if pretty) winter wonderland.
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I’m one of those persons who still loves snow. Last year, I lived in Richmond, Virginia, which experienced one of the coldest winters in the residents memory. (Schools even had a delayed opening because it was too cold one morning–or rather, too cold for Virginians at around 13 degrees Fahrenheit.) I was treated to many beautiful winter scenes.
Now, I live six hours north and snow has yet to stick. After the nineties, New Jersey winters have grown very lame. But, some years must bring you nice snow storms up in Toronto!
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I hope you are having a fruitful Advent!
In the Spanish music section, they need to add this one:
One of my favorites!
God bless you!
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God bless you this season also! I must confess that the Spanish language has never appealed to me as much as others, though I have attempted to pick up more vocabulary here and there. Just an idiosyncrasy of mine, for there is no doubt that Spanish is a fine language. As the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V said: “I speak Spanish to God, Italian to women, French to men, and German to my horse.” Though scholars now say that the quote is misattributed to him, it’s still a proper ordering of the languages. 🙂
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“Snoopy vs. the Red Baron” is one of my favorites – Peanuts always has this warm-hearted atmosphere to it that I enjoy. ^.^ As for Christmas itself, it’s a time for family and good cheer, and I’m thankful for every day I spend with my family.
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Definitely. I also love the art Lord Drako Arakis adds to the piece. If only there was an anime about the Red Baron! That would be cool!
May you and yours have a very merry Christmas!
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Merry Christmas!
God bless you, your family, and other dear ones!
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May you and yours also have a happy and blessed Christmas!
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Reblogged this on Fantasy View.
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