Thursday, December 24, 2015

Merry Christmas, and Peace and Joy!

My table full of gifts – from Russia with love. I got this all from my angel Nikushka!

A Russian Orthodox Christian music CD called «Приидите,
поклонимся. Песнопения Божественной Литургии» (in
English: Come, Let Us Worship. Chants of the Divine Liturgy).

A little wooden box, made in Russia. Not only is it pretty, but it
smells very good: like bark and resin. My mother would have loved
this. She loved beautiful old fashioned objects like this – and so do I.

Yuri Gagarin exclusive collector's coin (Юрий Алексеевич
Гагарин Эксклюзивная коллекционная монета). Ура!!!!!

This year, we have "black Christmas" in Finland. That means, ground is black and we have no snow, except in Lapland. We have less than 5 hours of daylight, so it's very dark. Air temperature is about +2 °C or 36 °F by day. Abnormal weather at this time of the year. Too bad, because I love snow, and winter is my favorite season.

After all, it's a Christmas time, no matter whether it is black or white. Internal is more important than external. We can find a bigger light, inner light – Christ in our hearts. Christmas is the birthday of Our Saviour Jesus Christ. He brings the light into the darkness. Though the ground is black the whiteness can be in you.

This year, I'm going to spend Christmas alone again. Never mind, I used to live like a monk in his cell (in Russian: келья). Haha. Actually, I like this peace and silence around me. Last year, "my Russian angel" saved my Christmas by chatting back and forth with me. Finally, I didn't feel the loneliness at all.

There is a saying, "present but not present". But you can also be present even though you're not physically present. Presence is very subtle mental or spiritual experience. Time and space are not only dimensions, and physical world is not the only world we live in. Am I here if my heart is there, and where is love if she is not here with me? We have to admit, things like these are ultimately mysteries, at least not clear. For me, the physical things are not so important. I am a mystic at heart. I deeply feel, I'm a spirit already, not just after the death.

Besides, death doesn't really exist. The Bible says, "He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive" (The Gospel of Luke 20:38). Lord himself says, "Whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?" (The Gospel of John 11:26). Now this is very radical statement, and I believe it's true.

To being more down-to-earth, these days I'm going to read a lot and watch some nice movies (like old Disney and Soviet cartoons) and chat with my angel. What I am reading? A Russian short stories, chapters of the Bible, and the Finnish children's book called Joulupukki (in English: Santa Claus) written and drawn by Mauri Kunnas. I got that book as a Christmas gift when I was 11 years old. So this is very nostalgic reading experience for me.

Christmas is the celebration of peace and joy that light up the whole world. On Christmas night, the angels said to the shepherds, "Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all the people... Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men in whom he is well pleased" (The Gospel of Luke 2:10, 14).

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2016 to all my friends! (^—^)

"Christ is born! Glorify Him!" (A traditional Orthodox Christian Christmas greetings.)

Teisuka


A later addition:

Christmas Gifts from Nika


A few days after Christmas, I received a huge parcel from my Russian angel Nika. The parcel included many kinds of lovely gifts: souvenirs and decorative items, like different sorts of boxes (also a wooden box), a wooden mug, a beautiful Moscow plate, a Russian tablecloth, three bars of chocolate, a lollipops, a tea pack, a refrigerator magnets and postcards, Ded Moroz (in English: Grandfather Frost, in Finnish: Pakkasukko) and Snegurochka (in English: The Snow Maiden, in Finnish: Lumityttö) figure candles, and a beautiful Russian spiritual music CD. My absolute favorite is the exclusive collector's coin of Yuri Gagarin (Nika knows I'm a fan of Gagarin and I love all kinds of space stuff)! ^^

Wow, these are my best Christmas gifts for years! Feels like I'm a child again. :) Thank you very much, my sweet angel. You are the best, and I love you! Большое спасибо, ангел мой! Я люблю тебя! ♥

Teisuka

(Updated December 31, 2015.)

First snow on my home street, November 22.

A beautiful frozen tree in my neighborhood.

Christmas icon or the Eastern Orthodox icon of the birth of Christ.

 
A Finnish picture book called Joulupukki (in English: Santa Claus)
by Mauri Kunnas. I got this book as a Christmas gift when I was
11 years old. Ah, that was so long ago... and still like yesterday.