Advent is the season in the Christian Church immediately preceding the celebration of Christmas.  Advent calendars were introduced by German Lutherans.  In the early 1800’s the Lutherans marked off the 24 days of the advent season by drawing a chalk line on their door each day.  Some families would light a candle each morning, or hang a small religious picture on the wall each day.

The first known Advent calendar was hand-made in 1851, while the first printed Advent calendars appeared in Hamburg, Germany, in 1902 or 1903.

These days, most Advent calendars are aimed at children, since it is children who most eagerly anticipate Christmas.  This belies the quesiton, “How many more days until Christmas?”  The Advent calendar answers this question every day.  As I child, I used to anticipate opening the doors every day with delight.

Advent calendars are made out of two pieces of cardboard, one laid on top of the other.  Twenty-four little doors are cut in the top piece, each door marked with a number from one, to twenty-four.  Starting on the first day of December, a door is opened each day, starting with number twenty-four, and counting down to one, until Christmas arrives on the twenty-fifth of December.

Close to 100  African tribes make and use masks.

African tribal mask makers are not free to make any mask they want.  They must follow religious and spiritural rules.

Before cutting down a tree,  the mask-maker has to visit a wizard to undergo a purification ceremony and make a sacrifice to the spirit of the tree.  This purification ceremony protects the mask-maker against the rage of the tree spirit.

Once the first blow is struck with the axe, the mask-maker puts his lips to the tree and sucks out a small amount of sap.  This makes him become a part of the tree’s “family.”  After the tree is cut down, it must be left alone for a few days for the tree spirit to find another dwelling.  Even after the tree is chopped down, it continues to have miraculous powers, requiring the mask-maker to follow specific rules and practices.

When the mask-carver starts carving, he cannot freely make whatever shape he wishes.  The first rule is that the mask must represent his own ethnic group (of which there are over 1,000 ethnic groups).  If  not, he risks the anger of his entire village, and the rage of the tree spirit.  While the mask is taking shape, it is believed that the powers of the wood are increasing.

When the mask is finished, the wizard must hold a consecration ceremony which turns the mask into a dwelling place for the spirit to which it is dedicated, and afterward, the mask can be used in religioius ceremonies.

African masks vary in shape and appearance.

Ancestor masks have a serene look, while masks of non-human spirits have a bizzare face.  Masks with horns are used in exorcism ceremonies, while protruding eyes and cold expressions represent spirit posession.

White masks represent the dead looking in on the living, and round faces represent high degrees of spirituality.  C heckerboard patterns represent separations.  These can be separations between good and evil, men and women, or intelligence and stupidity.

Religious ceremonies with masks are allowed to be viewed almost excusively by men.  Regardless of the sex of a mask, the wearer is always a man.  Some villages even believe that if a woman sets eyes on a mask, she will die.  The mask represents a supernatural living person.  The person wearing the mask is considered to be in direct contact with the mask’s spirit. A mask offers a chance to a supernatural being for incarnation.  Because a mask is sacred, violating the rules of its use is punished severely, even by death.

In today’s Guardian, Nicky Woolf has written a wonderful article about the birth of world tourism.  Here are some of the highlights:

William Henry Fox Talbot

In 1833, William Henry Fox Talbot conceived the photographic process, after becoming frustrated with his inability to draw.

Egypt 1858

Photographs of exotic far-off places first came available in the 1850’s.  Demand for these sorts of photographs exploded during subsequent decades.  Thomas Cook put together the first European tours in the 1850’s, and black and white photographs of various locales began becoming popular tourist mementos.

Thomas Cook

Also in the 1850’s, photography began to record the monuments of ancient Egypt.  By the 1860’s middle-class tourists began to appear.  In the 1860’s, photographs of European landscapes became popular.

Switzerland 1860's

Photography continued to expand at the same time as European colonial expansion, spearheaded by railway and steamship penetration, producing ever-more photographs of exotic locales and peoples.

The top ten Victorian travel destinations, in order, were:

1.)    Nile River cruises from Cairo to Aswan, pioneered by Thomas Cook, on opulent steamships  in the 1880’s.

2.)   Paris, Brussels, and the Rhine, also by Thomas Cook.  Rhine cruises, then from Frankfurt to Paris by rail.

3.)   Davos, Switzerland, a health resort which grew into one of the first ski resorts as skiing began to become a popular sport in the 1890’s.

Davos, Switzerland, 1870

4.)   Camping in the Holy Land.  Thomas Cook conducted the camping in luxurious tents, fully furnished and carpeted, with guests waited upon by legions of servants, guides, and porters.

5.)   Niagara Falls became popular after 1827 when William Forsythe began performing dramatic stunts there with animals.

6.)   Nice, France, became famous after new resorts were built there in the 1860’s and European royal families began vacationing there.

7.)  Renaissance Italy became popular with middle-class travelers, especially the cities of Rome, Venice, and Florence.

8.)  Scandanavian fjord cruises became popular in the 1870’s, as Thomas Cook popularized “the midnight sun.”

9.)   The Roman town of Bath, England was popularized as a place to stay six weeks in the Empire Hotel during the 1880’s.

10.)  Shanghai, China, became popular after the end of the First Opium War in 1842.  The Astor House Hotel was the first western hotel on Chinese soil.

–Posted by Madame Monet

It’s baby Cory, dancing to Beyonce.

"Festival of the Trays" -Decorated with Paper Flowers - Tomar, Portugal, taken by unnamed photographer, orginal HERE

This harvest festival takes place in Tomar every four years, in July.

"Festival of the Trays" in Tomar, Portugal - Original Photo by Rosa, HERE

A very nice concise write-up of the Festival (in English), by Rosa,  can be found HERE.

A longer write-up (in English) can be found on the middle section of THIS PAGE, under “FESTA DOS TABULEIROS.”

–Posted by Madame Monet

Starting in India, and continuing across China, and the Pacific Ocean, the total eclipse of 2009 was the most spectacular, most viewed (due to it’s passing over heavily-populated areas),  and lasted as long as six minutes and 39 seconds in some places.

2009 total solar eclipse path across India

People all over India gathered in open spaces, and although the eclipse passed over the entire breadth of India, much of the path was obscured by clouds.  The view was clear around Varanasi where Hindu priests said prayers.

In New Delhi, some children were kept home from school, and pregnant women were advised to stay indoors to prevent “birth defects”  to unborn children.

Elsewhere in India, large crowds gathered at rivers and ponds, especially Varanasi on the Ganges River.  In both India and Nepal, it is believed by many to bring good luck to observe an eclipse while immersed in holy water.

India chartered one special flight for passengers to view the eclipse.  They flew at 41,000 feet above the clouds.  Seats on the sun side of the aircraft sold for $1,600, while seats on the other side of the aisle sold for less than $800.

In Nepal, authorities closed all schools for the day.

Bangladeshis were all out in the street and had to quickly turn on headlights for the darkness that arrived suddenly.

Southwestern China had clear skies, while Shanghai had rain and cloudy skies.  Nevertheless hotels in Shanghai were packed.

Sichuan Airlines chartered five special flights for passengers to chase the moon’s shadow on its trajectory across China, starting in Chengdu (central China, Sichuan Province), and landing in Shanghai.  The flights were able to remain in total darkness for more than 30 minutes during the flight.  Planes were full, and the price of a seat was $200.

In Shanghai, twenty couples were married at the moment the darkness became total.  “The organizer of the weddings, a man surnamed Yu, told the Xinmin Evening News that the celestial phenomenon would be “the perfect witness to the couples’ happiness,” quoting LA Times reporter Joshua Frank.  Also in Shanghai, fireworks were launched while people danced in the street.

Lights were left off in Shanghai thanks to an internet campaign that said they would interfere with viewing.  Most people watched the several-minute eclipse standing in the street, using special glasses.

In spite of a tornado warning on the tiny Japanese island of Akuseki, everyone rushed outside when the skies began to darken.  Some cows began to gather at a feeding station, believing the darkening skies were signaling their dinner time.

And who could ever forget the number one hit song in America in 1973– Carly Simon’s famous song You’re So Vain in which she mentions “you flew your Learjet up to Nova Scotia to see the total eclipse of sun.” (Read lyrics below as you listen…)

You walked into the party, like you were walking onto a yacht,

Brad Pitt Wearing a Scarf

Your hat strategically dipped below one eye,

Warren Beatty, with hat strategically dipped

Your scarf it was apricot,

You had one eye on the mirror as you watched yourself gavotte

And all the girls dreamed that they’d be your partner
They’d be your partner, and…

Mick Jagger with L'Wren Scott

You’re so vain, you probably think this song is about you
You’re so vain, I’ll bet you think this song is about you
Don’t you? Don’t you?

You had me several years ago, when I was still quite naive,
Well you said that we made such a pretty pair
And that you would never leave,
But you gave away the things you loved, and one of them was me,
I had some dreams, they were clouds in my coffee…
Clouds in my coffee, and…

You’re so vain, you probably think this song is about you
You’re so vain, I’ll bet you think this song is about you
Don’t you?  Don’t you?

I had some dreams, they were clouds in my coffee
Clouds in my coffee, and…

You’re so vain, you probably think this song is about you
You’re so vain, I’ll bet you think this song is about you
Don’t you?  Don’t you?

Well I hear you went up to Saratoga, and your horse naturally won..

Then you flew your Lear jet up to Nova Scotia
To see the total eclipse of the sun,

Well you’re where you should be all the time,
And when you’re not, you’re with
Some underworld spy, or the wife of a close friend,

Wife of a close friend, and…

You’re so vain, you probably think this song is about you
You’re so vain, I’ll bet you think this song is about you
Don’t you?  Don’t you?  Don’t you?

–Posted by Madame Monet

//

The American School of Marrakesh, Morocco

The American School of Marrakesh held its second graduation ceremony ever on June 16, 2009.  Unlike last year’s 2008 ceremony, which was held on the front lawn, this year’s ceremony was held indoors in the Pierre Berger Assembly Hall due to rain.

Eighth-Grade Graduates' Processional

Eighth-Grade Graduates' Processional

Eighth-Grade Graduates' Processional

Eighth Grade Graduates' Processional

The ceremony included both Eighth-Grade and Twelfth-Grade graduates, as well as prize winners from the entire school.

Twelfth-Grade Graduates' Processional

Following the processional, and after opening remarks by Barbara Temsamani,  prizes were awarded to the elementary students.

Hiba Benkye Received the Audrey Riffi Prize, Directly from AudreyRiffi

The incoming headmaster, Dr. Bryan Keith Lewallen,  stood and made some remarks.  He told the graduates, “Each of you in this school will be successful.“  He read a famous poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson:

Success

To laugh often and much to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded. -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Dr. Bryan Keith Lewallen, Incoming Headmaster at The American School of Marrakesh

Dr. Lewallen went on to indicate that he is planning a long stay in Marrakesh.  He turned to the Eighth-Grade graduates and said, “We’re going to spend the next four years together, so get ready!”

Diplomas were awarded to the Eighth Grade.

Graduating Senior Yousser Amhal

Graduating senior Yousser Amhal made a speech.  Yousser pointed out he did not join the school until secondary school.  He said he found two things in particular to remark upon: 1)  the warm hospitality of the students in welcoming him in to the school, and 2)  the friendly relationship between students and teachers. Yousser also recalled a well-loved former history professor, Mr. Oscar Ramos.  Yousser said that the day Mr. Ramos left the school was the only time he ever saw two of his classmates cry. Yousser’s closing remarks were, “We’ve been through a lot together, and now we will part to follow our own paths.”  He added, “If we’ve made it through ASM alive, we can make it through anything.”

Nouhaila Chelkhaoui Received an Award

Prizes were awarded to the upper school.

A longer address was given to the graduating seniors by Robert P. Jackson, the Deputy Chief of Mission from the U.S. Embassy to the Kingdom of Morocco.

Robert P. Jackson, Giving the Commencement Address to the Graduates

Mr. Jackson offered various tidbits of accumulated wisdom from various sources.  The first piece of wisdom was from Robert Fulgham’s All I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten:   “Share everything.  Play fair.  Don’t hit people.  Put things back where you found them.  Clean up your own mess.  Don’t take things that aren’t yours.  Say you’re sorry when you hurt someone.  Wash your hands before you eat.  Flush.  Take a nap every afternoon.  When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic; hold hands, and stick together. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.  Learn some, think some;  draw, paint, sing, and dance;  play and work every day SOME.”

ASM Graduates Listening to Commencement Address

Mr. Jackson continued to speak of kindergarten as a time of limitless possibilities, of boundless optimism;  a time when you can still be whatever you want, do whatever you want–the kindergarten future of being an astronaut, undersea explorer, or a professional Ninja.   He pointed out that graduation from high school is similar with all these possibilities still before you.  . He encouraged the graduates to follow their own paths, regardless of what others think.    He advised the graduates to embrace failure, as we all learn more from our mistakes than from our successes.  He quoted American President Teddy Roosevelt, who said, “The only man who never makes a mistake is the man who does nothing!“  Mr. Jackson added, “Eighty percent of life is just showing up.”

Graduate Malika Layadi

Mr. Jackson pointed out, “School is something you complete.  Life is something you experience.”  He told the graduates, “Love what you do. Get good at it.  Competence is a rare commodity in this day and age.“   He added,”  Your effort is important.   Your peers, professors, and future employers will respect you for your effort, regardless of the results.“

Mr. Jackson’s advice to the Facebook Generation in our  current time of constant distcractions was, “Next time you read a book JUST read.  Next time you listen to music, JUST listen…be in the present moment, and you’ll appreciate it more.”

Graduate Jaafar El Baroudi

Mr. Jackson told the graduates that their entire life has been a “model United Nations.”  The American School of Marrakesh has seen both teachers and students of numerous nationalities and religions.  He pointed out that these experiences have opened the students’ minds and hearts.  Students and the school have embraced tolerance, because they have lived it.  He said, “Your experiences in this school make you all cultural ambassadors to the world.  Wherever you are coming from, and wherever you are going, as a result of your experiences here, you’ll be natural leaders in this world of globalization.”

Mr. Jackson finished his commencement address by saying, “This may seem like an ending, but it is just a beginning.”

Alaa El Boudali Receives his Diploma from Dr. Bryan Lewallen

Diplomas were awarded to the Upper School Graduating Seniors.

Stephen Eastman, Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the American School of Marrakesh, Morocco

The final speaker was Stephen Eastman, Chairman of the Board of Trustees.  Mr. Eastman kept his remarks short, and made four major points, highlighting “the best of what I’ve learned in30 years.”

1)  Find something you are passionate about.

2)  Whatever you do, do it to the best of your ability.  Don’t just try to “get by.”  Put your whole heart and soul into everything you do.

3)  Find a way to give back to your community.  Try to do some good.  Volunteer to help the needy, or those less fortunate than yourselves.  Small gestures by you can make all the difference in someone’s life.

4)  Be KIND to your friends, your family, and your co-workers.  It’s easier to be critical than to be patient and constructive.  Always strive to be your best self, no matter how difficult.

Following Stephen Eastman’s speech, the graduates threw their caps, and after retrieving them, filed out in the recessional.

Graduating Seniors Ahmed El Berdai and Yasmina Aboufirass

Graduate Jamal Eddine El Aaidi

–Madame Monet, in Marrakesh

I didn’t write this, but received it as an interesting email  forward:

The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperature isn’t just how you like it, think about how things used to be. Here are some facts about the 1500s:

Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor.. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, “Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water..”

Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying It’s “raining cats and dogs.”

There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That’s how canopy beds came into existence.

The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt.. Hence the saying, “Dirt poor. “  The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door, it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entrance way. Hence the saying a thresh hold .

In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme,  “Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old..”

Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could, bring home the bacon. They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and “chew the fat..”

Those with money had platters made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.

Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or the “upper crust.”

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes knock a person out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a” wake.”

England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave . When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive.. So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift.) to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be, saved by the bell or was considered a …”dead ringer..”

Now, whoever said history was boring?

–Posted (but not written by)  Madame Monet