It has been awhile since I posted.
This is the time of the year to have dreams of a more just and humane world. Dreams are the land of hope and Christmas is the perfect time to be a dreamer. This brings to my mind the lines from Imagine by John Lennon:
You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will be as one
Several years ago, I read an essay by Parker Palmer reminding me the miracle of Christmas. As a child growing up in Northern Alberta, Christmas was a time of wonder.
Parker posted on Facebook about an experience in Nogales Mexico at a refuge for asylum seekers and pointed out Jesus was likely a person of colour born into the Jewish faith. For me, Jesus’ birth is an ecumenical event.
I wrote the following poem several years ago and am drawn back to it. I hope it captures Christmas in a way that reaches out and touches what we share in common with each other: our humanness and journey seeking refuge at various times
Carpenter guiding,
Expectant mother riding,
Backs straight; heads held high–
Donkey serving as regal carriage.
Seeking refuge in the night–
Giving birth in a stable,
Swathed and cradled in a manger,
Beasts welcoming the child.
Showering gifts upon us–
Returning each year,
Lighting each way–
Only asking, “Can you open your hearts?”
Source of strength,
Our turn to humbly receive gifts,
Restocking spirits,
Rejuvenating souls.
For several years, Kathy and I attended concerts by Canadian singer and actor Tom Jackson. The proceeds went to support local food banks and we took something extra with us to share.
He sings a beautiful version of Huron Carole, which points to the ecumenical nature of Christmas, Christ’s Mass, echoing Parker’s (re)membering “the story, the music, the candlelight, the scent of pine, the silent night, the warm presence of family and friends.”
For me, it is food and opening a present on Christmas Eve. Food included French-Canadian tourtière (meat pie), which Kathy and I continue to share with our children and grandchildren.
ivonprefontaine
Teacher as Transformer 
So nice to see you here, Ivon. Blessings to you and your family this season. Lovely post. 💜
Thank you Carrie. Blessings to you and yours during this holiday season.
Beautiful poem, beautiful song! 🌷 It’s good to see you! Wishing you and yours a wonderful season.
Thank you. It is good to be back. Tom Jackson is a wonderful singer and his live performance of the song is breathtaking.
Lovely poem and thanks for sharing that song. Happy Holidays.
Thank you and you are welcome Leonard. All the bet to you and yours during these holidays and beyond.
Wishing you a wonderful Christmas, Ivon! Funny we were just talking about tortiere and tarte au sucre about an hour ago. Delicieux! (Sorry…no accents on my iPad keyboard.)
Great to have a post from you Ivon. Warmest wishes to you and Kathy for a peace-filled ecumenical Christmas 🎄🙂✨
Thank you. All the best to you and yours during these holidays and beyond.
So good to hear from you Ivon! Good health to you!
Thank you. All the best to you and yours. Keep posting those wonderful pictures of nature and sharing.
Good to hear from you again. Have a joy filled Christmas With good experiences, good health and best wishes for the New Year
Smile Have a great day
ROY FANTHOME
I smile back. Have a wonderful holiday season with those close to you Roy and all the best in 2024
🎄🧑🎄
Thank you Christine.
Christmas blessings to you and family! 🌲☃️🌲
Thank you and all the best to you and yours.
(ŐωŐ人)
Merry Christmas, dear Ivon to you and your loved ones. 🎄
Thank you Marina. All the best to you and Oannes
Thank you very much, Ivon!
Thank you and wink back at you. Enjoy.
So lovely to hear your voice again Ivon. Thank you for sharing your touching poem. May we all be reminded of what is most important, especially at this time of year. 💐🙏🏻🕊️
Thank you Val. Hopefully, we can carry what this time of year is about into the whole year and treat each other with compassion.
A good post Ivon. Happy Holidays to you and the family. “Imagine”…John was a gift, what a legacy he left behind. Thank you for starting my day out right!
Pat
Thank you and all the best to you and yours during the holidays. Yes. John Lennon was a gift and this song is at the top of my list for favourites of his.
Good to see your voice again, Ivon. Merry Christmas.
Thank you Tom. All the best to you and yours during the holidays.
Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Thank you Dawn. All the best to you and yours
Beautiful ❤ Merry Christmas to you all and man my other half loves meat pie just scared to make it as he just had new arteries put in lol
Take care and enjoy every moment.
Thank you Eunice. Merry Christmas to you and yours. Over the years, Kathy modified the recipe. It is not the same as my grandmother made before she left Quebec to come west and it is different than what Kathy made early on. They are pretty easy and we use store bought pie shells to simplify.
The ones sold commercially here seem to mold pretty quickly as they wrap them hot and then with moisture it makes wreaks havoc, so maybe I will attempt it myself and drain the meat good.
I love your poem and Tom’s tune is beautiful and reminds me of the days I sang in the church choir and the true meaning of Christmas was all around us. Peace on Earth is all I have ever prayed for.
I find that it is true of store bought pies, so you have to make your own. We freeze the extras and our sons still enjoy them. I am not a singer as I cannot carry a tune if it had handles, but the song reminds me of going to midnight Mass and the church being filled with hymns being sung. Yes, it would be wonderful to have Peace on Earth.
xo I will try to make him one for New Year’s Eve.
Christmas Eve, we have a local church with an incredible choir that opens their doors for anyone to come and join in.
So good to see you posting Ivon, Merry Christmas to you and yours, hugs, C
Thank you Cheryl. Merry Christmas to you and yours and hugs back.
I always love Tom Jackson’s version of this song.
He has a beautiful voice and we have heard him in an old church with great acoustics.
What a beautiful voice Tom Jackson has! Also, do you share recipes? I’d love to see your recipe for your meat pies – I’ve been experiment with various savory/protein & veggie packed mini-pies to make ahead and eat well on the days that get busy! If family recipe, not shared, no worries! I understand! Wonderful to see your post, poem, listen to the song and learn more about your Christmas traditions!
Thank you Tamrah Jo. He performed in an old church in Edmonton for several years. It had wonderful acoustics, so his voice filled the space.
I will have Kathy give me the recipe and share it in the next day or so.
FANTABULOUS! Thank you!!!
I posted the recipe with some additional information on the blog. Kathy included some variations and I expanded a bit on them.
Left my thanks, on the post – Merry Christmas to y’all!
Thank you and Merry Christmas to you and yours
Always a joy to see your posts. Christmas for me is a time to connect with friends old and new as well as family. It’s the time of year when I like to let everyone know how important they are in my life. You are one of those special people that I have met through WordPress as I have received many words of encouragement and comfort from your posts.
Thank you Bev. Your words are appreciated. We have always gathered at Christmas with family. Now that we are the elders, family comes to us to have Christmas dinner together. Some years we travel to the farm where Kathy grew up and gather there.
Glad to see you back, and I liked the poem. Volunteering at a center for refugees is life-changing. The stories always leave me in tears. There is cruelty in this world that gives to us such beauty and such resources.
Thank you Emilie. When we travel to Mexico, we take an extra suitcase with school supplies to donate at a small school. We also provide at least one free meal while we are there. Many of the children and parents speak little English, but their smiles tell me all I need to know.
Oh, it’s been a long time, Ivon! I’m glad to see you’re still kicking!
I liked that Tom Jackson song, too!
I am still hanging in there and will try to blog a little more often. It was a busy year. He has a beautiful voice and the song is a true Canadian Christmas hymn.
So good to see you posting, Ivon. You have been missed. All the best this holiday season, and let’s hope our dreams come true for a peaceful and more loving world.
Thank you Michele. Yes, it would be nice if those dreams came true. All the best to you and yours during the holidays.