Search This Blog

Christmas Cards - Las Posadas

Posted
Custom Christmas cards nativity playLas Posadas is the Spanish for "the Inns" and refers to the reenactment of the search for a place to stay by Mary and Joseph as they traveled to Bethlehem for the census. As we all know, their search was in vain, and they took refuge in a stable, where the angels heralded the birth of Jesus.

While in Alamos over the Christmas period of 2002, I was able to take part in the Las Posadas celebration on Christmas Eve. A local man and woman played the parts of Mary and Joseph, and a real donkey played the role of, well, the donkey. The crowd followed with lit candles behind the "holy family" as they went from house to house knocking on the door asking for a room for the night, only to be turned away. Ultimately the parade ended at a location where a mock stable was set up, and an infant was brought out to be laid in the manger to a happy chorus of "Noche de Paz" (Silent Night) and the beginning of Christmas Eve revelry.

Well, Christmas is not quite on the horizon yet, but I was at Costco yesterday and they had this year's Christmas decorations on sale! And some people are quite organized about Christmas like my friend Lesli who has finished all her Christmas shopping already! I always remember as a kid that the first Christmas card that would show up in our letter box would be the one from Aunty Peg, who proably got her cards in the mail sometime in early November! So it's not too early to offer these photos from that night of Las Posadas in Alamos for Christmas cards, perhaps. If you would like to use any of these photos for one-off Christmas cards, they are available at my store at Imagekind.

I put together this brief video of the Las Posadas celebration with music from Sarah McLachlan's Christmas album "Wintersong"Wintersong by Mary McLachlan at Amazon.com
.



A high definition version of Las Posadas is available here at YouTube.

Subscribe to Only Movies Worth Watching by Email Alert
(Please note that immediately after you subscribe you will be sent a confirmation email that you must respond to to begin your subscription. If you do not see the email in your inbox shortly, please check your spam folder for an email from "noreply+feedproxy@google.com". We also recommend you "white list" that email address for successful delivery to your inbox going forward.)
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Most popular posts in the last 30 days

Pink Bromeliad #4 aechmea fasciata

Posted
Pink Bromeliad (aechmea fasciata) This beautiful bromeliad is flowering in a pot on my patio at the moment. I guess it must like my garden. I had it sitting under some trees in a pretty shady but bright spot for most of the last year since one of my neighbors moved and gave it to me. Once I saw all the blooms coming I moved it into the sun while it puts on its show. Its common name is urn plant or urn flower, and its botanical name is bromeliad aechmea fasciata. These plants are related to the pineapple, did you know? Please feel free to post any comments.
Image

What is Bokeh?

Posted
Columbine at the Huntington Library gardens, shot at f/4.5 to throw the background into bokeh. © John Corney A photograph I took of columbines at the Huntington Library gardens recently has such a beautiful bokeh effect that I thought I'd use it as an excuse to talk about bokeh today — what it is, where the word comes from, and how to get it in your own photographs. What Bokeh Actually Is The word bokeh comes from the Japanese word boke (暈け), meaning "blurred" or "haze." It started being used by photographers in the late 1990s to describe specifically the quality of the out-of-focus areas of a photograph — not just the fact that the background is blurred, but how aesthetically the blurring is rendered. Good bokeh is creamy, smooth, and pleasing. Bad bokeh is harsh, distracting, or busy. Two lenses can produce the same depth of field but very different bokeh. It's pronounc...
Image

National Wildlife Federation 2010 Photo Contest Submission

Posted
I have finally finished selecting and submitting my entries for this year's National Wildlife Federation photo contest. I submitted 25 entries in total in the mammals, birds, other wildlife, and plant categories. I put together this video presentation of my entries which can be viewed in HD  here at YouTube . Below is a low-definition version. If you'd like to join in the fun and submit your own entries, you have until July 6th to do so. Here's a link to the competition website .
Image

Bryce Canyon Rock Warrior

Posted
While walking back up from the bottom of the Queen's Garden Trail back to Sunrise Point I noticed that in this rock formation I could make out the face of a Mayan or Aztec warrior chief. If you click on this image and look just below the center of the bigger image hopefully you'll be able to make him out. He has a big nose and a high headdress. It was a pretty amazing sight. I wonder if other people have ever picked this out. I think a lot relied on the shadows that were being cast at the time by the sun. Perhaps it doesn't look like a warrior if the shadows aren't just right. Bryce Canyon National Park website
Image

Waterlily

Posted
Waterlily - Toned (c) John Corney 2009 Waterlily rendered in black and white with yellow split-toning. Subscribe by email Your subscription will begin only after you activate it by responding to the email you will receive from "FeedBurner Email Subscriptions" immediately after submitting this request. If you do not see the email within the next minute, please check your spam folder.
Image