Empathy begins the process of connecting us with others, as we share their emotions. Our own life experience enables us to understand something of the life experience of others. That emotional understanding is the distinction we call empathy: “. . . the capacity to share the feelings of others . . .” “Empathy is a complex capability enabling individuals to…
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Value for Sunday of Week 53 in the season of Harvest and Celebration
Celebrating
Life is ours to enjoy.
- The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate. [widely attributed to Oprah Winfrey]
- I think people in Italy live their lives better than we do. It’s an older country, and they’ve learned to celebrate dinner and lunch, whereas we sort of eat as quickly as we can to get through it. [widely attributed to George Clooney]
- Celebrate what you want to see more of. [widely attributed to Tom Peters]
- I celebrate myself, and sing myself. [Walt Whitman, “Song of Myself”]
Throughout the year, we worked, grew and developed. In summer, we calmed ourselves, and rested. Now, at the beginning of winter and the end of the calendar year, many people restore their souls and refresh their spirits in another way: with joyous and raucous celebration – tastefully done, of course.
Celebrating our wins tends to improve our mental health and well-being, as do celebrating our relationships, celebrating what we have, and celebrating in general. Celebration refreshes and invigorates us.
Some values and practices seem to fit well with certain seasons: renewal as spring begins and values that are reminiscent of harvest in autumn. Yet none of them is limited to a time of year. Each of them is an item in the toolbox of soul and spirit. Retrieve it, and use it when you need it.
Was there ever a time in your life when you did not celebrate, now and then? We will do well to keep that in mind, and act on it.
Real
True Narratives
- Rough Guides, World Party: The Rough Guide to the World's Best Festivals (Rough Guides, 2006).
- Michael Guerriero, Party Across America: 101 of the Greatest Festivals, Sporting Events, and Celebrations Across the U.S. (Adams Media, 2008).
- Gail Johnson, African and Caribbean Celebrations (Hawthorn Press, 2008).
- Nancy Luenn, Celebrations of Light: A Year of Holidays Around the World (Atheneum, 1998).
- links to lists of festivals
- Kathlyn Gay, African-American Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations (Omnigraphics, 2nd edition, 2019).
- Jack Santino, Halloween and Other Festivals of Life and Death (University of Tennessee Press, 1994).
- W. W. Fowler, The Roman Festivals of the Period of the Republic: An Introduction to the Study of the Religion of the Romans (Gorgias Press, 2004).
- Stephen F. Teiser, The Ghost Festival in Medieval China (Princeton University Press, 1988).
Videos:
- Nuba Harvest Celebration
- Winchester Cathedral harvest festival bells
- Culto a baba egum
- Ethiopian millennium celebration
Technical and Analytical Readings
Photographs
Documentary and Educational Films
Imaginary
Fictional Narratives
Poetry
Piping down the valleys wild / Piping songs of pleasant glee
On a could I saw a child. / And he laughing said to me.
Pipe a song about a Lamb; / So I piped with merry chear,
Piper pipe that song again - / So I piped, he wept to hear.
Drop thy pipe thy happy pipe / Sing thy songs of happy chear,
So I sung the same again / While he wept with joy to hear
Piper sit thee down and write / In a book that all may read -
So he vanish=d from my sight. / And I pluck'd a hollow reed.
And I made a rural pen, / And I stain'd the water clear,
And I wrote my happy songs / Every child may joy to hear.
[William Blake, Songs of Innocence and of Experience: Book One: Songs of Innocence: Introduction.]
Music: Composers, artists, and major works
Bedřich Smetana, Festive Symphony in E Major, Op. 6 (1854) (approx. 41’) (list of recorded performances), “is a celebration of a particular event, though the oddity is that it is celebrating an event that never actually happened. It represents the hope that the Emperor Franz Josef would become King of Bohemia . . .”
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, The Nutcracker, Op. 71, TH 14, (1892) (approx. 80-90’) (list of recorded performances): “The story begins somewhere in Germany during Christmas eve when godfather Drosselmeyer arrives with Christmas presents for his godchildren, Clara and Fritz. Clara, the heroine of the story, receives a nutcracker, a traditional doll believed to bring good luck, according to German legends. A jealous Fritz, who is Clara’s brother, breaks the doll much to Clara’s dismay. Godfather Drosselmeyer magically repairs the doll, and Clara falls asleep with it under the Christmas tree. This sets into motion the magical events of the ballet.” “The ballet is free of theology, steers clear of baby Jesus and celebrates festivities to which many families, regardless of religious persuasion, can relate at this time of year. Here is a magical world of young children, parents, toys, Christmas trees, snowflakes and candy, all set to Tchaikovsky’s ‘abundant and perfect’ score . . .” “We hear new melodies almost every minute for two hours, which is beyond what even the greatest film composers do sometimes. We hear Tchaikovsky’s skill as a craftsman and his incredible ability to create different colors in the orchestra. Immediately, his music evokes a place more magical than our own.” Performances with video are by New York City Ballet, Astrakhan Ballet & Opera Theatre, and National Ballet and Opera Theatre of Mari El. Top audio performances are conducted by Rodzinski in 1956, Ansermet in 1958, Doráti in 1962, Lanchbery in 1982, Ozawa in 1990, Dutoit in 1992, Maninov in 1995, Gergiev in 1998 ***, and Neeme Järvi in 2014.
Robert Schumann, Papillons (Butterflies), Op. 2 (1831) (approx. 13-16’) (recordings) is a suite of twelve “miniature dance pieces” for piano, evoking dances at a ball. “Similar to all the balls, various types of dances succeed one another, varying in rhythm, tempo, key, as well as dynamics.” Schumann explained: “I feel I must add a few words about the origin of the Papillons, for the thread that is meant to bind them together is scarcely visible. You will remember the final scene of Jean Paul’s Flegeljahre: fancy dress ball – Walt – Vult – masks – Vina – Vult’s dancing – exchange of masks – confessions – rage – revelations – hurry away – concluding scene, then the departing brother. Again and again I turned over the last page, for the end seemed to me but a new beginning. . . . Almost without knowing, I found myself sitting at the piano, and one Papillon after another came into being.”
Other compositions:
- George Frideric Händel, Music for the Royal Fireworks, HWV 351 (1749) (approx. 16-25’) (list of recorded performances): King George II of Britain commissioned this work to celebrate the end of a war.
- Johann Sebastian Bach, Cantata No. 202 in G Major, “Weichet nur, betrübte Schatten” (Give Way Now, Dismal Shadows), BWV 202 (1718) (approx. 20-25’) (lyrics) (list of recorded performances), celebrates a wedding.
- Johann Sebastian Bach, Cantata No. 204 in B-flat Major, “Ich bin in mir vergnügt” (I Am Content in Myself), BWV 204 (1727) (approx. 29-34’) (lyrics) (list of recorded performances)
- Karl Goldmark, Symphony No. 1 in E-flat Major, "Rustic Wedding," Op. 26 (1875) (approx. 40-43’) (list of recorded performances)
- Andrew Earle Simpson, A Crown of Stars, wedding oratorio in three parts (2010) (approx. 36’)
- William Henry Fry, “Santa Claus”, Christmas Symphony (1853) (approx. 26’)
- Arnold Bax, London Pageant (1937) (approx. 10’)
- Antonín Dvořák, Carnival Overture, Op. 92, B169 (1891) (approx. 9’) (list of recorded performances)
- Ignác František Mára, Cello Concerto in C Major (approx. 18’)
Albums:
- John Coltrane, “My Favorite Things” (1961) (41’)
- JPP, “Devil’s Polska”
- Bob Brookmeyer (New Art Orchestra), “New Works” (1999) (69’)
- “Aurita Castillo y su conjunto (Festival con Aurita), Volume 2” (1966) (31’)
- Fernando García, “Behique” (2023) (50’)
- Kady Diarra, “Burkina Hakili” (2021) (55’) “is a celebration of the music of Burkina Faso and its melting pot of cultures and languages” . . . and “a cornucopia of pleasures and wisdom, reflecting her life, her homeland (Burkina Faso), her region (West Africa) and her griot heritage”
- Mahotella Queens, “Buya Buya: Come Back” (2025) (58’) is the group’s first album since 2007. Founded during South Africa’s apartheid era, the ensemble presents an attitude of joy that may well evoke triumph over injustice - but then, they always sang like that.
New Year’s Day concerts in Vienna: 1941, 1942, 1977, 1979, 1987, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023.
Music: songs and other short pieces
- Kool & the Gang, “Celebration” (lyrics)
- Pitbull, “Celebrate” (lyrics)
- The Black Eyed Peas, “I Gotta Feeling” (lyrics)
- Madonna, “Celebration” (lyrics)
- Jambalaya (performances by Sonnier, Domino, Williams and CCR)
- Bob Dylan, Nashville Skyline Rag
- Boyer, Celebration Overture
Visual Arts
- Marc Chagall, Celebration (1982)
- Boris Kostudiev, Holiday in the Countryside (1917)
- Salvador Dali, Fiesta in Figueres (1914)
- Claude Monet, Rue Montergeuil, Paris, Festival of June 30, 1878 (1878)
- Karl Bryullov, Grape Harvest Celebration (1827)
- Diego Velázquez, Triumph of Bacchus (1628)
- Peter Brueghel the Elder, The Wedding Dance in the Open Air (c. 1566)
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