#AdventReading Day-12: The Christmas Mystery - Quirinius

 

Credit: Flora Waycott

Here we are at last... the 12th day, halfway to Christmas! I have to confess that I was not quite sure at first that I'd be able to do daily blogging for 24 days. But here I am now! And if I can make it this far, then it would not be that hard to finish until the 24th, right? *fingers cross*

Joachim and his parents have been wondering whether John the flower seller did indeed wrote all the hidden stories. Then Mama remembers something; a long time ago there's a little girl was missing from their town when she's Christmas shopping with her mother, and has never been found since. Is the girl called Elisabet? Papa investigates, and yes! A Elisabet Hansen was missing in 1948.

Meanwhile, do you remember how the bookseller told Joachim and Papa that John the flower seller has put a photograph of a woman called Elisabet in the store window? Papa gets the photo from the bookseller, so now they are looking at a photo of a young woman with long fair hair, with a large dome in the background at the top of the photo. The dome is of St. Peter's in Rome.

But first thing first: the picture inside door no. 12 is a man in red tunic holding a sign. The story today titled: Quirinius. The pilgrims has arrived in Switzerland. They pass Lake Geneva, the Rhone river, St. Maurice monastery, before finally arrive at a mountain pass. At the top of which stands St. Bernard hospice (I'd hoped they at least look at the St. Bernard dogs, but that's not happening today). After Impuriel re-tells the story of the Good Samaritan (linking it with the rescue service run by Benedictine monks at the hospice) and criticizing priests who don't help others, they see a man in red tunic holding a sign: "To Betlehem". He introduces himself as Quirinius, Governor of Syria.

Quirinius gives Elisabet the sign and tells her to turn it right round, and lo and behold... it is an Advent calendar with twenty four doors! Above each door is painted a young woman with long fair hair, standing in front of a church with a large dome on the top!! Quirinius tells her to open the first twelve doors, inside which she finds pictures of each member of their group.

It is in the year of 1045 when we leave them all; Christmas is approaching!

Previous posts:
- Day-1
- Day-2
- Day-3
- Day 4
- Day-5
- Day-6
- Day-7
- Day-8
- Day-9
- Day-10
- Day-11

#AdventReading Day-11: The Christmas Mystery - Balthazar

 

Credit: Flora Waycott

Day 11 is a bit different for Joachim, as now the secret pieces of paper from his Advent calendar has become a family secret, so that he can now (almost halfway through to Christmas) share all the excitement and wonder with his parents.

Caspar isn't alone now; the second Wise Man joins the group - it's Balthazar, King of Sheba. The groups first finds him on a boat on the side of Rhine river; they think he's the ferryman. 

The year is 1186, and Ephiriel points out at some beautiful churches. I begin to think that Ephiriel's showing churches at every phase of their journey must means something. Perhaps it's to highlight how Christianity has developed since Christ's born 2000 years ago? 

Anyway, Impuriel says something worth to reflect:

"Christmas is the world's biggest birthday party, for everybody in the whole world is invited to join in. That's why the party has lasted for so many years."

We celebrate Christmas every year, but has it ever occurred to us whose birthday we are celebrating? Or do we tend to assume Christmas as OUR own party? 

The next moment the group meet a rider on horseback (that is also the picture appears inside door no. 9 of the Advent calendar). He's a soldier, and is really scared when Impuriel impulsively buzzes around him crying: "Fear not! Fear not! Fear not!" Poor soldier... LOL!! 

They are in a town called Worms, in the year 1119, and about to journey through the Alps, following a route over the St. Bernard Pass. Can't wait to read their next adventure!

Previous posts:

- Day-1
- Day-2

- Day-3
- Day 4
- Day-5
- Day-6

- Day-7

- Day-8
- Day-9

- Day-10

#AdventReading Day-10: The Christmas Mystery - Impuriel (A Cherub)

 

If you have been wondering whether this story is not rather quietly boring, with partly predictable plot every day, you're not alone. And Gaarder seemed to read our minds, because right when it's starting to get (too) convenient, a conflict is presented to us.

Joachim has been keeping his secret pieces of paper inside his "secret" locked box, and hiding the key. His mother has given him the box, and promised never to open it without his consent. But Joachim often blurts out bits of knowledge - which a boy his age is supposed to be innocent of - to his parents, that they begin to worry. Today Mama opens the secret box and reads all the stories, that Joachim is so enraged. It's not so much the revealing of the secret, as the fact that Mama has broken a solemn promise, and that he cannot trust her anymore. It's a reminder to parents, never to make promise they cannot keep, or break the one they have made. Joachim's mother should have confront him to open the secret box with him, instead of sneaking and stealing when he's not around.

But enough of the drama, let's reveal the content of the secret paper.

The new addition to the pilgrims is... another angel. It's a cherub really, called Impuriel. It's Elisabet who sees him first when they arrive at the St. Bartholomew Church in Paderborn, which was built in 11th century.

So there are ten of them - men, girl, angels, and sheep, and they continue on to the city of Cologne, on the bank of River Rhine. It's year 1272 angel-time, and the Cologne cathedral is still under construction at that time (the construction was completed in 1880). I've been to the finished cathedral myself about twenty years ago. It's a magnificent architecture, indeed!

Cologne Cathedral - today

And today's journey ends with another wise words from Ephiriel, that Elisabet (and I) hid in her heart:

"Every person on earth is a unique work of creation."

Previous posts:

- Day-1
- Day-2

- Day-3
- Day 4
- Day-5
- Day-6

- Day-7

- Day-8

- Day-9

#AdventReading Day-9: The Christmas Mystery - The Fifth Sheep

 

Credit: Flora Waycott

When opening door number eight of his Advent calendar, Joachim finds a picture of a man playing a pipe. Consulting the hidden story, it turns out that the piper is Pied Piper of Hamelin. A legend said that a town in Germany called Hamelin had been plagued by rats. The officials hired a rat-catcher - a pied piper (a man in colorful clothed who plays pipe). When he played his pipe, the rats followed him. He led them to the river, where they all drowned. However, the officials broke their promise, and didn't pay him full reward. Enraged, the piper returned to the town, played his pipe, and this time all the children in the town followed him, disappeared, and were never seen again.

Pied Piper of Hamelin - led the rats out of town

Pied Piper of Hamelin - led the children away

The pilgrims are now entering Germany, in the Middle Ages (1304). When they are about to leave Hamelin, a sheep is running towards them, and joins the others... to Betlehem! To Betlehem!

Meanwhile, Joachim accompanies his mother to the market, and lo and behold... who do you think he sees in the flower stall? ;) And when his Mama is wondering how the flower seller can bear to stand there in the middle of cold winter, Joachim's answer is priceless:

"That's because part of the glory of heaven has strayed down to earth."

Of course, he's been quoting from Ephiriel, but still, it'd make you deep in reflection. 

Aren't we all, human beings, carry the "part of the glory of heaven that has strayed down to earth", albeit only the tiniest part?

Previous posts:

- Day-1
- Day-2

- Day-3
- Day 4
- Day-5
- Day-6

- Day-7

- Day-8

#AdventReading Day-8: The Christmas Mystery - Jacob the 2nd Shepherd

 

Credit: Flora Waycott

Joachim finally meets John, the flower seller who put the magic Advent calendar in the bookshop, in person! He (John) must have got Joachim's address from the bookseller, when he (the bookseller) returned Joachim's father's driver's license. Joachim tells John about his plan to keep the Advent calendar's magic a secret from his parents, and will wrap all the stories up as a Christmas present on Christmas day. John gives Joachim something to ponder upon when he's taking leave:

"I must go now. But we'll meet again, for that old story links us human beings together."

And how true is it? Don't we read/hear John's (the Baptist, not the flower seller) story again and again, especially during Advent? It's like we are never apart.

Joachim unfolds his 7th piece of paper, and the title read: Jacob. That's the name of the second shepherd, whom the seven travelers meet after they get out of boat at Kolding (a Danish town in the south of Jutland island) in 1499. While passing a countryside, Joshua notices that the lamb with a bell is missing. Of which incident, Joshua laments the difficulty of herding flocks - one sheep is always going astray from the herd, and when you finally gets it, another will be missing. "As it is written, now I must leave the other sheep to look for the one lamb that is missing." - a sentence I'm sure you're all familiar with.

But he needs not to worry, because another shepherd comes approaching them, carrying the missing lamb on his shoulder. Of whom, Ephiriel remarks: "He is one of us" - the same remark he always utters when meeting a new fellow-traveler-to-be. Joachim often wonders how does he know - but again, he's an angel, right?

Today's story ends when the eight of them is about to enter German's frontier in Flensburg, in 1402. Tomorrow we will dive down into the depths of the Middle Ages.

Previous posts:

- Day-1
- Day-2

- Day-3
- Day 4
- Day-5
- Day-6 

- Day-7

#AdventReading Day-7: The Christmas Mystery - The Fourth Sheep

Credit: Flora Waycott

"But it’s important to be happy about the little you have. However little it is, it’s infinitely more than nothing."

From all the hidden papers which Joachim found each day inside the Advent calendar, the seventh one is the most philosophical. Anyway, when a wise man is among your fellow travelers, what more could you expect, eh?

Here's another one to chew upon:

"In the opinion of the Kings of the Orient, God spoiled humans a bit, because He created far too much at the same time. He created so many strange things to look at that many people don’t see God. [..] If only one fish could be found in the sea, people would probably have noticed how perfect it was. And then they might have started asking who had made it."

That's... well, that's something I would've never thought myself! Connecting it with Day-1 story, all I can think of is diversion. Modern life, with its complexities it offers, diverts our focus away from what God has intended us for. In a way, God is indeed spoiling us, out of His Love - which is greater than ourselves. The effect is, rather than utterly grateful for what He has created for us, we tend to take them for granted

Enough of serious reflection. Let's welcome the new comer: the fourth sheep! Tell me, how many sheep do you think Joshua the shepherd would flock on the day Jesus is born in Betlehem? ;)

The angel-watch now shows that they are now entering the 16th century. The procession runs down towards a sound (a narrow strip of water) called the Little Belt, still in Denmark, over which they are soon rowed by a ferryman.

We leave them safely on the other side of the sound, ready to go "To Betlehem! To Betlehem!", as Joshua always says while striking the ground with his crook, when the others are conversing too long.

Previous posts:

- Day-1
- Day-2

- Day-3
- Day 4
- Day-5
- Day-6  

#AdventReading Day-6: The Christmas Mystery - Caspar

Credit: Flora Waycott

When our pilgrim's boat touches the shore of Danish land, who do you think the first come to welcome them? No less than Caspar, King of Nubia - or we've known him from our childhood as one of the Three Wise Men.

He's a nice and humorous gentleman too. Look at what he says to Elisabet:

"...I've been standing here waiting for you for so long that between 1701 and 1691 I had to play ." - can you imagine a king playing hopscotch? :))

It's really a nice way to lecture children about diversity. Caspar is a black king, so when he first came to Denmark, he's the first black man the Danish have ever seen. Feeling unwelcomed, he decided to retreat to 1699.

But, away to Bethlehem! The seven of them leap along through Copenhagen's cobbled street in 1648. Reaching the center of the city, they see a church with a round tower. It's the Round Tower built by King Christian VI, which served as church tower and astronomers' watch-tower - the first telescopes were just being invented at that time. That is also the picture Joachim sees inside door number six of his Advent calendar: a round tower.

Then Caspar says something wise to Elisabet - that there are two ways of learning or becoming wise:

"The best way to study the stars, in the opinion of all Wise Men, is to sit on the back of a camel in the desert. It’s almost like sitting in a tower, but a camel can move from place to place as well, a bit like the castles on a chessboard. The only thing that’s inconvenient for a camel is to go through the eye of a needle."

He's a funny guy, isn't he? :)) 
And that's what we are doing here - the second way of becoming wiser(r) - that is, sitting in... wherever we are reading this story, to contemplate about the real meaning of Christmas. 

And on that reflection, I must end today's post. See you again tomorrow!

Previous posts:

- Day-1
- Day-2
- Day-3
- Day-4

- Day-5