TIS THE SEASON

But what season? Here in San Venanzo the weather has been unseasonably mild. We haven't had the spring-like weather they've been experiencing in Louisville, but even with temperatures in the 40's we're not complaining. The flowers are still blooming everywhere...roses and even annuals continue to flourish...



Small shrines like this one are everywhere in Italy, along the roadside, tucked away on a country road, or like this one in San Venanzo, just a part of everyday life. The creche was put in for the Christmas season of course, but vases of flowers decorate the shrine every day, tended by a devoted few.



Someone went to a lot of effort to decorate this tree with various items used by a plumber. The metal door just behind the tree houses a small office, so perhaps it's the office of a plumber, or maybe just a home handyman....


Sunset


On Saturday evening a special concert was held in the church



to close the Christmas season. The choir, originally formed in 1977, is composed of twenty five men and women. In 2005 they participated in the Umbrian regional Sacred Music concert.

The musical selections were interesting for many reasons. The opening number, "O Come All Ye Faithful", was was listed as being of Irish origins, something I never knew. I wasn't familiar with the next several songs, but the fifth song we knew as "Silent Night". The program listed this song as "Astro del Ciel", and I never could get any of the Italian words to match up to the English words, so perhaps the words are translated differently, or maybe they're completely different in different languages, adapated for the best 'fit'.



"Hark the Herald Angels Sing" was also a familiar tune, but once agian, the words didn't seem to be the same.

"The Little Drummer Boy" was sung in English and was accompanied with a drum. Even in English, the Italian accents made it sound just a little different! Out of the ten songs performed for the concert, this was the song selected as the encore, perhaps to utilitze the drum once again.

All in all this was a wonderful way to close the Christmas season.