Fradam

For the past few days, I’ve had this song stuck in my head. I’ve been trying to work out why. Something about the beat, something about the chorus line… it just drew me in. Hypnotic.

now i’m looking for a reason why
you even set my world into motion

OK, so the proverbial ‘what is the meaning of life’ question is there, but even that.. I’m not sure is what really pulls me into this song. Everyone goes through stages of questioning their own existence/purpose; so it’d be a little too cheesy for it simply to be that.

It occurs to me that the song only really got stuck in my head on the drive home from Victoria. An awesome road trip it was, and I have many a fond memory of my time there writ in my mind. The weekend was in a somewhat quieter part of Vic; one not crowded by vast quantities of man-made light. Something that really struck me on the first night was that the night is actually.. quite dark.

Dark and beautiful.

I’ve not seen so many stars in my life, and was a sight I wish I was able to capture. I’m almost ashamed to acknowledge just how much of a city slicker I am, having always had my view of the night sky so dominated by unnatural hues. This was different however, the conception of the infinite did not stray far from my thoughts, as for the first time, I could feel the reaches of the universe going far beyond my comprehension. The sky was a lot bigger of a place than I had imagined, and not all the Isaac Asimov books in the world could reveal that truth any better than my eyes had just conveyed. There were just so many stars up there… I’m almost overwhelmed contemplating what could lie beyond them, how they got there, what systems orbit them… I suddenly have a newfound appreciation for star gazing, so surreal an experience this was.

So it was after this whole visual epiphany began to settle inside my psyche (and it gaining a few minutes of airplay on one of the 3 stations till Canberra), did Black and Gold end up in my head. I suspect the probing nature of the lyrics are actually what appeal the most. It’s hauntingly acute in its perception, touching on a pondersome thought:

’cause if you’re not really here
then the stars don’t even matter

All those stars, that vast endless reaching sky… What is the point of this whole world if God ain’t in it?

i looked up into the grey sky
and see a thousand eyes staring back
and all around these golden beacons
i see nothing but black

i feel a way of something beyond them
i don’t see what i can feel
if vision is the only validation
then most of my life isn’t real

The chorus line keeps repeating “black and gold”, constantly challenging that the stars can’t be just lights (gold) in the sky (black). Is there something beyond the stars? You betcha. It’s no wonder the song got stuck in my head..

.. and what have you done? Hang on, wrong song. Similar idea though, given that yesterday I was queried regarding the origins of Easter, and my thoughts on it. Some people find it odd that I do not see it as the time to celebrate Christ’s death and resurrection - similar to the reaction to my feelings on the origins of Christmas - especially as I make no secret of being a Christian.
Let’s start with the etymology, as that might lead to more answers - turning to the all powerful centre of knowledge, Wikipedia.

The modern English term Easter developed from the Old English word Eastre, which itself developed prior to 899. The name refers to the goddess Eostre, who was celebrated at the Spring equinox, and has cognates in Old High German ōstarūn, plural, “Easter” (modern German language Ostern). The Old English term Eastre ultimately derives from ēast - meaning the direction of east. This suggests it originally referred to a goddess associated with dawn. Corresponding traditions occur with the Roman goddess Aurora and the Greek goddess Eos.

So, Easter as a word, has it’s origins in a West Germanic goddess known as Eostre - not too dissimilar in concept to Roman and Greek contemporaries.

What about Easter itself as a festival, or a time of celebration? Well, the way Easter is calculated is based upon the vernal/spring equinox - a day upon which the day and night time hours are approximately equal. Unsurprisingly, this mystic equality led to much revelry amongst other religions at the time - the Wicca for example would partake in a Sabbat about that time. The Christianising of Europe was a process of merging these kinds of festivals so that integration was an easier process. So from a timeline point of view - well, it is coincidental that it marries up well with other festivals of the time - not dissimilar to Christmas.

What about the actual religious / spiritual significance? Much like Christmas, the word Easter is missing from the Bible (you probably would realise this based upon the etymology above), but the idea of acknowledging the death of Christ and celebrating the resurrection? That idea surely isn’t that bad, and actually would be spiritually ‘healthy’, to be reminded of what he died for and such. Well, I agree - which is why I partake in that each week already!

Having said all that, much like Christmas, I do appreciate what Easter provides us now - a time to spend with family (due to public holidays!), the chance to engage in over-commercialisation of chocalata (which we all know is the -real- significance of Easter), and those bread.. things.. with little crosses on them…!

So go on .. have one!

The eagerly anticipated wedding of Megan & Josh took place a short while back (yes, this is the Josh of paintball fame) in the beautiful Chinese Gardens of Friendship in Darling Harbour.

The weather of the past week reminded me of the weather in the days leading up the wedding: it was quite wet. Not quite as wet as losing-parts-of-the-road, but it was pretty wet. Amazingly, the Saturday turned out spectacular:

This is the first Western wedding I’ve been at where I’ve been rather conscious of what was going on around me, and details were being soaked up at every turn. From the first step to the first dance, it seemed like the entire day was just one event to the next.

The bridal party looked gorgeous with Megan leading the way. Josh betrayed none of the warfare from the previous week in his tuxedo, looking very smart. Apparently he had spent the morning preparing for the wedding by watching Terminator 2 (!)… However, he was a figure of calm repose there that afternoon. Along with the others in the party, it was quite the good looking group of people.

The ceremony was beautiful. Ted Paull of Macquarie led, and chose some very relevant verses to speak upon. What was perhaps even more compelling was what Megan and Josh had to say — both in terms of the verses they had selected which they personally found touched their wedding, and the vows they had written. Quite the teary affair :’(

Josephine had tied ribbons to go around little bottles of bubbly champagne bottles, and as the ceremony was sealed with a kiss (although when that was meant to occur, appeared to be a cause for some confusion), the air was littered with bubbles floating everywhere! Definitely added to the somewhat magical atmosphere, and was complemented nicely by the three-piece string trio who had been working the crowd earlier in the afternoon.

All in all, it was quite the splendid wedding — and this was only added to by the experience of being able to serve as an usher too! Woohoo for some responsibility.

It didn’t stop there either, as I was given the privilege of serving in the reception as the MC (!). Whoa It was a little overwhelming at first, but such an awesome honour to have — to be the second person in the world (after Ted), to officially announce them as Mr and Mrs Josh and Megan Storer.

The reception seemed to vanish in a blur; between the meal and speeches and dancing… I don’t know where it all went! I know I was talking at one point, and that I heard some touching speeches at others. Dave, the best man, possibly had one of the funniest stories to share — which could make you question whether Josh should be marrying Megan or Dave Josh made the right choice though, and I couldn’t be happier for either of them!

Congratulations to you both

There are two questions commonly asked of me around this time of the year:

1. Fradam, how did you get so tall!?

2. Fradam, why don’t you celebrate Christmas like everyone else?

The answer to at least one of these questions is simple: drink lots of milk.

The other question however, is vastly more complex, primarily arising from most people being aware that I am a Christian, yet don’t seem too big on what many suppose to be the biggest Christian celebration around. But how Christian is Christmas? On a purely aesthetic level, yes, they share many of the same letters, but it is a bit more than that

As a Christian, I believe in what is in the Bible: which Christmas is not. Surprised? I hope not! Christmas is an amalgamation of many different cultures’ celebrations: Saturnalia, Sol Invictus, Yule, mid-winter night and the winter solstice. Between these, glory was given to the Roman Gods Saturn and Sol, the Syrian God Elah-Gabal, the Persian God Mithras and the Norse Gods Thor and Odin. It’s promotion into the Christian world was fuelled by Catholicism and the merging of pagan practices into less pagan equivalents. This is not particularly new knowledge — there was a lot of rioting and fighting about this in England and the US in the past few hundred years.

Ofcourse, that is what Christmas is technically defined to have originated from, but is that what Christmas is? Many would argue that Christmas is what you make of it, and that it means whatever you want it to mean — it can be a religious thing, it can be a secular thing, it can be a family thing, it can be a communal thing. Not everyone celebrates it the same way, and yet all are valid, right?

With my family, we take advantage of the fact that nobody is at work and can actually spend a degree of time with each other. It is not a religious acknowledgement of Christ’s supposed birth day. There’s rarely a tree. No candy cane, or stockings. It is simply time spent with those closest, those that are loved the most, with the joy of giving. Is that a form of Christmas? Well… considering the above thoughts, I suppose it is. Might not be the same as everyone, but it’s something

So on that note: Merry Christmas everyone!