2012 pittsburgh catholic christmas traditions magazine

2 Pittsburgh Catholic Magazine Christmas Traditions 2012

Christmas Traditions 2012 Pittsburgh Catholic Magazine 3

Inside this issue:

6-7 | Meaningful encounter:Learning to receive and give genuine gifts at Christmas. 8 | Come one, come all!A North Sider writes that nothing can compare to large family gatherings with plenty of food. 10 | Mine or his?Learning how to share a birthday with Jesus. 13 | My first winter:A woman from Kenya sees her first snowflakes.

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14 | Maternal bliss:That new arrival adds something very special to the holidays for mom.

15 | The ‘Francis’ connection:The saint’s home in Assisi, Italy, reveals his connection to the crèche. 16-17 | OMG! 198 mangers:A pictorial of Linda Palmieri’s extensive collection of Nativity sets and images. 18 | In their own words:Pittsburgh bishops past and present write about Christmas.

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135 First Ave. • Suite 200Pittsburgh, PA 15222

1-800-392-4670www.pittsburghcatholic.org

Vol. 4, No. 8

Publisher | Bishop David A. Zubik

General Manager | Robert P. Lockwood

Editor | William Cone

Operations Manager | Carmella Weismantle

Christmas Traditions Project EditorJohn W. Franko

Associate EditorsPhil Taylor (Special Projects)

Chuck Moody (News)

Staff Writer | John W. Franko

Graphic DesignersDavid Pagesh | Karen Hanlin

Director of Advertising | John Connolly

Account ExecutivesMichael A. Check | Paul Crowe

Brandon McCusker | Michael Wire

Circulation Mgr./Parish News Coord.Peggy Zezza

Administrative Assistant | Amanda Wahlen

Office Assistant | Karen Hanlin

Pittsburgh Catholic Christmas Traditions Magazine is a complimentary publication available at all 204 Catholic parishes in the Diocese of Pittsburgh from the Pittsburgh Catholic Publishing Associates, Inc. Paid first-class delivered subscriptions are available.

Advertising: [email protected] Editorial: [email protected]

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MAGAZINECatholicCatholic

On the cover...See the Christ Child in the manger. He is the light of

mankind’s salvation, the promise that God made to his people. From the most humble of beginnings he came into the world, though he was the greatest king of all the earth. The stars in heaven bow to his majesty and thank him for their very existence. All on earth have come to understand that what was before will never be the same, and the future will indeed be bright and full of promise for all people.

— From Pittsburgh Catholic staff

Cover design by Debbie Skatell-Wehner

22 | Hotplate holidays:A woman keeps her cool while letting the hotplate take care of her important kitchen business. 23-24 | The joy of a ‘Bountiful Evening’A look at Slovak Christmas traditions. 26-27 | Winter in the ‘Burgh:Winter scenes captured by area photographer Susan Premozic. 28 | A closer look:Would we recognize the Christ Child today in the arms of an immigrant mother? 31 | Christmas trivia:Some brain stumpers and other stocking goodies.

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The following was taken from a recording of Father Ron Lengwin’s annual Christmas radio broadcast over KDKA Radio-AM 1020. Father Ron talks of his experience at St. Joseph’s House of Hospitality, a residence for homeless men in Pittsburgh’s Uptown neighborhood. He is well known to Pittsburghers for his show “Amplify,” and is diocesan general secretary and spokesman.

I think there is a lot of sadness maybe because so many of us still need to live a little bit in the past. And the memories of the past, as beautiful as they are, can’t be repeated.

Sometimes, we long for yesterday, instead of celebrating the now. And then I think of the sadness that I know at Christmas, in spite of all the love with which I’m surrounded.

I know a terrific sadness because I’m very conscious of people who are totally stripped of everything that it means to be human. I think of people in prisons, of the very, very poor. The people in hospitals. That makes me sad. There is always going to be that edge of sadness because everything is not finished yet.

What I have to ask myself is what do I do with that sadness. Because I think I can

block it out with a lot of false merriment. I can surround myself with laughing people and escape the presence of those who know the ache of emptiness.

Last Christmas, when I tried to be a big “do-gooder,” I went to the House of Hospitality to help serve supper. And I saw a lot of sad people there. But they made me very happy in a way because they taught me something about giving and receiving.

Four of us went. We wanted them to sit down and to eat with the rest of the people there. These men were not about to do that. They weren’t about to take our sweet smiles and do-gooder hands. Although we hadn’t intended for it to be that way, it was just so apparent what we had been up to without realizing it.

And so we stood with them. And instead of four people dishing out food there were the four men who always dished out food, each with a smiling companion at his side. That was good.

I got to talk to those people, and those men said how important it was: “Hey sister, this is my job and I like to do this.” And to have taken that away from him would’ve been to take something of Christmas away because he didn’t have anything else to give. But he could give his dishing out of turkey soup to the men with whom he lived. And I saw how that was important. And then we sat down and ate with them.

We gave something to each other last Christmas. But it was a surprise. I hadn’t expected it to be that way. Christmastime frees us up in a way to say things and do things that aren’t ordinarily acceptable.

I think of that line that Joan Baez is credited with — “Would it embarrass you very much if I were to tell you that I love you?”

I think that maybe that’s what God finally came to do with Christmas, when that baby Jesus was all of the sudden present and no more expected. This was the supreme embarrassment for us, that God loved us so much, that he took the risk of doing that. I can do that, too. I can risk it and say it to people who wouldn’t even hear it any other time — “Hey, you know, I really love you.”

I can say it in all kinds of crazy ways, and it’s OK. And that changes things then because it’s out and the vibrations

A lesson learned in giving and receiving

Skating is really “cool!”at


are in the air. It can’t be taken back. That deepens relationships and it scares people for a while, but things change.

Love is powerful enough to be very

weak. That’s really going back to the Nativity scene. That God could be so powerful that he was willing to be totally weak.

When I think of the people that I love who

have exposed themselves as being very weak to me, or those people who have seen the terrific weakness of me and have loved me, to me, that’s the power of it all.

“Christ of the Breadlines,” a woodcut by Fritz Eichenberg for the Catholic Worker Movement.

In this season of thanksgiving and rejoicing, the students, faculty and

staff of Gannon University welcome the Most Rev. Lawrence T. Persico,

Bishop of the Diocese of Erie.

As Chair of the Gannon’s Board of Trustees, the extended community

of Pennsylvania’s only diocesan university is grateful for the blessing of

Bishop Persico’s guidance and counsel.

GANNON WELCOMESBISHOP PERSICO

In this season of blessings,


As I reflect back, I must admit one thing, I really loved Christmas growing up and still do today. Although I did receive many great gifts, the gifts are not my memories.

Christmas almost always started with midnight Mass. I can close my eyes, and still see the front of Nativity Church with the manger scene. All the candles on the altar were lit, as this was the High Mass. The men’s choir, which included my dad, would be singing the Latin Mass.

After Mass, we would return home. My sisters, Mary, Rosalia and Christine, would check the tree, but Santa had not yet arrived. When morning finally came, our parents would

wake up and gifts would be opened.After gifts were opened and breakfast was

eaten, it was time to get the road show started. We all put on our dress clothes to go to Nana and Nolno Dentici’s home. All of my aunts, uncles and cousins would be there.

My grandparents’ house was full of joy. Everyone brought different items for dinner.

My sisters and I would change into more comfortable

clothes for the afternoon. After

the meal, we exchanged gifts with mom’s family. The homemade cannoli and other

desserts came out.Next, it was time to

hit the road again. Back on came our “good” clothes to visit

our Nana Balestrieri at home. Again, all my aunts, uncles and cousins were there. Gifts again were exchanged. Although dinner had been over, we could not say no to eating some more.

Now, in the front room of my Nana’s home was a large Nativity set. One of my older cousins had drawn a background of Bethlehem, and the Nativity scene was set up in front of the background. It took up a good portion of the floor, but it just seemed to belong there.

By the time we got home, we usually were too tired to play with our gifts. However, we had no school until after New Year’s, so no big problem.

As the years have passed, things do change. My grandparents have passed away, and with them the big gatherings seem to have gone away as well. Now not everyone can make the parties.

When I married, with my wife, Suanne, I was able to relive the family gathering again. My mother-in-law and her sisters would all gather for a Christmas Eve party. My wife’s aunts, uncles and cousins would gather and enjoy each other’s company and meet the babies born during the year. One year, there were three new babies. My wife’s grandmother, Anna Frketich, really enjoyed having the family around. After Grandma passed away, the gathering stopped with families being busy with their children in Christmas Eve performances and others moving away.

As I said earlier, I love Christmas. To me it is NOT the gifts. The getting together with all of the FAMILIES is the gift I liked the most.

Balestrieri is a parishioner of Most Holy Name of Jesus on Pittsburgh’s Troy Hill.

Large family gatherings my true Christmas giftBy FRANK BALESTRIERI

Christmas Traditions 2012 Pittsburgh Catholic Magazine 9Christmas Traditions 2011 Pittsburgh Catholic Magazine 27

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By ELENA MARZIALE

When I was younger, the nuns in my grade school always told me I was special for sharing the same birthday with Jesus, but I had a hard time believing that was true.

I missed sharing birthday treats with my classmates because there was no school during the holidays. My friends always received toys at Christmas and then more toys for their birthdays in the spring or fall. I always felt cheated because I received one “big” present — it’s the number of presents you receive that counts when you are a child.

Plus, my sister’s birthday is Dec. 27, and my Uncle Joe’s birthday is Dec. 24, so their names were always on the birthday cake, too!

Then about 25 years ago, my friends from nursing school and I decided to serve Christmas dinner for the homeless women at Bethlehem Haven in Downtown Pittsburgh on Smithfield Street. My friends decided to surprise me with a birthday cake of my very own.

As the women at the shelter sang “Happy Birthday” to me, I realized that maybe the nuns were right — it is special to share a birthday with Jesus. After all, Jesus would not count how many presents he received. He would share his birthday cake with the homeless and less fortunate.

Marziale is a registered nurse and a member of St. Teresa of Avila in Perrysville.

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Twenty-four hours after boarding my plane in Kenya on a nice 20 degree Celsius Friday evening, we landed in Pittsburgh International Airport on a Saturday in mid-December.

“Welcome to Pittsburgh. It’s 18 degrees Fahrenheit” said the pilot.

Eighteen degrees Fahrenheit? I pondered, and immediately converted to a unit I could better relate to — minus 7 degrees Celsius! How on earth can any living creature survive in this kind of weather (mystery No. 1)?

I looked out the window as we waited on the runway, and to my surprise the sun was nice and bright. How can it be this cold and the sun is out and not a single cloud (mystery No. 2)?

As we drove to Downtown Pittsburgh, all the trees appeared to be dead and not a touch of color not even on the grass — a desert? I don’t remember reading this about Pittsburgh (mystery No.3)

My third day in Pittsburgh, and here comes the snow. I was fascinated at the big white snowflakes, could not wait to touch them, I even stuck my tongue out for a taste. How amazing. As it continued to snow and pile up

1 inch after the other to a total of 6-8 inches, I gazed out the window in disbelief wondering how will I get out in the morning (mystery No.4)?

Needless to say, I very quickly had to get used to hats, gloves, boots, three layers of clothing, heavy jackets and hot beverages. Four months of walking around in heavy layers of clothes. Not fun, but mystery No. 1 was solved.

A BIG NO. Bright sun does not equate to heat. Not during winter and definitely not in this part of the globe. Sun or no sun it’s winter, you will freeze. No brainer right? Wrong. Not when you are used to rushing out in flip-flops once the sun peeps out of the clouds, January through December. Nevertheless, mystery No. 2 solved.

It’s not a desert, the trees are in a state of

dormancy to conserve energy, makes sense (mystery No. 3 solved).

This was a rough adjustment, it took a while to get used to.

Actually, it was somewhat depressing. I missed the spring look I was accustomed to all throughout the year back in Kenya, beautiful flowers, green grass, splendid vegetations, etc. Thankfully the “desert”

look was short-lived. A snow shovel, yes! And

salt, that’s how you handle the snow (mystery No. 4 solved). My

worst nightmare. Certainly, it was fascinating to see snow for the first

time, but after days of shoveling snow and scrapping car windows in 20-degree weather, a constant runny nose and watery eyes, I had enough and was ready for spring.

Kamau was born and raised in Kenya. She works as a nurse practitioner in hematology oncology and is a member of St. Benedict the Moor in Pittsburgh’s Hill District.

By CAROLINE “NONI” KAMAU

My very first winter

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By PAM GIANOGLIO

Like for so many others, Christmas has always been such a special time of year for me. The lights, the carols, the Christmas Eve Mass and pageants. It’s all so fulfilling and meaningful. I feel the holiday spirit just everywhere, and I completely submerge myself in the thought of holiday cheer from about Nov 1 straight through the New Year.

It has been like that my whole life — from the time I was a child growing up in a very close, traditional Italian Catholic family. Our household was warm and cozy, the living room decorated with a small ceramic village, of course, a Christmas tree and more lights than you could imagine. Christmas was alive!

I never lost that childlike love of Christmas.

Each year I was more excited than the previous one. But one year was different — quite different. I saw the wonder, the beauty and the awe of the Christmas season like I had never seen it before. Instead of looking forward to the Christmas season for my own pleasure and excitement as I always had, I was looking forward to the experience of sharing the Christmas season with my infant daughter. Sophia brought new meaning to the Christmas holiday.

Suddenly, every decision I made was with respect to my new little bundle. At 4 months old, Sophia would have her first experience with Christmas and I wanted it to be perfect. I made sure she had a Santa outfit, and, of course, it was covered in red sparkles. My husband and I made sure to sing Christmas

carols every night before bed, along with reading “Twas The Night Before Christmas.” Even though she couldn’t really eat them, we decorated Christmas cookies.

We didn’t waste any time with starting our family Christmas traditions. I remember holding Sophia so close while daddy cut down our first family Christmas tree that we then dragged into our living room. We were so proud!

But not everything was quite as easy to orchestrate. In previous years, traveling for the holidays was simple. Logistics wasn’t a concern. Things just always worked out, and I was content changing plans at the last minute, if need be. Not this particular year. There were new worries with traveling. How long could Sophia sit for a car ride? Did we pack enough diapers? Did we pack enough clothes? Did we remember the pack-n-play and her favorite blanket and stuffed animal? There was an endless list of items to remember whenever we left the house for a Christmas get-together.

But honestly, by Christmas morning I was more in love with life than I ever thought possible. I just stared in my beautiful daughter’s eyes and thanked God for her. That Christmas, I was more thankful and overjoyed than I thought possible. And it didn’t matter how many Christmas presents we received or how many Christmas cookies I baked. The only thing that mattered was that the family was together and that year even my understanding of family changed a bit. Now I was the mom, and everything I did was for Sophia.

Two Christmases later, I was falling in love with the season all over again as I cradled my son while watching my daughter dance around singing Christmas carols. Will was 10 months old for his first Christmas and watching his face light up during the holidays was priceless. Watching my two children grow and sharing the meaning of the season with them has been such a pleasure and an honor.

This Christmas will be three years since my first Christmas as a new mom, and I am still so taken by the experience. The excitement I felt before children can’t hold a candle to the excitement I now feel while getting ready for the holidays. It truly is the season to be jolly!

Gianoglio,is a wedding and childrens photographer. Her work can be seen at www.SatoriPhoto.com

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Francis and his crèche connectionBy PEGGY ZEZZA

Pace and Bene, Italian words preached by St. Francis of Assisi that translate to “peace and goodness to you.” Peace and goodwill to men are words that are used today to convey the spirit of Christmas in greetings cards, literature and songs of the season.

St. Francis’ way of living led him to create the first Christmas crèche. That is why he is connected to the religious celebration of Christmas.

St. Francis was born to a wealthy merchant in 1181 in the Italian town of Assisi, located in the province of Perugia in the Umbria region of Italy. Francis began the Franciscan religious order, and is the patron saint of the environment, animals and more. Yet, it is how St. Francis chose to live a Christ-like life of prayer, peace and poverty that makes him renowned by Christians and non-Christians alike. It is the reason we think of him during the season of Christmas.

This admiration for St. Francis is the basis for Assisi becoming an international pilgrimage site. Assisi is said to be “the most peaceful place in Italy.” Walking the streets, you can literally feel a spiritual sense of peace and joy.

Francis’ presence is felt throughout the town. You can visit his house and walk the same streets he did. The Porziuncola, a small church that St. Francis built and lived in, stands inside the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli (St. Mary of the Angels). Despite the crowds who come to worship, the silence of the church embraces a sense of peace and Francis’ presence.

Francis’ tomb rests in the beautiful Basilica of San Francesco d’Assisi, a church that looms over the town. Despite its size, its beauty lies in its silence and simplicity. The upper church contains striking frescos of the life of the saint, where all visitors come away with an understanding and admiration for his way of life.

The basilica also highlights God’s gift to us in the beauty of nature. St. Francis was known as a lover of nature because he believed nature mirrored God. The basilica that stands in his name over the town mirrors Francis’ love of God and highlights the church God has built for us in the beauty of the mountains that surround the town.

Francis is a man who lived the ideals of Christmas every day of his life. He preached of nonviolence and peace in a divided and violent world. He lived in poverty when wealth surrounded him. Peace, humility, selfless

service, love of Christ, all ideals expressed in the celebration of Christmas and how St. Francis chose to live his life.

It is no surprise then that his peaceful and loving spirit for Christ brought St. Francis to create the first crèche to the baby Jesus in 1220.

The story goes that while visiting the town of Grecio near Assisi, Francis found a niche in a rock in the town square, and set up his altar for midnight Mass. He created a live Nativity scene, using real animals. He used a straw-filled feeding trough set between an ox and donkey. His idea was to create a scene for worshipers to reflect upon and feel the peacefulness of Christ’s birth.

In the musical “Chiara di Dio” (the life of St.

Clare of Assisi) that is performed in the town of Assisi, there is a song titled “Thousand Minutes to Wait.” Chiara sings of Francis, “Untiring tender son and example you will always be of His incredible Franceso will always be spoken of.”

These lyrics are so true, for Francis is not only remembered and admired in his birthplace of Assisi, or in his country that names him the patron, Italy, but all over the world.

The Nativity crèche he created for the world helps remind us today of the peace, beauty and humility of the Christ Child’s birth.

Zezza is circulation manager and parish news coordinator for the Pittsburgh Catholic. She also was part of the Pittsburgh Catholic sponsored pilgrimage to Italy in October.

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Linda Palmieri, a resident of Pittsburgh’s eastern suburbs, has nearly 200 artistic representations of the unique historical event of Christ’s birth. Pittsburgh Catholic photographer Chuck Austin captured them in photos.


Surely, no anniversary of a birth is more significant for the world than commemoration of the birth of the Child Jesus on Christmas Day.

In retelling the story of the first Christmas, each one of the special details of the event of Jesus’ birth carries with it a lesson for us on Christmas Day 1987.

As Mary and Joseph gazed on the precious life of the Newborn Infant, we are reminded of how sacred is all life — the unborn, the elderly, all stages of life in between.

As the shepherds interrupted their normal routine to adore the Christ Child, we are called to visit God frequently with the discipline of daily prayer.

As the angels sang the message of peace on earth, we are charged with making that peace a reality with members of our families and friends in our neighborhoods near and far.

As the Magi brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, we are invited to offer back to God the most precious gift possible — the gift of ourselves.

— Bishop Anthony Bevilacqua, 1987

v

During the Christmas season, when we celebrate once again the anniversary of the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, we do so with many rich traditions, customs borne out of our unique backgrounds.

The Christmas custom memory I treasure most as a child is something that occurred early on Christmas Eve day.

There is a Slovak custom that the first person who comes to the door receives an envelope with some money in it. Each Christmas Eve day, I attempted to make sure that I was the first person at my grandparents’ door. There was an envelope always waiting for me. I suspect, even though others may have come knocking before I did, that envelope would still have been there for me. The purpose of this beautiful

custom was to highlight the needs to welcome Christ as he chooses to come to us in each person.

This year, as you and I gather together with family and friends to mark the real meaning of Christmas, the anniversary of the birth of Jesus, it is important for us to make sure that Christmas is never only an observation of the birth of Christ in the past, but that it is a reminder of our need to welcome Christ as he comes to us today and in one another.

— Bishop David Zubik, 2007

v

Christmas is for kids. This is such a commonplace and widely recognized statement that we take it for granted. And yet, there are several senses in which the place of children in Christmas can be understood.

In still another sense, Christmas is for kids because it is a reminder — in the person of the Infant Lord — of the innocence, the hope, the exuberance, the confidence in the future that are so much a part of the make-up of every kid.

However, there is another side. Children grow up. Jesus grew up. Somehow all of the warm feelings and positive sense that surround the crib of the infant Jesus seem to dissipate with many people when they face the grown-up Christ.

The grownup Jesus often is not so well liked. What he says and requires of believers has a certain “chilling” effect which contrasts dramatically with the exuberant outpouring of affection that one can lavish on a child.

The challenge to all of us — to the church — is to respond with the same attention and devotion to the adult Jesus that we do to the Infant Jesus.

— Bishop Donald Wuerl, 1990

v

Despite the hardships of the war, the anxiety of the economic future of our country, the divisiveness not only in our community but even in the church, there

is still plenty of generosity and good will about as there always is at Christmas. However difficult and uncertain the future may be, there is no need to spend an unhappy or joyless Christmas, for Christmas joy and happiness do not depend on worldly success or the possession of material goods.

Let us take a lesson from the Blessed Mother. She has no home in which to give birth to her son, no fire, only the warmth of animals, no Christmas dinner. Every great artist who has put on canvas or cut into stone that scene in the stable on the first Christmas night has depicted in her facial features the radiant happiness that was hers as her eyes centered on the face of her Divine Son.

Let us look on her and behold how happy she is so that we might know what it is that will aid us in making this Christmas of 1970 a truly happy and holy Christmas.

— Bishop Vincent Leonard, 1970

v

Each Catholic parish is a living center of the present dynamic life of Christ. Bethlehem need be no further from any one of us than in our own parish church. In each of our parishes Christ lives and works and has his home as truly as ever. He did in the land of his birth and more perfectly far than he does among ancient shrines now called “holy” because of their past memories rather than their present state.

And so Bethlehem for the devout is no longer a place 10,000 miles from here, hallowed by recollections of mysteries which happened 2,000 years ago. Bethlehem for us is the nearest altar where Christ is brought among us by the abiding mystery of the Eucharist.

We need not seek out the distant and desolate hills of Judea to hear the angels’ song at Christmas. That song is renewed and all its wonder verified wherever the Mass is said and parishioners gather to hear again the Gospel of the Nativity.

— Bishop John Wright, 1959

In their own words:Bishops on ChristmasCompiled by jOHN FRANKO


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Religious image stamps part of holiday tradition

WASHINGTON (CNS) — When the U.S. Postal Service unveiled its new Christmas stamp Oct. 10 featuring an image of the Holy Family fleeing to Egypt, there was no uproar about religion in the public square, or in this case, rectangle.

“We didn’t get a single phone call or email from anyone who took exception to the stamp,” Roy Betts, a spokesman for the Postal Service, said Oct. 11.

“And with the speed with which people can respond today, they would have if they wanted to,” he added. He said he thought people were more concerned with other things such as the presidential election.

He also said the post office doesn’t “really get comments” about the holiday stamps in

general, most likely because of the diversity of stamps — besides stamps with Christian imagery, there are those that commemorate Kwanzaa, Hanukkah and Muslim festivals.

As an aside, he said one year the Postal Service inadvertently left out the image of its Eid stamp — commemorating the Muslim festivals of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha — from a poster about its holiday stamps. The Postal

Service heard about it, and then some, and within 24 hours, he said, new posters were displayed that included all the holiday stamps.

As he put it: “People are passionate about this (issue).” But right now, he added, “they’re not complaining.”

The diversity in stamps, which may have quelled the naysayers, is fairly new. The first U.S. Christmas stamp debuted in 1962 with a wreath, two candles and the words “Christmas

1962.” Four years later the postal service issued what became more of the traditional Christmas stamp featuring a Renaissance painting of the Madonna and Child.

By contrast, the other holiday stamps took longer to get their corner of the market. The Hanukkah stamp marking the eight-day Jewish festival of lights debuted in 1996. The Kwanzaa stamp for the African-American holiday first appeared in 1997 and the Eid stamp was not issued until 2001.

Charles Haynes, a senior scholar at the Freedom Forum’s First Amendment Center, told Catholic News Service in an Oct. 11 email that stamps with religious images aren’t a problem “as long as the government is acknowledging a variety of religious and nonreligious communities at various times of the year.”

“The fact that religious — including explicitly Christian — symbols are in the mix raises no First Amendment issue — but simply reflects our diversity,” he said.

By CAROL ZIMMERMANN

All cemeteries aren’t created equal. A Catholic cemetery is a very special place,a sacred resting place, set aside by thechurch for the burial of the faithful. Webelieve the body is sacred, even after death,that it will rise again on the last day to bereunited with its soul. Learn more aboutthe advantages of pre-planning in aCatholic cemetery.

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By PHIL TAYLOR

My mother, Evelyn, definitely had her own ways about her — sometimes difficult to get a handle on.

Take Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner, for example. We never knew what “special guests” would be joining us. It was always, to say the least, a true surprise.

But it is what Mom believed, and she was true to her beliefs.

Those dinners were not just times for the family to feast. For her it was a time to give a special invitation to someone whom she knew might be pretty well forgotten around that time of the year.

I’m sure I wasn’t the only sibling to nervously ponder, “Who is she going to invite this year?” All of her children agreed, Mom would befriend what we considered some pretty odd characters.

Decades later, my brothers and sisters now realize that she was only following the greatest of Christian rules — be kind to others no matter how badly life had mistreated them.

I remember a tough Thanksgiving for the family, sometime in the early 1960s, when JFK was president.

My oldest brother, Gus, was in the seminary, and he was bringing home some friends for Thanksgiving. My mother felt it was an honor to host the young men for the occasion.

Unfortunately, I’m not sure exactly how it happened, but things abruptly took a sour turn. The gas in the house was turned off. No heat, no hot water, and worst of all, no oven. What would we do? To make matters worse, the chill of November was already being felt inside the house.

What would the young seminarians think? How embarrassing for our family.

But Mom didn’t flinch. I heard her on the phone talking to my Dad who was away at work on the railroad. He was probably many miles away and not anywhere close at hand.

You see, some women would have

succumbed to such unpleasant dire circumstances, maybe, in utter

frustration, even have lost it. However, Mom

remained focused and stayed firm.

She wasn’t the type to raise her hands in

frustration or whine about her lot when things got rocky. Nope, she was definitely the wrong type of gal for those kinds of theatrics.

She ordered her many sons to start cleaning the house.

No one dared question her. We knew it was grounds

for speedy punishment. I realize now she had to be firm with us to maintain order in the household. Our father was often gone at work for two- to three-week stints.

Soon Turkey Day would be here — but there was still no heat.

That’s when I witnessed a miracle. Well, maybe not a miracle, but nonetheless an impressive feat on Mom’s part.

Undaunted, she fully cooked a huge turkey on a two-burner electric hotplate. I still have the memory of her sitting by the device for hours, legs crossed, calmly having a smoke, tending to her holiday bird, never complaining … never doubting that the whole thing was going to turn out fine.

Thanksgiving arrived and so did my brother with his classmates. My father also returned sometime in the middle of the night with some special table fare.

In the end, we had friends, delicious turkey, plenty of food — and yes, even the gas was back on. To state it simply, we had mirth!

And, as was our custom, we even had a few welcome strangers at the table. But more

importantly — when we prayed — we had so much to thank God for.

Taylor is an associate editor for the Pittsburgh Catholic. Phil’s brother, Father David Taylor, pastor of St. Charles Lwanga in Pittsburgh’s East End, contributed to this column.

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The joy of the ‘Bountiful Evening’Slovak Christmas Eve traditions

By DANIEL F. TANZONE

While most Catholics consider the Christmas feast the singular more enriching event in the church year, for Catholics of Slovak ancestry Christmas centers around the celebration of “Stedry vecer” the “Bountiful Christmas Eve supper.”

Many of the Slovak Christmas traditions, brought to America by the immigrants from Slovakia, are perpetuated from generation to generation in a Slovak American home.

The Christmas Eve supper, which begins with the appearance of the first star, is filled with benevolence and mystery. With roots in the Passover supper of the Old Testament, the meal is filled with ritual and meaning. Each of the various regions of Slovakia has particular specialties.

In some localities, it is the custom to set the tablecloth over clean straw; in others, straw is laid upon the floor. This reminds the family that the Christ Child was bedded upon straw in a manger.

The father and mother come to the table with a lighted candle carrying holy water and honey. Reaching their places, good wishes and greetings are extended, offering a kind of festive feast. The candle, which gives light and warmth, is the symbol of Christ, the Light of the World. Maternal blessing

Before serving the meal, the mother sprinkles holy water on the table and the rest of the house that the blessing of God might rest on them. The father serves the oplatkia (wafer) to each family member starting with his wife. He asks her forgiveness for any hurt he may have caused and invites reconciliation with an embrace and a kiss. The mother does likewise to her husband. The father then takes a little honey and makes a small sign of the cross on the foreheads of all present. It reminds all to keep Christ in our thoughts and to live and work so that harmony and pleasant fellowship might sweeten our lives.

The meal begins with the “oplatky” or unleavened wafers imprinted with scenes of the holy birth. Coming from the Latin “oblata” (offering), these wafers are common to the

Slavs living in the Tatra Mountains. Both Poles and Slovaks, who live on either side of Europe’s second highest mountain range, forming the natural boundary between Slovakia and

Poland, use these wafers at the Christmas Eve supper. Because of the snowbound conditions of the region, these blessed wafers were given to the faithful by the village priest so that this symbol of Christ and the Eucharist might serve as their Christmas Eve spiritual nourishment.

It was custom for each family in a village to contribute a measure of flour for the baking of the oplatky done for the entire village on Dec. 13 the day after the feast of St. Lucy. If there was a common mill in the village, the miller saw to it that flour from the storehouse was provided. After baking, the oplatky were blessed by the village priest and distributed to

See Slovak, Page 24

Oplatky


each family by children who were sent by the priest.

Children presented each family with the oplatky together with a memorized Christmas greeting or “Vins.” Because of the often snowbound conditions in these villages which prevented the villagers from traveling to church for the midnight liturgy, these blessed wafers were enjoyed as a reminder of the Eucharist.

The “oplatky” are eaten with honey and remind the family of the unleavened bread of the Passover supper of the Israelites. Prefiguring the Eucharist, the passage of the exodus story is recalled: Exodus 16:8-9.

Culinary delightsFollowing the oplatky, a soup of tart quality,

usually made of sauerkraut brine and dried mushrooms, continues the exodus theme

of recalling the bitterness of slavery — life without Christ.

Fish is generally used, as Catholics in Eastern Europe observed a strict fast on the vigil of Christmas. Next comes “opekance” — “Pupacky,” which generally are sweet, raised dough or may be a biscuit-type of dough sweetened with honey and sprinkled with a pleasant preparation of poppyseed. The use of poppyseed recalls a pagan tradition in which poppyseed was strewn at the portal in order that the evil spirits might be occupied with

picking up each morsel and thus would not enter the house.

“Pirohy” are generally enjoyed at the Christmas Eve supper. They are boiled pastry filled with fillings which include sweet cabbage, sauerkraut, prunes, potatoes or cheese.

“Pagace” are also enjoyed at the dinner. They are thin-raised dough baked either in a single double layer filled with sweet cabbage. After baking, they are brushed with butter and cut into wedges. In addition, “Lokse,” a potato pancake type of specialty, is also enjoyed.

Other foods eaten include dried prunes, apples, nuts and St. John’s bread known as “Carob.” The meal concludes with the traditional Slovak pastry known as “Kolace,” which are filled with walnuts, poppyseed, lekvar (prune) or cheese. Red wine completes the evening’s feasting.

In addition to a place for every member of the family, a place is left vacant for the welcome traveler. In the rural villages of Slovakia, a shepherd would call from house-to-house making his Christmas wish or “vins” to all in the household: “On this glorious feast of the birthday of Christ our Lord, I wish you from God good health, happiness and abundant blessings. May it be yours to enjoy comfort from your children, salvation. The kingdom of heaven after death, and for this family’s welfare, may you have whatever you ask of God.”

The music for the evening, much of it written in the minor keys reflecting the centuries of oppression of the Slovaks, adds much to the celebration of a truly “bountiful evening.”

Tanzone is editor of the Slovak Catholic Falcon, the bi-weekly publication of the Slovak Catholic Sokol in Passaic, N.J.

SlovakContinued from Page 23

A Slovak Christmas table.

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The following commentary appeared in the Idaho Catholic Register, newspaper of the Diocese of Boise.

The police were coming after them. Officials said that they were a threat, this young family with a newborn. A threat? Preposterous. They were not well connected. They weren’t people of means. However, to escape a tyrant, this father, mother and child had to flee their homes for fear of their lives.

They fled to a neighboring country, hoping to find support, shelter and safety. They feared officials, because they were aliens and knew that if they

were deported they would be killed when they arrived home. Even the child would not be spared.

Not much was known about this family for several years. They dropped out of sight and tried to remain faithful to their traditions in a culture known for imposing its own. Somehow, with the help of strangers, they managed to survive.

Years passed, and eventually the threat at home went away. They had learned to make do in this new place and the journey home was long and difficult. For the mother, there was also this sense — hard to identify — that going home still posed problems. Yet, with family and friends there, with a

culture they embraced and with faith leading them, they made the difficult journey.

After settling, the father died and the son learned a trade to support his mother. As he got older, though, he ran into trouble with the law, and soon the ominous precognitions that told the mother they should not have come back began to materialize. Her son worked hard and made people around him feel better, but then one day, when no one was paying much attention, they took him away and killed him.

In America this Christmas, the story of the birth of Christ and the ensuing three decades of his life should make us think about the plight of many of those shunned by our society. Among the unwanted, the imperfect and the inconvenient, can we see the Holy Family? Amid the homeless and the hungry, can we see Mary and Joseph foraging for food, like they did in Egypt?

Do we see ourselves reaching out to those who hunger and thirst for justice?

Many recall the image of Jesus standing among those in the bread line. Would we recognize the Christ Child in the arms of an immigrant mother?

Let our gift this Christmas be our doubt. Let our gift to our Savior be an abandonment of rigid thinking about legalities and openness to the possibilities of tenderness. At a time when “illegal” seems to be the only adjective that can come before “immigrant,” for Christmas, could we substitute “brother” or “sister” instead?

Let our gift this Christmas be our doubt

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As you recall the people who have most shaped your life, you may remember the sisterwho prepared you for First Holy Communion or the brother who coached your high schoolbasketball team. Never counting the cost, these religious shared with you love, faith, and abelief in all that you could be - choosing to invest in your future rather than their own.Today, these sisters, brothers and religious priests may be elderly or infirm. Today, theylikely receive an average Social Security benefit of just over $4,500 annually.* Today, they need you. Please be generous.

Please visit our website for additional information, www.retiredreligious.orgIf you wish to make a contribution after the November 17-18, 2012 appeal in your parish,

please remit coupon and donation to address on form.

Retirement Fund for ReligiousCatholic Diocese of Pittsburgh/Department for Consecrated Life • 111 Boulevard of the Allies • Pittsburgh, PA 15222-1618For information call 412-456-3067I am enclosing a contribution to say thank you to the retired sisters, religious priests and brothers.

Name ________________________________________________________________________Address ______________________________________________________________________City ____________________________________________ State ________________ Zip ____*All statistics cited above are based on data submitted to the National Religious Retirement Office, ©2010United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, DC. All rights reserved.

� $500 � $250 � $100 � $25 � OTHER� Please use donation to assist any

religious in USA� Please use donation for retirement

needs of local religious

“ I’m recycled, not retired,” says Sister of St. Joseph Rita McNally, 88, a former educator and missionary who entered her community in 1941 and continues to minister in retirement. Like Sister Rita, thousands of senior women and men religious worked for small stipends. Their sacrifices now leave their religious communities without adequate savings for retirement and elder care. Today, Sister Rita and some 34,000 elder Catholic sisters, brothers, and religious order priests benefit from the Retirement Fund for Religious. Your gift provides vital funding for prescription medications, nursing care, and more. Please be generous.

Share in the Care


RULES/DISCLAIMER: To enter, complete the entry form here and mail it no later than Monday, December 17, 2012, to: LASER STORM CONTEST, PITTSBURGH CATHOLIC, 135 FIRST AVENUE, SUITE 200, PITTSBURGH PA 15222-1513; FAXES ACCEPTED AT 412-471-4228. Employees of the Pittsburgh Catholic Publishing Associates and Diocesan headquarters are not eligible. One entry per household.

All other entries receive one free l Aser tAg gAme.Name

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Q: What is the largest selling Christmas song of all time?

A: According to the Guinness Book of World Records, “White Christmas” has sold more than 100 million copies around the world. The song was written by Irving Berlin and recorded by Bing Crosby for the 1942 musical “Holiday Inn.”

Q: How much does the average American family spend on Christmas gifts?

A: The average American family spends about $800 on Christmas gifts per year.

Q: How many Christmas trees are sold each year?

A: Thirty-seven million fresh Christmas trees are sold each year.

Q: What state first recognized Christmas as an official holiday?

A: Alabama was the first state to recognize Christmas as an official holiday, starting in 1836.

Q: How many candy canes are made each year?

A: More than 1.76 billion candy canes are made annually for the Christmas season.

Q: Why do Barnum’s animal crackers have a string handle?

A: Barnum’s animal crackers in the circus-themed box were designed with a string handle so they could hang on a Christmas tree.

Q: What are sugarplums?A: Sugarplums are actually chocolate

candies with cream, fruit preserves or other sweet fillings inside.

Q: Why are candy canes bent?A: In 1670, a choirmaster in Cologne,

Germany, bent the ends to resemble a shepherd’s staff and handed them out to children during church services to keep them quiet. In the early 1900s, candy canes acquired their famous stripes. The first candy canes were straight, white sticks of sugar candy used as Christmas tree decorations.

Q: How many turkeys are consumed at Christmas each year?

A: Twenty-two million turkeys are

consumed each year at Christmas, compared to 45 million at Thanksgiving. On average, each American eats more than 17 pounds of turkey annually.

Q: What are the Top 20 Christmas songs?

A: According to ASCAP, these are the most-performed holiday songs:

“The Christmas Song” (“Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire”) (Mel Tormé, Robert Wells)

“Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” (J. Fred Coots, Haven Gillespie)

“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” (Ralph Blane, Hugh Martin)

“Winter Wonderland” (Felix Bernard, Richard B. Smith)

“White Christmas” (Irving Berlin)“Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!”

(Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne)“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”

(Johnny Marks)“Jingle Bell Rock” (Joseph Carleton Beal,

James Ross Boothe)“I’ll Be Home for Christmas” (Walter

Kent, Kim Gannon, Buck Ram)“Little Drummer Boy” (Katherine K.

Davis, Henry V. Onorati, Harry Simeone)“Sleigh Ride” (Leroy Anderson, Mitchell

Parish)“It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the

Year” (Edward Pola, George Wyle)“Silver Bells” (Jay Livingston, Ray Evans)“Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”

(Johnny Marks)“Feliz Navidad” (José Feliciano)“Blue Christmas” (Billy Hayes, Jay W.

Johnson)“Frosty the Snowman” (Steve Nelson,

Walter E. Rollins)“A Holly Jolly Christmas” (Johnny Marks)“I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus”

(Tommie Connor)“Here Comes Santa Claus” (Gene Autry,

Oakley Haldeman)

Q: Can you decipher these Christmas songs?

A .The apartment of 2 psychiatrists.B. The lad is a diminutive percussionist.C. Festoon the entryways with colorful decorations.D. Sir Lancelot with laryngitis.E. A B C D E F G H I J K M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y X Z

F. Present me dual incisors for this festive Yuletide.G. Exuberation to this orb.H. Do you perceive the same longitudinal pressure which stimulates my auditory sense organs?I. Far off in a hay bin.J. Leave and do an elevated broadcast.K. Behold! I envisioned a trio of nautical vessels.L. Listen, the winged heavenly messengers are proclaiming tunefully.M. Oh, member of the round table with missing areas.

ANSWERS:A. (Nutcracker Suite)B. (The Little Drummer Boy)C. ( Deck the Halls)D. (Silent Night)E. (noel... No L)F. (All I want for Christmas is my two

front teeth)G. (Joy to the World)H. (Do You Hear What I Hear)I. (Away In A Manger)J. (Go Tell it on the Mountain)K. (I Saw Three Ships)L. (Hark The Herald Angels Sing)M. (O Holy Night)

Did you know? You can spend your holidays in these

destinations: Christmas, Florida; Santa Claus, Indiana; Noel, Missouri; and Rudolph, Wisconsin.

Compiled by Connie Stewart and john Franko.

Christmas trivia and more

MAZE ANSWER:

Kennywood Christmas

Central CatholicHigh School

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2012 pittsburgh catholic christmas traditions magazine

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