A Town, in Celebration, in Tribute...

Past/Forward ~ Orangetown in Celebration

National Poetry Month Tribute April 28, 2017

Past... be this the Passion ~ Aspiration ~ Spirit ~ Treasures of breaths long gone ~ held in the memory of BEING.

Forward... be this the Faith, the Omnipresence ~ the Revelation ~ the Wondrous ~ the Aspiration ~ the Resurrection ~ the Deliverance ~ held in what IS.

It is the humanity that calls within the heart of a home, within an artifact is a vision, and intention, within a memory past, brought forward is the NOW.

A Home
Behold its walls
Held be the voices 
The dreams
Echoes of days past.

Held with the heart of a HOME...
the Harvest of a vision
the Oneness of purpose
the Manifest dream
the Eternal in the NOW.

We the keepers
We hold and speak our story
Gathered we are in acknowledgment
In celebration in humanity’s treasured glory 

Orangetown Rich in History
Rich with the treasures of settlements
With the vision of independence
With the knowing of freedom
With the glory of humanity

All that has come forth
All from the many yesterdays

And so in preservation’s name
Orangetown Rich in History makes its claim
Hold to the structures and artifacts of a day from a calendar past 
Welcome with reverence the memories and light they yet cast 
And what we allow to be, to stand
Is our grace and gratitude in knowing command
A history, a humanity, and so we hail
Orangetown Rich in History past/forward to prevail

We the keepers
We hold and speak our story
Embrace be time, humanity’s treasured glory.

Thank You.

Rose Marie Raccioppi 
Poet Laureate 
Orangetown, New York 

WE are ever the CELEBRATION...

WE are ever the CELEBRATION

Beyond the din of the media

Beyond the reported tragedies 

Beyond the loss and lament 

There be the SPIRIT of BEING

There be the BREATH of Life

In CELEBRATION of Faith, Trust, Truth, Beauty, Love 

YES, CELEBRATE... each letter sounding to heed the 

                                        Call 

                                        Eternal 

                                        Love 

                                        Enduring

                                        Beauty

                                        Revelation

                                        Ascension

                                        Truth 

                                        Evermore.

Rose Marie Raccioppi

Poet Laureate

Orangetown, New York

Awakened Faith, APOGEE Vibrational Art,  http://thesoundinglight.blogspot.com

©Rose Marie Raccioppi, 2014.
The Sounding Light Collection available in Fine Art Prints
 via custom order
peruse all the works posted
you are sure to find one or many that pleases you

For inquires on works of art contact:

Rose Marie Raccioppi

rmr@apogeeart.com

Upon Us

Upon us BE this SPRIT of light and change
As constant as each breath of life we breathe
Ever the giving, the receiving, the ebb and flow
The waxing and waning in cresting waves of time
This the blessing of THE WAY, the knowing of the divine
This the birth of the CHRIST CHILD in celebration anew
This the LOVE shared with the GRACE that is YOU.

Merry Christmas to All.

Rose Marie Raccioppi
Poet Laureate
Orangetown, New York

Awakened Faith, APOGEE Vibrational Art, ©Rose Marie Raccioppi, 2013.

Quake and Storm

  

what moves us but sensibilities and passion aflame

creation, concepts, art and BEING with heartfelt claim

brilliant be the colors of the sun to rise the sun to set

to mark the vision the glory beyond all regret

anew each breath within blessings divine

to mark our BEING this gift of time

a task, a deed, a celebration sweet

where vigor and joy so lovingly meet

beyond perceptions there BE a knowing real

from where LOVE and PRAISE have no conceal

quake and storm nature's restless heart

from which deep understanding bears its start

blessings be the call of this day

'tis the message of soul to convey.

Rose Marie Raccioppi

Poet Laureate

Orangetown, New York

Quake and Storm, APOGEE Vibrational Art, http://www.thesoundinglight.blogspot.com ©Rose Marie Raccioppi, 2013.

Thanksgiving Through the Ages...

The History of Thanksgiving

and its Celebrations

"Throughout history mankind has celebrated the bountiful harvest with thanksgiving ceremonies. Before the establishment of formal religions many ancient farmers believed that their crops contained spirits which caused the crops to grow and die. Many believed that these spirits would be released when the crops were harvested and they had to be destroyed or they would take revenge on the farmers who harvested them. Some of the harvest festivals celebrated the defeat of these spirits.

Harvest festivals and thanksgiving celebrations were held by the ancient Greeks, the Romans, the Hebrews, the Chinese, and the Egyptians.

The Greeks

The ancient Greeks worshiped many gods and goddesses. Their goddess of grains was Demeter who was honored at the festival of Thesmosphoria held each autumn.

On the first day of the festival married women (possibility connecting childbearing and the raising of crops) would build leafy shelters and furnish them with couches made with plants. On the second day they fasted. On the third day a feast was held and offerings to the goddess Demeter were made - gifts of seed corn, cakes, fruit, and pigs. It was hoped that Demeter's gratitude would grant them a good harvest.

The Romans

The Romans also celebrated a harvest festival called Cerelia, which honored Ceres their goddess of grains (from which the word cereal comes). The festival was held each year on October 4th and offerings of the first fruits of the harvest and pigs were offered to Ceres. Their celebration included music, parades, games and sports and a thanksgiving feast.

The Chinese

The ancient Chinese celebrated their harvest festival, Chung Ch'ui, with the full moon that fell on the 15th day of the 8th month. This day was considered the birthday of the moon and special "moon cakes", round and yellow like the moon, would be baked. Each cake was stamped with the picture of a rabbit - as it was a rabbit, not a man, which the Chinese saw on the face of the moon.

The families ate a thanksgiving meal and feasted on roasted pig, harvested fruits and the "moon cakes". It was believed that during the 3 day festival flowers would fall from the moon and those who saw them would be rewarded with good fortune.

According to legend Chung Ch'ui also gave thanks for another special occasion. China had been conquered by enemy armies who took control of the Chinese homes and food. The Chinese found themselves homeless and with no food. Many staved. In order to free themselves they decided to attack the invaders.

The women baked special moon cakes which were distributed to every family. In each cake was a secret message which contained the time for the attack. When the time came the invaders were surprised and easily defeated. Every year moon cakes are eaten in memory of this victory.

The Hebrews

Jewish families also celebrate a harvest festival called Sukkoth. Taking place each autumn, Sukkoth has been celebrated for over 3000 years.

Sukkoth is know by 2 names - Hag ha Succot - the Feast of the Tabernacles and Hag ha Asif - the Feast of In Gathering. Sukkoth begins on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Tishri, 5 days after Yom Kippur the most solemn day of the Jewish year.

Sukkoth is named for the huts (succots) that Moses and the Israelites lived in as they wandered the desert for 40 years before they reached the Promised Land. These huts were made of branches and were easy to assemble, take apart, and carry as the Israelites wandered through the desert.

When celebrating Sukkoth, which lasts for 8 days, the Jewish people build small huts of branches which recall the tabernacles of their ancestors. These huts are constructed as temporary shelters, as the branches are not driven into the ground and the roof is covered with foliage which is spaced to let the light in. Inside the huts are hung fruits and vegetables, including apples, grapes, corn, and pomegranates. On the first 2 nights of Sukkoth the families eat their meals in the huts under the evening sky.

The Egyptians

The ancient Egyptians celebrated their harvest festival in honor of Min, their god of vegetation and fertility. The festival was held in the springtime, the Egyptian's harvest season.

The festival of Min featured a parade in which the Pharaoh took part. After the parade a great feast was held. Music, dancing, and sports were also part of the celebration.

When the Egyptian farmers harvested their corn, they wept and pretended to be grief-stricken. This was to deceive the spirit which they believed lived in the corn. They feared the spirit would become angry when the farmers cut down the corn where it lived.

The United States

In 1621, after a hard and devastating first year in the New World the Pilgrim's fall harvest was very successful and plentiful. There was corn, fruits, vegetables, along with fish which was packed in salt, and meat that was smoke cured over fires. They found they had enough food to put away for the winter.

The Pilgrims had beaten the odds. They built homes in the wilderness, they raised enough crops to keep them alive during the long coming winter, and they were at peace with their Indian neighbors. Their Governor, William Bradford, proclaimed a day of thanksgiving that was to be shared by all the colonists and the neighboring Native American Indians.

The custom of an annually celebrated thanksgiving, held after the harvest, continued through the years. During the American Revolution (late 1770's) a day of national thanksgiving was suggested by the Continental Congress.

In 1817 New York State adopted Thanksgiving Day as an annual custom. By the middle of the 19th century many other states also celebrated a Thanksgiving Day. In 1863 President Abraham Lincoln appointed a national day of thanksgiving. Since then each president has issued a Thanksgiving Day proclamation, usually designating the fourth Thursday of each November as the holiday.

Canada

Thanksgiving in Canada is celebrated on the second Monday in October. Observance of the day began in 1879."

Information Source: http://www.holidays.net/thanksgiving/story.htm


Nymphs Filling The Horn of Plenty, oil on canvas, circa 1617, Sir Peter Paul Rubens, 1577-1640.

To All Who Visit Here

It is a thanks giving that we each share in many special ways. Thoughts, words, visions, artistry, perspectives, experiences, love and care, are put to print, sent over cyberspace and there we are in the embrace of another, in another space of time. We thank one another and offer responses. We are validated, appreciated and valued for who we are and what we choose to bring to one another. And so my blog friends you are each in Thanksgiving Celebration, your shared abundance honored with joy.

Happy Thanksgiving
2010

Rose Marie Raccioppi

Of Creation

Daughter, mother, grandmother, child of God's grace
With loving gratitude upon my heart your hand to place
Creation's call and nature's gifts of caring praise
Life's awakenings to fill these bequest of days
A time set aside to hail and in thankful celebration
Mother and the ever present bounty of Creation.

Rose Marie Raccioppi

The Creation of Adam is a section of Michelangelo's fresco Sistine Chapel ceiling painted circa 1511. It illustrates the Biblical story from the Book of Genesis in which God the Father breathes life into Adam, the first man. Chronologically the fourth in the series of panels depicting episodes from Genesis on the Sistine ceiling, it was among the last to be completed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Creation_of_Adam



~Consider a gift for Mother's Day~

Special Announcement:
Read the Review of The Wind and the Willow
THE WIND AND THE WILLOW
Limited Edition Hardcover
Softcover
ISBN-13: 9781604744545
directly from Publish America.
Click on title, place title or my name in search bar of Publish America Entry Page
available also on line booksellers nationally and internationally
including Barnes and Noble and Amazon
Thank you for your order.

Firmament

In Celebration

With love known and joy

And so with gratitude and praise to the beauty of the ever changing
"Firmament"
My very first video in celebration of these gifts...

Rose Marie


To view on You Tube
YouTube - Firmament
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6QlIBV1Drg

Featuring original art, poetry by Rose Marie Raccioppi and Claude Debussy, Reverie for Cello performed by Julian Lloyd Webber
and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by James Judd.
Claude Debussy, Reverie, 1890, French composer, 1862-1918.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Debussy