The Carousel ...

“There’s a time in each year

That we always hold dear,

Good old summer time;

With the birds and the trees-es,

And sweet scented breezes…

And life is a beautiful rhyme …

Those days full of pleasure

We now fondly treasure …

In the good old summer time

In the good old summer time …”

             ~ “In The Good Old Summer Time”

                    ~ American Tin Pan Alley song

     music by George Evans, lyrics by Ren Shields

                                ~ 1902

What better way to while away the hours in the good old summer time then taking a spin on the historic Weona Park Carousel, Pen Argyl, Pennsylvania?

The Weona Park Carousel, also known as Dentzel Stationary Menagerie Carousel, and its pavilion were built in 1923. The carousel is housed in a wooden, one story, pavilion measuring 20 feet high at center and 80 feet in diameter, with 24 sections each 10 feet 6 inches wide.

The carousel has 44 animals and two sleighs standing three abreast. They were originally hand carved and painted in the 1890s, circa 1905 and circa 1917. The carousel has a Wurlitzer organ, opus 146. It was constructed by the Dentzel Carousel Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

And it’s just one dollar to ride!

The carousel was added to the National Register of Historic Places August 4, 1999.

Country Line Dancing ...

“Sweet days of summer, the jasmine’s in bloom

July is dressed up and playing her tune …

Summer breeze, makes me feel fine,

Blowing through the jasmine in my mind …”

                                  “Summer Breeze”

                              ~ Seals & Croft

                                           ~ 1972

The sight of laundry dancing on the clothesline in the gentle summer breeze “dresses up” the countryside of Kempton, Pennsylvania on a beautiful June afternoon.

Follow His Star ...

“Morning Star, O cheering sight! Ere thou

cam’st, how dark earth’s night!

Morning Star, O cheering sight! Ere thou

cam’st, how dark earth’s night!

Jesus mine, in me shine; in me shine, Jesus mine;

Fill my heart with light divine.

Morning Star, thy glory bright far excels

the sun’s clear light.

Morning Star, thy glory bright far excels

the sun’s clear light.

Jesus be, constantly, Constantly, Jesus be

More than thousand suns to me.

Thy glad beams, thou Morning Star, cheer the

nations near and far.

Thy glad beams, thou Morning Star, cheer the

nations near and far.

Thee we own, Lord alone, Lord alone, thee we

own,

Our dear Savior, God’s dear son.

Morning Star, my soul’s true light, tarry not,

dispel my night.

Morning Star, my soul’s true light, tarry not,

dispel my night.

Jesus mine, in me shine; in me shine, Jesus mine;

Fill my heart with light divine.”

                

               ~ “Morning Star, O Cheering Sight !”

                             ~ Moravian Carol

     ~ Words: Johannes Scheffler (1657),    
Translation by Bennett Harvey, Jr. (1885)

               ~   Music: Francis F. Hagen, 1836

         In Moravian tradition, this is often sung as part of a Christmas Eve service, with a child as the leader.

                                             

A Moravian star glows with the warmth of Christmas on a cold December evening at Emmaus Moravian Church, founded in 1747 in Emmaus, Pennsylvania. The star shines over a Nativity scene placed on the church lawn during Christmastime.

This scene in sepia could be part of a Moravian Christmas putz, in dreams of Christmastide or a nostalgic Yuletide film – think “It’s A Wonderful Life” – but it’s very real, just as following Christ’s star is as important today as it was at his birth.

A Moravian star (German: Herrnhuter Stern) is an illuminated Advent, Christmas or Epiphany decoration popular in Germany and in places in American and Europe where there are Moravian congregations. The stars take their English name from the Moravian Church, originating in Moravia. In Germany, they are known as Herrnhut stars, named after the Moravian Mother Community in Saxony, Germany, where they were first commercially produced.

Merry Christmas, Happy Christmas everyone!