The Eastern Orthodox Church follows the Julian calendar for its liturgical calendar. So all their major observances (Christmas & Easter) occur 13 days later. Which is why today is Christmas Day in many countries where Orthodox Christians reside. Many of my friends are gathering today to celebrate this special day. So that is why I am reposting Merry Christmas today to wish happiness and joy to my friends in Eastern Orthodox.
==
Titanic News Channel wishes everyone a blessed and joyous Christmas Day. Merry Christmas!
The Adoration of the Shepherds (Gerard van Honthorst 1590–1656) Image: Public Domain (Wikipedia)
….And it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God Bless Us, Every One!” (Dickens, A Christmas Carol)
Adoración de los Reyes Magos El Greco (1541–1614) Public Domain
Epiphany or Three Kings Day is celebrated on January 6 by most Western Christian denominations. It is the day set aside to celebrate the arrival of the Three Wise Men in Bethlehem and the presentation of their gifts to Jesus. The Catholic Church decided to move its observance to the Sunday after Christmas so people would not have to take off work to attend mass.
Epiphany Day is the twelfth day after Christmas Day and usually concludes the Christmas season. Twelfth Day observances vary by country and some celebrate it on the evening before. Usually there are special celebrations involving foods and special cakes. If a Christmas log was lit for the season, it is now extinguished. King cake (a traditional part of the feast) is almost always present. Children often get gifts of candy or other things from the Wise Men. In Italy, the Christmas Witch La Belfana delivers gifts on Epiphany Eve to stockings children put up before bed. They awake to the delight of treats in the stockings. In Spain, it is celebrated as Dia de los Reyes (Three Kings’ Day) where families gather to celebrate the day.
One good way to celebrate it with the family is to gather before the nativity to remember what the holiday is all about. Christmas music should be played, and a nice midday meal served. Then taking down the Christmas tree can be done together. The nativity scene can remain up until the Baptism of the Lord which ends the Christmas season on the liturgical calendar.
Southampton Docks Station where passengers traveling to Titanic would disembark. The station still stands today but is a casino. Circa 1900’s Image: Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
The Daily Mail is reporting that train carriages that likely carried passengers to Titanic in 1912 have been found in yard for over a hundred years. The dining saloon cars were part of the Boat Train Express run by London and South Western Railway to carry first class passengers from the London Waterloo Station to Southampton.
The British Titanic Society has decided to raise the necessary £550,000 to restore the cars. During World War I and II the cars were used by the military. By the 1970’s they were in poor condition and acquired for use in a possible heritage railway that never happened. They were bought in 2000 by a train enthusiast in the hopes of finding someone who would restore them. No one can say for certain these saloon cars actually carried passengers to Titanic, but certainly operated in that time frame.
Here is the James R. Barker leaving Duluth this morning. Notice all the ice in the harbor and in the canal. The Barker has a very distinctive horn. A few people were there to see it off at 7:53 am (local time) this morning standing in a chilly 24 degrees F (-4 C) in Duluth.
