Calendars
Monday morning is the time in the week that I do whatever I want, and last Monday I felt like writing blog posts. Knowing that this week would be pretty busy, I wrote several, and I'm parceling them out one by one. The following entry was actually intended as the second of a two-part explanation of Ukrainian Christmas. But considering that today is February 29, it seems appropriate to publish it today (even before you read Part I!).
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For years, I thought that Orthodox Christmas took place on January 6, which is Epiphany. When we started learning about Ukrainian history and culture, we discovered that Orthodox Christmas is not January 6, but January 7. Why? I've been casually looking for the answer to this question for several years, but today I did some searching on the internet and found it! Read on . . .
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Creation of the Earth
The solar year, based on the length of time for the Earth to revolve around the sun, is 365.24219878 days. This represents the time from equinox to equinox.
8th c. B.C.
The Roman calendar is established, with March 1 as New Year's Day. The year is ten months long, and the months are mostly named after their numbers. Even today, the names of September, October, November, and December are based on the Latin words for 7, 8, 9, and 10. Eventually, the months of January and February are added, with New Year's Day changing to Jan. 1.
46 B.C.
After eight centuries of the Roman calendar, it no longer matches the solar calendar at all. That's because the Roman calendar has a year with only 355 days. The Roman emperor Julius Caesar appoints an astronomer to revise the Roman calendar, which is renamed the Julian calendar and starts on January 1, 45 B.C. Each year is now 365.25 days long, with the quarter day handled through the extra day of February 29 every fourth year (leap year).
Not only does Julius Caesar name the calendar after himself, he also uses his name for the seventh month (July). In 8 A.D., the emperor Augustus Caesar makes some further corrections to the leap year concept, and names the month of August after himself.
354 A.D.
Bishop Liberius of Rome establishes December 25 as the date for Christians to celebrate "Christ's Mass," or Christmas. The celebration replaces a Roman pagan festival worshipping a sun god. (By the way, the Annunciation found its place in the church year as March 25, nine months to the day before Christmas.)
1582 A.D.
Despite the innovation of a leap year, the calendar is still incorrect because the Julian year differs from the solar year by 11' 14''. That adds up to a day every 128 years. Over fifteen centuries, the discrepance is about ten days long. In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII establishes the Gregorian calendar (these guys sure liked to name things after themselves!). He eliminates the ten days from March 12 until March 20 of 1582. That means that the date after March 11 is March 21. From my own music history research, I know how much disturbance this caused emotionally among the populace, many of whom were illiterate. They felt that their lives had been shortened!
The pope's official power only extended to Roman Catholic countries, and other parts of the world changed calendars at different times. For example, Britain and its colonies (including today's United States) changed to the Gregorian calendar in 1782, almost two centuries later. Today, the Gregorian calendar is used in all Western countries, as well as for commerce worldwide. But many parts of the world function with a dual-calendar system, one for business and the other for cultural or religious purposes. For example, this year's celebration of Chinese New Year marked the year 4707 on the Chinese calendar. The Orthodox church in Ukraine still uses the Julian calendar for its church year. The gap of 11' 14'' between the Julian and solar calendars means that by the 21st century, the difference is about thirteen days.
That thirteen-day gap means that Christmas falls thirteen days after December 25, placing it on January 7! That's good timing for taking advantage of after-Christmas (oops--"after Dec. 25th") sales!
1969
In the Lutheran sphere of things, church bodies often split for theological reasons. But among Ukrainian churches, debates over calendars are just as heated. The Ukrainian Catholic church, which is predominant in western Ukraine and is affiliated with the Roman Catholic church, stayed with the Julian calendar much longer than other Western churches. The Ukrainian immigration to Chicago in the early 20th century came primarily from western Ukraine, and these immigrants built St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church as one of their primary places of worship. In 1969, the leadership of this church voted to change their church calendar from Julian to Gregorian. Traditionalists in the parish disagreed strongly and left to form a new church, Sts. Volodymyr and Olha, about two blocks to the south. Today both churches have strong, thriving congregations.
So you see, calenders are important!
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sources:
infoukes.com/culture/traditions/christmas
fourmilab.ch.documents/calender
Postscript to "Promises" on 12/17/07
For the MLK observance in January, Misha's teacher asked him to write about his own longings:
I have a dream that
just because some
one tells youdo some-
thing it does not meen
you have todo it.
by: David Stahlke
Working Things Out in Dreams
My counselor loves to hear about my dreams, which I often remember in great detail. She's better than I am at figuring out what they mean. About a week ago, in the midst of the "document tunnel," I dreamed the following:
A very short refrigerator sat on the screen porch of an old house. It was functioning just fine, but it was old and rundown, mostly used for picnic fare and outdoor meals. (No, this dream is not about wishing that winter would end, although that would be a good guess!)
On top of the refrigerator was a small potted plant that needed to be transplanted to another container. I carefully pulled the plant out of the pot, but despite my best efforts, all of the dirt fell away, exposing the roots. Some of the roots were developing into small vegetables, perhaps radishes or carrots. They were not yet ripe but definitely growing. I knew that exposed roots could die, so I did my best to keep them damp with a wet paper cloth.
The new container for the plant was not new at all, and was filled with lots of trash and a little dirt. I pulled all of the trash out, but the dirt was stuck in the bottom half of the pot. My time was limited, due to the roots being so unprotected, and I worked quickly to make a hole for the new plant. The space was woefully small for all the roots that needed planting, but I placed the plant in its new pot, covered its roots with soil, watered it, and placed it back on top of the refrigerator.
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How are your psychological chops? Here is part of my counselor's analysis:
Short refrigerator = Europe, where Kola is waiting
Plant = our family
Roots = our children
Watering = my attempts to care for our family
Replanting = my attempts to "grow" our family by bringing Kola
I'll assume you can figure out the rest.
Update
Jonathan telephoned Wendy today about our homestudy. This is the third homestudy for us (luckily she mostly just revises the first one). But there is now a new twist that wasn't required in 2005 or 2007. Because Ruslan is more than twelve years of age, she has to do a criminal background check on him, too. So we are waiting now both for our clearances and for his clearance to arrive. Since Ruslan's I.D. number was sent today, his clearance should return in about a week.
Quiet Document Day
Our case worker Wendy received the fax of our documents last Friday. Like many mothers I know, including myself, she works for her employer three days a week. Monday is not one of her LSSI days, so we will wait until tomorrow to hear if the state police clearance arrived and how the homestudy is progressing. When the homestudy is ready, we will drive to Aurora to pick it up. With six to nine inches of snow expected this afternoon, it's probably better that we're not making that drive today.
I'm also watching the mail for the medical report that my doctor is sending.
The Document Tunnel
I just faxed twenty pages to Wendy, our case worker, so she can amend our homestudy:
9 pages--our homestudy from Spring 2007, with corrections
1 page--Financial Statement with our assets and liabilities
1 page--Budget Summary with monthly expenses and income
2 pages--U.S. tax return (1040) for 2006
3 pages--two recent pay stubs from each of our employers
3 pages--seven brief statements of health written by our doctors
1 page--the fax cover page listing all of the above
Now I'm going to the post office to mail hard copies of all the above, to make the updated homestudy legal.
Wendy has also ordered another criminal background check with the Illinois state police for Jonathan and me. Luckily we didn't have to be fingerprinted again for the homestudy since the prints from last year had not expired. This is not to be confused with the fingerprinting we did two weeks ago, also for the Illinois state police, which generated a criminal background check for our dossier. This is also not be confused with the fingerprinting we did a year ago for the U.S. government and their criminal background check when we applied for preapproval for our future child's visa.
Wendy hopes to receive the results of our criminal background check today or Monday, and then she will finish amending the homestudy. After it is notarized, we will probably drive out to her office in Aurora to pick it up. We are also watching the mail every day for my doctor's medical form for the dossier (not to be confused with the doctor report listed above).
When the homestudy and my medical form arrive, the dossier documents will all be in hand--good thing, because Masha asked that our dossier arrive in Ukraine by the end of February!
Festival Season II
I wrote in an earlier post that festival season for church musicians stretches from Reformation until New Year's Eve. Then "Happy January" is a breather before Lent, Holy Week, and Easter. Well, there's also a festival season for our family in February, although mostly of the secular variety:
Feb. 2: Ground Hog's DayHandouts from the elementary school asking for the children's observations of the weather
Feb. 5: Mardi GrasThe bead necklaces (New Orleans-style) didn't make it out of the attic this year
Feb. 6: Ash WednesdaySeveral church services and hot cross buns for snack
Feb. 7: Chinese New YearHaving lived in Hong Kong for three years, we always eat Chinese food on Lunar New Year
Feb. 10: Ruslan's BirthdayBesides cake and gifts, Jonathan and I each take the birthday child out on an outing. We're still working on scheduling those trips in light of our dossier work
Feb. 12: Lincoln's BirthdayLincoln is a popular school subject, especially in Illinois!
Feb. 14: Valentine's DayWhat a fun holiday! The kids make valentines, we all wear red and pink clothes, red roses decorate the dining room table, and Jonathan and I went out for brunch on Wednesday (just the two of us).
Feb. 18: Presidents' DayHoliday for all the kids but not for Jonathan. The kids and I will probably head to the planetarium, which is where we bought our museum membership for the 07/08 school year. Jonathan will join us there when he finishes teaching classes. It's a 4-1/2 day weekend, since Grace lets out at noon on Thursday, Feb. 14 for parent/teacher conferences on Thursday and Friday. That's a lot of childcare for me, especially since Concordia has no holidays at all.
Feb. 22: Washington's BirthdayGeorge Washington is also a very big topic in the schools. It's nice he chose to be born the same day as my mother! We'll make a group telephone call so the kids can wish their grandmother a happy birthday.
Feb. 25: NOTHING!The dossier should be done by then, and I'll have a day off!
From Rachel
Why did Barney go to prison?
He sang too much.
Beautiful Snow
In patient trust await his leisure
In cheerful hope, with heart content
To take whate'er your Father's pleasure
And all-discerning love have sent;
Doubt not your inmost wants are known
To him who chose you for his own.
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Lutheran Worship, Hymn No. 420, stanza 3
More Documents
Just a quick note--I came by the Forest Park library to blog, but there's only fifteen minutes before Garfield lets out.
Jonathan's brother Tim telephoned over the weekend that he had already received the certified copy of our marriage license. That was fast! Last week, Jonathan called Harris County (near Houston) where we were married and ordered a copy of our marriage license with his credit card. They mailed it to Tim in the Texas capital of Austin, who will take it in person to the Secretary of State office for Texas for an apostile. Technically, a certified copy is not supposed to require an apostile, but we've done it for the other dossiers we've submitted, and it's always passed muster well. So, we're not going to fix something that "ain't broke" by doing it different the third time! Thanks, Tim, for helping us out!
Today, Jonathan and I are each contacting our employers to request a notarized letter stating our job title, yearly income, and length of employment.
I had also hoped to call the Illinois state police, now that more than 72 hours have elapsed since we were fingerprinted last Thursday. But I accidently left the receipt at church on Sunday, meaning to photocopy it and submit it to the adoption fund for a reimbursement. So, I'll have to drive to church tomorrow so that I can get the receipt, then call the state police and request a notarized copy of our background checks. It beats driving all the way to Joliet, however!
The kids get out of school in less that five minutes, so I have to run!
Doctor Visits
Well, one doctor visit down and six to go!
I drove across town today for my 8:00 am appointment in north Chicago. Luckily, Saturday morning is a low traffic time, and the drive there only took 40 minutes. My doctor saw me and did the required blood tests for syphilis and HIV.
She has to complete two forms for me. One is an informal statement of health (on her prescription pad) that is needed for our home study. The other is a medical form for our dossier, which must be copied onto her letterhead and completely filled out--every line. Then she must notarize it and we have to apostile it.
I hope we can do most of the children's doctor visits in one big appointment. Also, they all see the same pediatrician in nearby Oak Park, thank goodness!
Today's Work
Concordia University 10 miles west of the LoopWe met with a staff member who notarized our letter for us.
Accurate Biometrics, Inc. (
formerly Art's Investigations)
10 miles northwest of the LoopI'm glad they changed their name--the former one sounded like something from a Chicago gangster movie! Jonathan and I were both fingerprinted electronically (better than the actual black ink at the Forest Park police dept. a year ago). Accurate Biometrics then sent our prints to the Illinois State Police headquarters in Joliet for a criminal background check.
Secretary of State (
Illinois)
In the Loop near Marshall Fields (oops--Macy's!)Jonathan waited while this office apostiled our letter. He then found a photocopy shop, since we make copies of EVERYTHING.
Kinko'sIn the Loop near Macy'sI purchased passport photos. Getting these photos taken every ten years is in the same league as trying on bathing suits! I thought I looked older when my 1998 picture was taken. Now I realize how young I looked then compared to today's photo.
State Department Passport OfficeIn the Loop several blocks south of Macy'sThey told me that it takes six weeks (!) to renew a passport, and we want to mail the entire dossier three weeks from now. So I paid the fee for expediting--$70 in addition to the regular $65 fee. The line at this office was estimated at five hours long, but luckily I could use the dropbox. The staff was very helpful.
Cook County Property Tax OfficeIn City Hall near Macy'sWe didn't bring the pin number for our house, so we asked for it at this office.
Cook County Recorder of DeedsIn City Hall next door to the Property Tax OfficeWe ordered a certified copy of the deed to our house. They were amazingly fast.
River Forest Post OfficeNot far from Concordia UniversityThe seven options for mailing a letter to Ukraine range in price from $1.80 to $75.00. Within the $11.00 - $25.00 range, the estimated number of days is five to eight, with the $11.00 option faster than the $25.00 option! There must be something I don't know! and may wish I did! So I sent the letter for $11.00 and hope it gets there quickly.
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Then we returned to our other jobs--working as a prof at Concordia University and as a director of music at Trinity, as well as being the parents of five, and hopefully soon, six children.
Yesterday's Work
I got the first of our doctor appointments scheduled--my own doctor who is way across town. The homestudy requires a statement of my health; in addition, I'll ask my doctor to fill out the medical form for our dossier. Besides a physical, that means blood tests for HIV and syphilis.
Yesterday, Jonathan wrote another letter to the Ukrainian government stating that we want to adopt Kola, that we are the parents of his five siblings, and that our paperwork will be ready soon. I proofed the letter, and tomorrow we'll get it notarized at our bank.
Then I will take the L to the Loop to get it apostiled at the Secretary of State office. An apostile means that the notary public who vouched for our signatures is actually on the current list of notaries for Illinois. An apostile is needed for legal documents sent overseas.
After that, I'll figure out how to send a letter to Ukraine in overnight mail. Masha will translate it for us, and then turn it in.
Faith
If you but trust in God to guide you
And place your confidence in him,
You'll find him always there beside you
To give you hope and strength within.
For those who trust God's changeless love
Build on the rock that will not move.
What gain is there in futile weeping,
In helpless anger and distress?
If you are in his care and keeping,
In sorrow will he love you less?
For he who took for you a cross
Will bring you safe through ev'ry loss.
In patient trust await his leisure
In cheerful hope, with heart content
To take whate'er your Father's pleasure
And all-discerning love have sent;
Doubt not your inmost wants are known
To him who chose you for his own.
Sing, pray, and keep his ways unswerving,
Offer your service faithfully,
And trust his word; though undeserving,
You'll find his promise true to be.
God never will forsake in need
The soul that trusts in him indeed.
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Lutheran Worship, Hymn No. 420
Snow Day!
Chicago had a big snowstorm on Thursday and Friday, with about 36 hours of snowfall and over 8" on the ground at our house. To this Texan, it was totally gorgeous! Both Garfield and Grace canceled school, and Jonathan and I arranged our schedules to be home with the kids. Between shoveling and sledding, the children got lots of exercise, which made them easier to handle.
I caught up on some longterm projects (like mailing the last of our Christmas gifts--ouch!) and did some budget work needed to amend our homestudy. I didn't even leave the house until 6:00 pm. That's never happened since the kids came. It was also the first snow day that Garfield has given in about five years. What a gift!
