Freelance Flashback: Don't pack up those ornaments yet

In my years as a local freelancer for the Baltimore Sun, I learned (and often, quickly forgot) many facts and pieces of trivia.

One tidbit that stayed with me: It's okay to leave your Christmas and holiday decorations up until the Feast of the Epiphany. That's tomorrow, folks.

Mr. S is visiting his parents, so the teens will be helping me pack up the Santa candles, dreidel candy dish, and preschool crafts of holidays past.

Here is  my 2003 Sun article that explains why January 6 is the day to pack it all away.

Still proceeding to honor the Magi on the 12th day

Paying homage to the 3 kings

Epiphany: Several Howard County churches prepare to observe the Feast of the Three Kings.

Howard County

January 03, 2003|By Laura Shovan | Laura Shovan,SPECIAL TO THE SUN

Don't put away those manger scenes yet. The 12 days of Christmas, which began Dec. 25, don't officially conclude until the Feast of the Three Kings on Jan. 6, the traditional date for the wise men, or Magi, to arrive.

Some time, I'll have to tell you about
my one and only camel ride.

Several Howard County Christian churches have traditional, and nontraditional, Epiphany customs.

At the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Ellicott City, the wise men arrived a little early. The weekend before Christmas, the church held a pageant. Members of the parish took turns playing the roles of prophets, shepherds and the three wise men.

James Gartside of Jessup, who was among the Magi, said the wise men were familiar figures in Old Testament and other prophecies about a coming Messiah and connected those with astrological events. "They knew the signs," he said. "They recognized that Jesus is our Lord and Savior."

In the United States, Christmas celebrations overshadow the Epiphany - it is a more significant festival in Greek and Russian Orthodox churches and in Latin America. However, the two holy days are related. While Christmas marks the birth of Jesus, the Epiphany signifies what his birth means - Jesus' role as Savior.

"That's what Epiphany means, an event of great importance," said George Martin, president of the Columbia Cooperative Ministry. "That day was effectively like Christmas because it was the manifestation of Jesus to the world."

Translations of the Greek word epiphaneia range from "to reveal" and "manifestation" to "appearance." In English, the term has come to signify a discovery or realization.

The Epiphany can be found in the Gospels of Luke and Matthew. The realization in the Gospels is that the Magi, who were foreigners and non-Jews, recognize Jesus as Lord and king. They represent the idea that his message will reach the whole world.

The Adoration of the Magi, weaving, 1894

Although the number of Magi does not appear in the Scriptures, they usually are depicted as a group of three because of the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh that they carried. The traditional names of the Magi, who later came to be seen as kings, are Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar. Details like these, and that the three gifts might have been bartered to help the Holy Family escape danger, were added to the Epiphany story as it was passed from generation to generation and depicted in works of art.

The three gifts were common items to take on a journey because they were tradeable goods. But they also have symbolic meanings. Gold, a gift given to royalty, signifies Jesus as king. Frankincense, which was used in worship practices, stands for his divinity. Because myrrh was used to prepare bodies for burial, it represents Jesus as a man who would die.

Frankincense has many health benefits. You can find it
in this form in natural food stores.
From Wikipedia.

Gift-giving during the Christmas season is meant to honor and emulate the wise men. But there are a variety of other traditions surrounding Monday's Feast of the Epiphany.

One custom, according to the Rev. Richard Tillman of St. John's Roman Catholic Church in Columbia, is "a tradition of going around and blessing homes. ... The ritual is with a small piece of chalk that you inscribe on the home, `20+CMB+03' - the number of the New Year and the initials `CMB' are in the middle." (Read about this custom here.)

Not only do the initials stand for the names of the Magi, Tillman said, they also signify a Latin prayer, "Christus Mansionem Benedicat," which means "May Christ Bless This Dwelling."

The Orthodox Christian Church of St. Mathews in Wilde Lake also has a tradition of blessing homes. Children carry candles and sing hymns while each room is sprinkled with holy water blessed during the Epiphany.

A less traditional custom will be the "Taste of St. John's" potluck dinner, which will be held Sunday at St. John's Roman Catholic Church in Columbia. Parishioners from at least 50 ethnic backgrounds will share dishes from their cultures.

"The three kings represented people from far away - the idea is to emphasize that here at St. John's we have people from all over the country and all over the world," said Kathie Armstrong, parish secretary.

Because the Feast of the Epiphany marks the end of the Christmas season, Jan. 6 is the traditional date to put away Christmas decorations.

I'm always a little sad when it's time to pack up
the Christmas Lobster.

We do have some traditional ornaments.
This Santa made of poi, for instance.

So next week is the time to take down the lights and ornaments, and pack those wise men and the family creche until they visit next year.

Freelance Flashback: Snow Bunnies

Happy  holidays! After a sleet-filled ride from New Jersey back to Maryland, we are home. We spent Christmas with my husband's family. Christmas Eve Italian style is my favorite meal of the entire year.

(My favorite dish: pasta with walnuts and anchovies. The New York Times featured the recipe.)

Pizzelles are a traditional Italian waffle cookie.
whatscookingamerica.net

My side of the family -- my parents, brothers and their families -- are enjoying winter white. They are holed up at my parents' cabin in the Catskill mountains, where a foot and a half of snow fell last night.

My sister-in-law shared this photo from the back deck of the cabin.

When I was growing up, my family spent our holidays on the slopes. I had to stop skiing after knee surgery in 1985, but here is a Baltimore's Child article from 2009 about another ski-crazy family.

Family Adventure - December 2009

Life’s an adventure for The Laras

By Laura Shovan

Paul Lara was used to working long hours. A mechanical engineer for the federal government, he would leave his wife and young daughter at their Laurel home every morning at 5 a.m. and wouldn’t return before 5 in the evening.
 
But that was before an extended family adventure last winter made him rethink his lifestyle. From late December 2008 to late March 2009, Paul, 35, his wife, Jennifer, 39, and their 3-year-old daughter, Olive, skied and snowboarded together in Colorado, California, and Nevada. During that trip, Paul and Jennifer, an education professor at Anne Arundel Community College, telecommuted to their jobs and focused on family time and teaching Olive how to ski.
 
Olive learned to ski and the Laras learned to slow the pace of their lives. Paul now works from home twice a week.

Happy Trails
 
Jennifer grew up in south Florida, but left that warmth behind to earn her bachelor’s degree at Michigan State University. She then attended graduate school at the University of Colorado at Boulder. After teaching stints on the Navajo Nation and in Ecuador, she moved to Bowie, where her sister lived, in July 2000.
 
Jennifer met Paul—who was born in Ecuador, but grew up mainly in Silver Spring—at a salsa dance class at the University of Maryland, where he was finishing his engineering degree. 

They soon learned that they both loved sports—snowboarding, skiing, hiking, biking, running. In 2004, they eloped outside of Jackson Hole, Wyo., and Grand Teton National Park, where they also were snowboarding.

When Olive came along, they naturally wanted to share their love of the outdoors with her.

“It gives us something that we can do together,” Jennifer says. “Here we are outside, getting fresh air, doing a sport. Skiing is great exercise in a beautiful environment.”

Rather than catch occasional weekends at a local slope, Paul and Jennifer wanted to immerse Olive in skiing. 

Having introduced Olive to skiing at age 2, Jennifer says she realized, “If we want Olive to be a really good skier, she really needs more than one week a year. We both said, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if we could live in a ski town for a season?’” 

So that’s what they did.

Paul and Jennifer found affordable multi-resort ski passes and organized long-term condo rentals in Lake Tahoe, on the California and Nevada border, and in Breckenridge, Colo. The couple then convinced their employers to allow them to work long-distance via the Internet.

“I would work in the morning until Jennifer and Olive woke up,” says Paul. “Then we’d make breakfast together” and plan the day. “I spent a lot more time not only with my daughter, but also with my wife.”

Jennifer describes a day on the slopes: “One person would work and ski with Olive, and the other person would do some adult runs. After a month, she could go down a real run.”

“Skiing is everyone equally participating,” she adds. “That’s not what you get when you go jogging with a kid in a stroller.”

Videos of Olive show her gleefully tackling a ski run. She glides down the mountain in a sky blue parka and pink helmet, laughing as she skis past the camera.

“When we’re out there, she just smiles and she tries new things,” Jennifer says. “Even now, she talks about Colorado and Lake Tahoe.”

The slower pace and beautiful scenery helped Paul realize “how different life is out there. You don’t get up and commute 30 miles in traffic to work.” 

Jennifer says, “Being away for three months proved to him that ‘I can work from home.’”
The time away also shifted Jennifer’s thinking. 

“When you’re away,” she says, “you can be present in the moment without feeling the need to multi-task. You’re not torn by all the things you should be doing—you’re not surrounded by it.” Now, when she’s playing with Olive at home, Jennifer focuses on fun and puts chores out of her mind.

The Laras are planning their next ski trip for January, and Olive is already eager to get back on the slopes. 

Jennifer adds, “Now that it’s cold out, she said to me, ‘Oh, Mommy, I can’t wait to go skiing.’” 

Freelance Flashback: School Visits

Welcome to a new Author Amok series: Freelance Flashback.

For many years, I was a freelance feature writer for the Baltimore Sun and  Baltimore's Child. The deal was this: I wrote an article;  I got paid; the publication owned the rights for two weeks, then they reverted back to me.

Except that's not what happened. My articles are archived by both publications. Sometimes other websites, instead of linking to an article of interest, will run the full thing on their page.

Even though I am not paid for these "reprints," I don't mind the practice so much. It gets my name, as an author, out there. However, I do own the rights to these articles. Why not repost my favorites on my own blog?

Let's start with a feature I wrote for Baltimore's Child about author school visits. There is advice here -- both for schools and for authors -- from two wonderful Maryland children's authors, Michelle Y. Green (A Strong Right Arm) and Lois Szymanski (Out of the Sea: Today's Chincoteague Pony). 

But my favorite part of the piece is remembering how I got to see Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket) messing with tweens' heads.

Bring a Children's Author to School: It's an Open Book Affair!

From Baltimore's Child March 2005
 
When a Children’s Author Comes to Visit, It’s an Open Book Affair
By Laura Shovan

I’m standing in the back of a crowded ballroom. The room is cavernous, but every chair has been filled. 

A throng of mostly preteens is talking with rock-star awe about the person they’ve come to see—children’s writer Lemony Snicket. Snicket is the alter ego of Daniel Handler, author of the popular books A Series of Unfortunate Events.

The Howard County Library won his visit in a contest sponsored by publisher Harper Collins. To his fans, Handler is a superstar.

A Baltimore Sun photo of Handler's visit.

Libraries, bookstores and schools often sponsor author visits to promote exactly this kind of excitement among young readers. If you’re considering scheduling a children’s book writer to come to your school or community, there are ways to ensure the visit gets as positive a response from kids as a bestseller like Handler receives.

Maryland author Michelle Y. Green explains, “Many children’s only experiences with a book are negative. A book is something you read so you can take a test. And so, what an author or an illustrator can do is make the connection that reading is fun, reading is enjoyable.”

Author Lois Szymanski is the regional adviser for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) in Maryland, Delaware and West Virginia. She adds, “Writers get kids fired up about writing, about putting their ideas on paper.”

Green, who wrote A Strong Right Arm, an award-winning biography for children about Negro League pitcher Mamie “Peanut” Johnson, says that when planning an author visit, schools “should see children’s book authors and illustrators as resources and partners in the education process.”

Michelle's children's biography features a woman
who played in the men's Negro League.

And the clearer your goals are, the better you will be able to communicate them to your visiting author.

“Share with the author what points [the school] wants to get across to the kids,” says Szymanski.

In addition, many writers use audiovisuals in their presentations. Ask the author if he or she needs any equipment. Szymanski uses Power Point when talking about Patches, A New Kind of Magic and her other books about horses.

Lois is well know for her books
about horses and Chincoteague ponies.

“If the kids see wild horses galloping across the screen, it keeps their attention,” she says.


Read the rest of the article at Baltimore's Child.


I hope all of you NaNoWriMers are busy getting your words in today. If you write every day, you'll need 1,666 words per day to reach the 50,000 word finish line.

Interestingly, 1500 was the word limit for my Baltimore's Child features. Articles for my local edition of the Baltimore Sun were shorter, 750 words. If you're interested, both paid about $250 per piece. If you were writing articles, instead of a novel, you could earn $8,300 to $16,000 at that rate!

'Tis the season to Vote. Help choose my next Freelance Flashback post. Would you like to see:

Meditation for Kids (Baltimore's Child);
The Dodge Poetry Festival (Baltimore Sun);
or Destination Imagination (Baltimore Sun)?

Amok in Announcements

A quick break from the “poetry postcards” about the Dodge Festival to bring you some announcements.

1. "CityLit Project’s popular “Write Here, Write Now” workshops makes its debut in Howard County with a six-session workshop on freelance writing. Led by instructor Laura Shovan at the Howard County Center for the Arts." When I stopped freelancing for the Baltimore Sun this summer and put some feelers out about teaching adult writing classes, I never expected to that I'd be WHWN’s first instructor in the ‘burbs. I would never say, "I'm stoked!" but I totally am. The class is called “Rookie Reporting: Breaking Into Freelance Writing.” The focus is on breaking into the non-fiction market by targeting local and specialty publications (online and print). Children’s writers looking to earn clips in the magazine market are very welcome! Send me an email if you’d like more info, the official flyer, or to receive the registration form. But do it today – we’re short on time. 6 Thursdays 7-8:30pm October 16 – November 20, 2008 Howard County Center for the Arts Registration Fee: $125 2. Speaking of Joy Harjo (see the last post), she’s coming to Howard County, MD for a reading this Sunday. Visit http://www.hocopolitso.org/events.htm for more information. Harjo is a wonderful poet, a powerful reader. If you do any animal work in your writing, she’s a must see. 3. Another reading in the Baltimore region soon. Poet Valzhyna Mort will be at University of Balitmore Monday, October 6 at 7 PM. The reading is free. 4. Tons of writing opportunities for Baltimore area kids this fall! This one from the Sun: "Students in kindergarten through 12th grade are invited to illustrate the theme, 'What Maryland Means to Me,' in creative writing or art. Creative-writing entries include essay, narrative, short story, poem or song; art entries include drawing, painting, photography, photo-collage, sculpture or computer-generated art. Entries can relate to Maryland's history, people or landmarks, or to personal experiences, the environment, animals, business, commerce, etc." http://www.highlandmd.org/Arts&Letters.html. A few months ago, the Sun posted a note that it was seeking children to write restaurant reviews. I'm looking for the information. If anyone knows where to find details, post a comment please. "There's no greater reward for a young writer than seeing his or her work in print. Baltimore's Child and the City Lit Project have teamed up to encourage student authors by presenting the Maryland Young Writers' Contest. Winners will have their work published in Baltimore's Child and will receive additional prizes to be announced soon. Visit http://www.baltimoreschild.com/ for information. " Publishing work makes kids feel great about writing. Encourage a child or teen to try one of these contests.