Christmas greeting 2025

[miloshlavka]

Vanoce-2025_mikro.jpg

I wish all members of this board and their near and far all the best for the Christmas 2025, especially peace, health, happiness, contentedness, respect to the diversity and birth for new, perhaps finally a little better times.

To those of you who are concerned, I congratulate on the important days ahead.:
08. December - Bodhi Day ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhi_Day )
15. December - Zamenhof's Day
17. - 25. December – Hanukkah-feast of the re-consecration of the Jerusalem Temple
18. December - International Day of migrants and refugees
18. December – Arabic Language Day (UN holiday)
22. December - Feast of the Prophet Zarathustra
24. December - Christmas Eve
25. December - God's Christmas hour
26. December - 2nd Christmas Day
28. December - International Day of cinema
31. December - day of Action Against Prisons
31. December - Feast of the nineteenth day of the month of Sharaf of the Bahá'í faith

Complete text of my poem in my greeting:

* * *

Na krku svátky. Z nich otázka vzlíná:
Ježíšku, pověz, kde ses zapomněl?
Bedřiška, Súdán, Gaza, Ukrajina...
To snad čert nosí dárky. Bohužel…

Jen Adam Michna i navzdory době
jak by dál zpíval svý: „Chtíc, aby spal…“
a chtěl nám říct, ať najdem pokoj v sobě,
v něm nový síly, s nim vzdorujem dál.


Miloš Hlávka


And a machine translation (with some little corrections):

The holidays are upon us. The question arises:
Child Jesus, tell me, where got you lost?
Bedřiška, Sudan, Gaza, Ukraine...
Perhaps the devil brings gifts. Unfortunately...

Only Adam Michna, despite the times,
seems to continue singing his: "Wanting him to sleep..."
and wanted to tell us to find peace within ourselves,
in it new strength, with it we will continue to resist.


Explanatory notes:

Child Jesus (Czech: Ježíšek - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christkind ), not Santa Claus, brings Christmas gifts in the Central Europe, including the Czech Republic.

Bedřiška (=Frederica, Friederike - https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bed%C5%99 ... _(Ostrava) ) is former mining colony (Bergbaukolonie) in Ostrava with the quality coexistence of the Romani ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romani_people ) and not-Romani inhabitants ( https://mapy.com/cs/letecka?source=area ... 68052&z=17 ). Its existence is threatened by the intention of the city leadership to demolish it. And there exist people which want to defend this interesting place.

Adam Michna z Otradovic (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Michna_z_Otradovic) was a baroque composer, organist and choirmaster in Jindřichův Hradec (Germ. Neuhaus) and "Chtíc, aby spal" (Wanting him to sleep) is his well-known Czech Christmas song ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urTSuTC ... rt_radio=1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBcSZlo ... 9w&index=2 https://zpevnik.proscholy.cz/pisen/472/chtic-aby-spal )

[denimini]

Thanks Miloš for your interesting, kind and thoughtful Christmas message and poem.
From Anthony in outback Australia.

[miloshlavka]

Thanks for the reply, Anthony.
I think I have an error in my text, Hanukkah began already 14th December evening. Sorry for this.
And condolences to related people and friends of victims of terrorist attack in Sydney.

[Grok]

When I was a kid, the 21st century was supposed to be The Future. Now, we are already about a quarter of a century into the 21st.

[SatinDea]

Buck Roger’s in the 21st Century. I think we were sold a lie. But in 1989 I visited Disney Florida where they had people chatting using flat computer screens. Just like FaceTime now. Or Teams . They also had 3D sound which was amazing. It felt like someone was cutting your hair or placing a paper bag over your head. (I know a bit wierd) Not sure the companies have managed to put that in every home. I wonder what’s next!

[miloshlavka]

Thanks for replies.

P.S. I have used the photo of the castle ( https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Cate ... dec_Castle ) in Jindřichův Hradec (city, where Adam Michna z Otradovic lived - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jind%C5%9 ... AFv_Hradec - https://mapy.com/en/turisticka?source=m ... 16152&z=12 ) taken from the evangelical church in the same city during The night of churches 2016 - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Cate ... AFv_Hradec in my greeting.