Christmas

                                                         "Twas the night before Christmas,
                                                           and all through the house
                                                           Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse
                                                           The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
                                                           In hopes that St. Ncholas soon would be there..."
                                                                                                             Clement C. Moore

UNICEF Star

Truth be told, many People I know, care about, and love find the Holidays tough.  I think that is the case for so very many.  Why, do we do it to ourselves?..a question for the ages.  I have always loved the Holidays.  They have also been some of the toughest times of my life.  As I have said many times, the Holidays in NYC can be magical.  Many New Yorkers dread December due to the crowds… That all being said I love NYC at Christmas time.  Learning to live life one day at a time, allowing myself to “wallow” as necessary, and giving myself the very precious gift of time..I can do all of the above. 

Sojourn

On the Monday evening before Christmas I went down to Argo Tea in Chelsea (7Ave at 26 St) for a meeting with the Arts committee for VDay.  It was an empowering meeting with, as always, very interesting women.  I have no idea how we will pull this day off.  But, I believe we will.  If nothing else, I will dance with Eve Ensler (a long-time hero in my family) at Hammersly’s  Ballroom on Valentines Day!  From that meeting I then caught some Christmas music at my Sojourn with my familiar faces and acquaintances.



Christmas Eve I literally pulled myself out of bed, tore on some clothes, and forced myself out the door to go down to the Village.  I had a couple of gift certificates with Big Onion Walking Tours (www.bigonion.com/) that would expire the next day.  I gave my extra one to a young Woman from Australia who came to the US for a Conference and couldn’t fly 17 hours and not see NYC.  Lovely.
 

Suffolk Resolves House

I love learning things about my hometown.   American history is in my blood, literally.  My original hometown of Milton prides itself on being “where it all began.”  The planning for the American Revoluton began at the Suffolk Resolves House on Canton Avenue.  I am pleased to say I have been there, but not till I was an adult on a Christmas tour of homes!  I drove by it many, many times as one of my best friends grew up across the street.  How many Bostonians have done the Freedom Trail?  I did parts of it all my life; never walked the whole thing until I was an ESL tutor at YearUp a few years ago.  I have met many New Yorkers who have never been to the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, or Ellis Island!  All very typical.  I, however, am changing that in my life.  I love travel.  But, I will know my hometowns as well.

Someone I met recently commented that I seem like the “West Village type”.  I wish.  Although, I love my UES neighborhood.  I truly could be happy in any neighborhood of this city; well, maybe not Times Square.  Our Christmas Eve Tour of the Village (West and Greenwich) began at one of my very favorite places, Marie’s Crisis Cafe! 

From www.racountrs.com

From www.racontrs.com

Marie’s Crisis Café commemorates the Crisis pamphlets written by Thomas Paine, hero of American independence.  He died on this spot in a farm house.  On the plaque still on the building is his epitaph: “The world is my country, to do good is my religion, and all mankind are my brethren.”    The building was a brothel from 1850-1890, then a gay bar.  The bar as we know it today was opened by Marie Dumont.  It is always a fun, raucous show tunes piano bar. (Many “stars” of today can be found if you’re lucky.  As recently as this fall, Cuba Gooding Jr,, Darren Criss from Glee fame, and Lea Solanga from Broadway, have surprised and sung with, and for, regulars!)



On 5th Avenue 2102 Holiday Season

Since it was Christmas Eve, we learned that many of our Christmas traditions can be traced to the Dutch in New Amsterdam (New York City).  Santa Claus was Sinterklaas, St. Nicholas.   He was tall, skinny, and wore mostly green??  (Kristi informed me that our version of the jolly round man in red came about thanks to a Coca Cola advertisement!)  Our tour ended in a Church yard reading The Night Before Christmas (A Visit from St Nicholas).  Clement Clark Moore wrote that, oh so familiar poem in 1823, and was not particularly proud of it as he didn’t consider it too scholarly.  Clement C. Moore was born in a mansion in Chelsea, NYC in 1779.  His Father was the Episcopal Bishop of New York, Rector of Trinity Church (in Harlem where the whole family is buried), and President of Columbia College.  With that pedigree, Mr. Moore attended Columbia, and was a respected professor, and writer of his day.  (I am so glad I made myself go.  I did, however, cancel a dinner date with my dear Philosophy Friend that night.  She understood.)



I woke up alone for the first time in my life on Christmas, thus conquering yet another "first."  And, thankfully, I actually felt at peace.  Kristi came mid-morning and we opened our few gifts, truly cutting down, and shared a lovely brunch (baked French toast, found the recipe on Facebook, thank you Marsha!).  Then we walked…through Central Park where we were serenaded by a beautiful rendition of O Holy Night at the tunnel by Bethesda Fountain, to the Plaza, a mob scene we quickly exited, to the King Cole Bar at The St. Regis for a lovely Christmas French 75 and meatballs!  Then we bought tickets for “American Hustle” at Kips’ Bay Theatre.  We walked down to a German restaurant I had read about that loves Christmas. (Germany loves Christmas..One of the many things I will always be grateful for: experiencing Christkindlmarkts and Germany at Christmas time.)   Rolfs (3^rd Ave at 22 St) was closed!  So, we meandered into Molly’s , a quintessential Irish Pub, sawdust on the floor and real fireplace included.  We had French onion soup and shepherd’s pie.  Perfect.  After the movie, we crashed, and went home.  These are Kris’ thoughts on the day (as expressed on Facebook): “Had a wonderful Christmas cavorting about New York yesterday. Favorite part of the day: Upon exiting American Hustle with my mother I'm told, "So I thought that movie was going to be a dancey-dance movie. You know, like 'the hustle'" Adorable.”

                                                                             

Thursday night, I had yet more firsts, good ones: Carnegie Hall and The Russian Tea Room.  On my play by play I had noticed the USA-Japan Goodwill Concert featuring Beethoven’s  Symphony 
No.9, another first, live in its entirety.  The price was definitely right, and yet again, I am so glad I went.  A wonderful evening which encompassed classical, Broadway, and a Youth Chorus doing Barbershop!   This concert originated a few years ago to raise money for relief after the horrific Tsunami in Japan.  This year it was to support the Philippines following Typhoon Haiyan.   Following the entertainment, I popped in next door, and had a glass of wine to “experience” the Russian Tea Room.  I then thoroughly enjoyed an invigorating walk home.

Friday I decided to get dressed mid-afternoon (omg, it’s going to be tough to rally all the time if it’s a tough winter..) and go up to a museum that I had been wanting to see on Museum Mile, Museum of the City of New York (5^th Ave at 103).  As always, I am delighted I did.  It’s beautiful, small, and really reasonably priced at $10.  I specifically went to see:  Picturing Central Park:  Artist Janet Ruttenberg's love affair with Central Park has inspired her to use a variety of media—watercolor, oils, and video—to capture the natural and human beauty of this iconic New York landscape. Picturing Central Park will include 17 major works, many of them a monumental 15 feet in width, along with smaller pieces and photographs that reveal the artist's imaginative approach to her bold and sometimes fantastical work. 

From Gilded New York

Main Stairway at the Museum

I was also delighted to see: TIMESCAPES A Multimedia Portrait of New York (narrated by a favorite, Stanley Tuccia favorite as he was always so nice to Kristi when He went to Esca when she was working..), GILDED NEW YORK Costumes, jewelry, and decorative objects from the Gilded Age; RISING WATERS Photographs of Sandy; NORMAN BEL GEDDES: I HAVE SEEN THE FUTUREA design visionary of the 1920s and 30s; ACTIVIST NEW YORK Exploring the city’s history of social activism; and MARINE PAINTINGS An installation from the City Museum’s collection. 


 In my impatience waiting for the elevator, I decided to walk downstairs, and found one of my favorites places in the museum, the back stairwell!  It was plastered with wonderful back and white photography and quotes of New York City.  My only regret of that visit was missing out on the free ice cream.  They had run out by the time I got to the cafe.

I jumped on a bus going down 5^th Ave, and decided to get out at the MET.  I renewed my membership, and went to: Jewels by JAR. The exhibition is the first devoted to a contemporary artist of gems at the Metropolitan Museum and features a selection of JAR's finest pieces—from jewels in classical flower forms and organic shapes to witty objets d'art—all executed with the most exquisite gem stones including diamonds, sapphires, garnets, topazes, tourmalines, and citrines in an original combination of colors. Rosenthal's one-of-a-kind creations place him among the ranks of history's greatest jewelers.The exhibition is the first retrospective of his work in America; the only other major exhibition of Rosenthal's work was held in 2002 at Somerset House in London. 
 (I’m not really shopping much these days, but I have always found museum gift shops to be great places to do it.  So, I had to poke around, and I did manage to pick up a couple of book about New York City for myself using my 20% member discount.)

Saturday evening was spent in the company of some great women (including one I met while working at NY Common Pantry (www.nycommonpantry.org) the previous week.  I later discovered she has committed the most time to NY Cares (www.newyorkcares.org).  Her Mom gave her the perfect name, Charity).   We drove around upper Manhattan in a Coalition for the Homeless van.(http://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/)  delivering food to the Homeless.  The Van goes out 7 nights a week.  It was amazing watching People come out of nowhere to get their food, commenting on our tardiness (traffic in Midtown was gridlocked due to Holiday crowds), and being friendly and gracious.  There but for the Grace of God…