Wishing you all a harmonious New Year filled with much peace, joy & gratitude!
Dear
friends,
As the New Year stands before us, like a chapter in a new book waiting to be
written, I wish you find the necessary inspiration to compose a good one! I hope the year ahead be a wonderful messenger of peace, joy, prosperity, good
health and happiness for each of you! ❄❄❄❄❄
❄HAPPY NEW YEAR!❄FROHES NEUES JAHR!❄LA MULTI ANI PENTRU
NOUL AN!❄BONNE ANNÉE!❄FELICE ANNO NUOVO!❄FELIZ AÑO NUEVO!❄ΕΥΤΥΧΙΣΜΈΝΟΣ Ο ΚΑΙΝΟΎΡΙΟΣ ΧΡΌΝΟΣ!❄
During this time of the year loved ones gather
together while being thankful for all the wonderful things each has been
blessed with. I hope this incredible opportunity of giving and togetherness would bring each of you lasting joy and profound peace! MERRY CHRISTMAS,
dear friends!
Since
the most significant winter holidays are almost here, today (Sunday – December 22’19) I was inviting a number of good, loyal and reliable
friends to join me for a visit to a seniors’ house in town, to sing them
several Christmas carols, and to bring along a renewed message of joy, peace
and goodwill.
The
residents were happy to see us and while we were singing our seasonal songs,
the youngest member of our group (a
lovely teenage boy) was serving them each with Lindt chocolates (separately wrapped) which I personally bought and brought
especially for the occasion.
On
the first part of our program, we offered the audience a number of Romanian
Christmas carols, while on the second part we sang them several well-known
English ones for which I did invite our listeners to sing with us and few
seniors did join along.
The
event in itself was really touching, because the faces of those elders
really brought back to most of us dear memories of our own grandparents…it felt
like their images (the images of our own
grandparents) were transcending time & for few moments they were in the
same audience together with the other residents…perfect moments to cherish,
leaving behind a pregnant trace of a gentle, yet meaningful occurrence,
nonetheless highlighting the spirit of Christmas. Beyond any doubt, it was a
rewarding experience for all! After we concluded our program there, candidly receiving their applause, we
waved them ’good bye’, while wishing all blessed & peaceful holidays, with a
very Merry Christmas & a happy New Year! On our way out, the satisfying ’taste’ of giving was filling our hearts with
such a genuine joy! On the other hand, while still at this page, I’m extending again my most
sincere appreciation to my invitees who were able and willing to join me today.
It is a super busy time of the year for everyone, but through their prompt
reply to my call they proved to be wonderful souls who care and value the joy
of giving. I consider myself super blessed to have them all part of my circle! Alice
Christmas is the spirit of giving without a thought of
getting. It is happiness because we see joy in people. It is forgetting self and finding
time for others. It is discarding the meaningless and stressing the true values.
The Winter Solstice heralds the symbolic rebirth of the sun, the
lengthening of days & the promise of a renewed cycle of life. Have a peaceful & bright winter!
● A previous post on the same theme: WINTER Solstice– 2018
This
Friday (December 20’19) we had our year-end
group reunion…a joyful time of brief reflections about life, peace and harmony among people…. there is no time more fitting to say “THANK YOU!” dear loyal friends
for all your amazing support during this year…I’m truly blessed to have you
each in my life!
My most sincere appreciation as well as my best wishes to each of you for a wonderful
time during this holidays’ season!
As we grow older, our Christmas list gets smaller, because we deeply realize that
the things we really want can’t be bought. I hope the season of giving & spending time with family would bring you joy that lasts
throughout the year to come!
This event has been delivered in Romanian Language, featuring Romanian culture.
●Some of my additional greetings about CHRISTMAS – 2019, 2018
As cold weather is slowly settling in, today (Sunday - December 15'19)together with
a group of good friends I gathered to prepare a number of bags filled with a
few basic winter necessities (such as winter toques, gloves, wool socks, scarfs, blankets and some comforting food) for
several homeless people in our city. The reasonable donations collected from
some of my friends as well as my family’s financial contribution made this
gesture possible. We couldn’t help everyone, but at least we could help some. Indeed,
a warm humanitarian gesture delivered in the middle of a cold day.
This philanthropic activity is shared with you all to reveal once more that in
life you don’t have to be super rich to care. In this very consumerist world,
when so many are running for getting more, it is truly heart touching to roll
your sleeves side by side with fellows who are willing to give a bit of their
time, willing to give a bit of their money, willing to give a bit of their work
in order to gift (at least for a
temporary relief) another less fortunate human being with a little
something, as well as a kind smile and a bright “Merry Christmas!” greeting. Nevertheless,
charity is not about pity, but rather about caring.
A person’s true wealth is the good s/he does in this
world.
While at this page, once again, I’m expressing my most sincere appreciation to my
husband and to these good friends for being by my side today so together we
could spread a bit of goodness around, during a time of the year (pre-Christmas time) when everybody is
super busy with lots of different activities, typical of this season. Thank
you, dear ones, for being part of my circle!
A yearly Romanian socio-cultural evening filled with literature,
history & Christmas cheer, featuring Romania's National Day
Given
that on December 1st is Romania’s National Day, this Saturday (November 30’19), I was truly grateful
to be able to organize an honoring event and invite a group of friends at the beautiful
facility of the New Westminster Arts Council in order to celebrate our country
of origin, our ancestors, while recalling old traditions specific to this time
of the year. Definitively it was a time to cherish and flourish! I began the program with the Romanian Anthem(since we were honoring Romania's National Day), followed by the Canadian Anthem(since this is our county of adoption)– the musical notes filled the room with vibes of peace and authentic
national pride. Also,
this evening I was truly happy to have with us again two guests of honor – Dr.
Ovidiu Grecea together with his wife. Dr. Grecea is the General Consul of
Romania and the Head of the Romanian Diplomatic Mission in Vancouver, as well
as Plenipotentiary Minister of Romania in Canada.
At this event, Consul Grecea was kind to give us a briefing on his continuous
work of maintaining and propagating the value of the Romanian culture abroad,
and reminded that it is part of the officials’ mandate to make the famous Romanians
known far and wide in the world.
Consul Grecea comes often to my Romanian literary evenings, and each time he could join the
group we all are truly grateful, because for many of us he represents the country
we left behind, and when the country’s representative is present, somehow, it
feels that the distance between the country of adoption and the homeland shrinks,
making our hearts pulsating at a faster beat.
By commemorating our roots, we honor our ancestors and our traditions, fact
which makes us travel back in time, remembering our parents and grandparents,
most of whom are gone today, but whose memory will be eternal, no matter how far away
from home we are. Then, my program continued with a number of interesting presentations, evoking
famous Romanians, reciting poems, recalling dear traditions or reminding
important pages of Romanian history, which I will list below. For
instance, personally, I was truly pleased to be able to introduce to the group
the Romanian born writer and painter, Pnina Granirer, who is a fantastic
artist!
A
page of current history:Portrait
Pnina Granirer
The artist has been the subject of two films shown on BRAVO!TV and Knowledge Network and of numerous reviews in magazines such as Vanguard, Art Magazine,
Artichoke, Arts West and Art Post, as well as interviews and profiles on Vision
TV, Knowledge Network, CBC (English & French) Radio and TV, TV5 and TF1, Strasbourg, France (1980).
Her
works are found in many private and Public Galleries collections, in Canada (some as Cultural Property donations),
the US, Chile, Europe and Israel.
Granirer
has always followed her own vision, taking risks by disregarding the trends and
fashions of the art world. Her work reflects her keen interest in history and
universal questions such as good and evil and the meaning of life. Pnina's book ("Light Within the Shadows - A Painter's Memoir") will be discussed at my summer book club session (when the author will be present) and here is the link if you wish to procure it ahead of time.
In
the comments section, I’m publishing Pnina’s
biography, and for your further information, here I’m enclosing the link of a
short documentary featuring Pnina’s artistic work; this video was produced by
CBC and it was also shown on Knowledge Network. After
we all watched the video, the room for a little while was silent…a very
expressive silence, which brought upon a profound sense of admiration, later
expressed by each participant. Then, I was truly happy to present
2 poems Pnina composed as a child. In my opinion,
these handwritten poems, printed by a young girl speak so loud and clear about
the love for peace, about the thirst for a normal life, about the beauty of a
family staying strong during harsh times...and in the end, a nice touch
proofing that light always prevails, which I find really inspirational! I
was truly honoured to be able to recite her childhood, handwritten poems.
Pnina was kind to provide few original
documents, and with her permission for this website only, I’ve put together a
concise collage, which reflects the sharing.
After that, my guests continued with a number
of varied presentations, which I will briefly share below:
- Our dear friend, Dorina Aldea,
read few paragraphs from a beautiful article she wrote, called: “Scrisoare de Ziua Ta,
Românie!” (this article also has been circulated by two other well-established Romanian publications: "Ziarul Natiunea" & "Uniunea Ziaristilor Profesionisti din Romania")…with Dorina's permission, the entire article is published in comments section.
- Then our good friends, Sandu O.,
enumerated a number of famous Romanian inventors, which brought significant contributions
to humanity’s wellbeing with theirs inventions. Sandu’s presentation is
published in the comments section.
-
After that, our kind and dear friend Nicoleta
N. recited a poem followed by a short history, emphasizing the ancestor’s
love for the country’s flag. The presented materials are published in the comments section.
- Subsequently, Daniela read
to the group a page of history featuring fam. Golescu (few fragments from her long reading are published in the comments). - And last, but not least, Teodor T. recited a poem (personal composition), which (with Teodor's permission) is published in the comments section, and shared with us all how important he
believes it is to make sure our children will never forget the Romanian language.
After
all the presentations were delivered, we raised up, singing together the Romanian
historic song, called “Treceţi batalioane Române Carpaţii” (“Romanian
Troops, Cross The Carpathian Mountains”) that made all our hearts beat
faster, filling them with gratitude and appreciation for the many sacrifices
our ancestors made so the Romanians would peacefully live nowadays in a united
country.
The
toast that followed was unanimous: “TRÃIASCÃ ROMÂNIA MARE!” ("LONGLIVE THE GREATER ROMANIA") –
we raised our glasses with (non-alcoholic) champagne to honor
this beautiful moment of peace and unity!
Also, while at this page, I would like to acknowledge that Maria Marcu had the original
initiative (as a surprise to me and to all) to bring from her home few popular costumes and several of my guests enjoyed trying
them on, while posing.
The program continued with a number of well-known Christmas carols, followed by
refreshments and long conversations around the food we shared.
On the other hand, from a spiritual perspective, November 30th is
also known as Saint Andrew’s Day (which
is also a national and legal holiday in Romania) and at this time of the
year, exists the old traditional custom of planting wheat seeds and keeping them
indoor until the New Year’s Eve, when the fresh green leaves of the wheat would germinate
and grow, symbolizing in their freshness the prosperity for the next year. For
this very special evening, I’ve prepared for my guests pots with wheat, I’ve
personally planted early that day, and gifted them each so they could enjoy it together
with their families on the New Year’s Day! Accompanying the wheat pots, each family
received from me a handwritten Christmas card, filled with greetings of peace
for a great year ahead, good health and joyful moments together with their
loved ones.
The time spent together with my guests was pleasing in every way, and once
again I was truly grateful to be able to offer my friends a new occasion to create
more beautiful memories!
In
closing, I’m sending along a big ‘THANK YOU!’ to all my guests who were
able to honor my invitation, wishing them again blessed & happy winter holidays!
Alice
Mesaj personal din partea lui Alice, adresat direct in
limba romana:
Dragii
mei,
Inca odata, doresc sa-mi exprim sincera apreciere pentru participarea si
atentia pe care ati acordat-o intalnirii omagiale pe care am organizat-o pe data de vineri (30 noiembrie 2019), ce a avut ca tematica 'Ziua Romaniei'.
Cu totii am avut parte de o reuniune de exceptie, unde bucuria de a fi roman a
fost exprimata intr-un mod atat de autentic, elocvent si edificator, fiind foarte
expresiv oglindita pe fetele tuturor invitatilor serii.
Totul s-a petrecut intr-un mod sincer si natural, facand ca incaperea
sa se umple cu o lumina calda si aparte, din care, la plecare, fiecare a luat cate
o raza cu sine acasa. Va multumesc! Alice
Mesaj primit înspre publicare din partea Domnului
Dr. Ovidiu Grecea* şi al Doamnei Liliana Grecea
Dragă
Alice...care faci minuni, sincere mulțumiri pentru onoranta invitație care a
făcut ca în această după-amiază, magnificul grup de români să ne primească cu
atâta dragoste, căldură sufletească și reală plăcere, într-o zi simbol al
credinței și iubirii nemărginite față de România, la 101 ani de la momentul
istoric de referință pentru noi toți, acela al Marii Uniri ... cuvintele noastre
sunt insuficiente și nu vor reuși să exprime sentimentele noastre de mândrie, de
respect față de cei prezenți și de recunoștință pentru deosebitele clipe
petrecute împreună, față de consistența discuțiilor, prezentărilor, remarcilor
și intervențiilor fiecărui ROMÂN, în parte. A fost o îngemănare de noblețe
sufletească și spirituală, de puternice emoții și trăiri personale, de patriotism
adevărat care demonstrează că românii-canadieni de aici sunt oameni adevărați
și cu o sensibilitate aparte față de rădăcinile și seva sănătoasă ancestrală
românească. Un exemplu pentru mulți alții, un mesaj concret față de autoritățile
din România și de nouă generație, de acolo sau de aici. Felicitări și
mulțumiri încă odată, grâul ne va aduce sănătate și belșug, felicitarea ne va
însoți și întări în activitatea noastră din 2020 iar această zi specială va
rămâne suportul pentru a clădi noi punți sufletești și de unire în cuget și
simțire a românilor din Vancouver și împrejurimi. Cu mult drag, La Mulți Ani,
ROMÂNIA!!! Trăiască România și voi toți!!! Liliana și Ovidiu
Grecea
*Domnul Ovidiu Grecea este Consul General şi
Ministru Plenipotenţiar al României la Vancouver
Our culture shapes up our identity.
Snapshots from our time together (Saturday – November 30, 2019)
This event has been delivered in Romanian Language, featuring Romanian culture.
●ARTICLEfeaturing our event on November 30, 2019, published by OBSERVATORUL (from
Toronto)
NOTE: Update per
December 31, 2029 – The fresh green wheat
An
old common tradition, still kept today by some people is to plant wheat seeds (on November 30th – on Saint
Andrew’s Day) and to keep the pot indoor until the New Year’s Eve, when you
would put it on your dining table as an original center piece as well as a natural symbol
of prosperity & abundance for the coming year.
● A previous event I organized on the same theme: ROMANIA's NATIONAL Day– 2018
● Some of my greetings referring to ROMANIA's NATIONAL Day – 2019, 2018
NOTE: Dear readers, please be advised that on this website each of the previous postings, pertaining to the recurrent annual themes, portray a different perspective of the subject/s presented (same theme/s, but a different outlook without duplication due to the cultural richness of the specific topic/s discussed).
