Break from the Usual…Christmas Stuff!

Okay, we’re going to break from the purpose of the blog to look at some timely (Christmas) stories that got the attention of the blogmeister.

Origins of the Christmas Star: 

The hundred or so people attending the multimedia presentation titled “What and When Was the Christmas Star?” at the University of Notre Dame on Sunday were taken back though time though a digital visualization held in Jordan Hall of Science.
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There are several possibilities, but my favorite explanation is an alignment of all five known planets at the time in the constellation Aries,” [Grant Mathews] said.

“Here is the significance to the Magi, who were Zoroastrian priests: One, the sun in Aries emphasizes Judea; two, Aries was a sign of redemption; three, Jupiter and the moon in the same sign meant a powerful leader would be born, but destined to die at an appointed time in a special destiny; four, Saturn together makes the ruler ‘most powerful’; five, other planets present — Mercury, Venus and Mars — strengthen this; and six, Jupiter ‘comes to rest’ in Aries in the place representing where the child was (Judea),” Mathews said.

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“In the end the whole story is best taken with faith, and any of the theories about the star are equally valid,” says Mathews. “For me, it has been fun to research this and come to my own conclusion. I like to think that then as now, ‘the heavens are declaring the glory of the Lord’ and that God rewards those that study the heavens in an attempt to understand our place in the universe. In the end it does not matter whether the star was a blazing light or a subtle alignment of planets. The importance of the birth of Christ is the same: a message of redemption and hope.”

However, Ball State is not to be overshadowed…

Kaitchuck, a Ball State astronomer, first suggested the same theory as Notre Dame’s Grant Mathews — the idea that the Christmas star was an alignment of planets — more than 10 years ago.

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For years, Kaitchuck has led an annual program on the Christmas Star at Ball State’s planetarium, offering up theories on whether the star has a natural explanation. Conducted earlier this month, the program was a hit this year, he noted.

“We had to turn people away,” he said, adding than an estimated 150 people attended one of the shows, when a crowd of 60 to 70 people is average for the planetarium’s showings.

Internet Christmas show from Carmel

Carmel — Among the 3,000 Christmas songs Julie and Ron Kern have collected in the past 15 years, you’ll find classics and wacky tunes like Jerry Colonna’s “Too Fat for the Chimney.”

On Friday, the Carmel couple launched their second annual Christmas broadcast on Ron’s Internet radio station, The Sound Cellar. The six-hour stretch of tunes will play 24/7 until 4 p.m. today, when the Kerns begin their live Christmas broadcast, which lasts until 10 p.m. The broadcast can be heard at: www.live365.com/stations/the_sound_cellar.

That includes sound clips from Chevy Chase’s “Christmas Vacation” and Julie’s winter weather updates.