Mele Kalikimaka - a Hawaiian Christmas song
Mele Kalikimaka is the thing to say
On a bright Hawaiian Christmas Day
That's the island greeting that we send to you
From the land where palm trees sway
Here we know that Christmas will be green and bright
The sun to shine by day and all the stars at night
Mele Kalikimaka is Hawaii's way
To say "Merry Christmas to you."
This song was written by R. Alex Anderson (Robert Alexander Anderson), who was born in Honolulu in 1894, and from high school on to his death in 1995 composed nearly 200 songs.
He wrote Mele Kalikimaka in 1949 and though I am not sure who first recorded it, it was probably Bing Crosby. Crosby made a record of it in 1950 with the Andrews Sisters (maybe on the backside of his White Christmas single?), and it was an instant big hit.
Thursday, December 25, 2003
The friend whom I went out to dinner with last night, asked me if I wanted to go to the 11 am service on Christmas day at our sister presby church and I said yes.
So I went to church this morning, and attending two services like that reminded me of growing up. My family always went to midnight mass on Christmas eve, and then on Christmas day we went to the morning service. We couldn't open our presents till we came home from Christmas day mass.
When I was little we would open presents after church, eat and then one of the relatives would take all the kids to the beach. Growing up in Hawaii, I always received a new bikini/bathing suit every Christmas as did all my cousins.
And when you're a kid growing up in Hawaii, Christmas day is all about going to the beach to frolick around and swim in your new bikini/bathing suit and to have fun with the cousins, some of whom you don't see very often.
I think the relatives appreciated having all the kids out of the house as well, so they could visit with each other. When we'd come back, there'd be a huge Christmas day feast being prepared to eat later that night.
I think if I was in a hot climate for Christmas day, I would spend the day at the beach just to relive my memories of my childhood Christmases.
Christmas at the beach ... how perfect!
So I went to church this morning, and attending two services like that reminded me of growing up. My family always went to midnight mass on Christmas eve, and then on Christmas day we went to the morning service. We couldn't open our presents till we came home from Christmas day mass.
When I was little we would open presents after church, eat and then one of the relatives would take all the kids to the beach. Growing up in Hawaii, I always received a new bikini/bathing suit every Christmas as did all my cousins.
And when you're a kid growing up in Hawaii, Christmas day is all about going to the beach to frolick around and swim in your new bikini/bathing suit and to have fun with the cousins, some of whom you don't see very often.
I think the relatives appreciated having all the kids out of the house as well, so they could visit with each other. When we'd come back, there'd be a huge Christmas day feast being prepared to eat later that night.
I think if I was in a hot climate for Christmas day, I would spend the day at the beach just to relive my memories of my childhood Christmases.
Christmas at the beach ... how perfect!
I've been thinking about my grandma lately who was like bizarrely catholic, so when I ended going to the Christmas Midnight Mass at St. Ignatius Church next to USF I wasn't surprised.
I've been there to mass before, and it's always crowded and they put on a good show. This time however, I was shocked to see the number of San Francisco Police people patroling the service and the church. Even at a Christmas eve mass in a catholic church, one cannot escape the realities of the war on terrorism.
The priest gave a quite a good sermon, which was also shocking because I almost never hear decent sermons in catholic services anymore.
I've been there to mass before, and it's always crowded and they put on a good show. This time however, I was shocked to see the number of San Francisco Police people patroling the service and the church. Even at a Christmas eve mass in a catholic church, one cannot escape the realities of the war on terrorism.
The priest gave a quite a good sermon, which was also shocking because I almost never hear decent sermons in catholic services anymore.
Merrry Christmas! It's sunny here in San Francisco, although the air is nippy and chilly.
A friend and I went to Boulevard for Christmas even dinner last night. "In the Zagat Restaurant Guide for the year 2000, Boulevard was rated the #1 Zagat Restaurant in the Bay Area for the 3rd year in a row."
Boulevard was crowded with people, and we had to wait 20 minutes for a table despite the fact that we had reservations. We had planned to have dinner and hit an 11:00 pm mass at the sister presbyterian church.
The service was relaxed and slow, so by the time we had our dessert it was too late to drive to church. I was kind of miffed at this, although my friend didn't really care because the food at Boulevard was quite good.
Their appetizers are probably the best thing on the menu, but all of their dishes are very complex so you always feel full and happy after each course. And food presentation as is customary was excellent.
I had a triple creme brulee for dessert; eggnog with a dollop of whip cream, tangerine and cream with a snow flake shaped sugar cookie, and peppermint with a candy cane. Isn't that a cute idea for a sweet? You get three mini creme brulees, and they added extra things like a candy cane and a snowflake sugar cookie.
Boulevard adds nice little touches like when you go to the restroom, someone comes by and folds your napkin for you. Of course such luxurious treatment and great food doesn't come cheap, but it's worth it to do on special times like at Christmas.
A friend and I went to Boulevard for Christmas even dinner last night. "In the Zagat Restaurant Guide for the year 2000, Boulevard was rated the #1 Zagat Restaurant in the Bay Area for the 3rd year in a row."
Boulevard was crowded with people, and we had to wait 20 minutes for a table despite the fact that we had reservations. We had planned to have dinner and hit an 11:00 pm mass at the sister presbyterian church.
The service was relaxed and slow, so by the time we had our dessert it was too late to drive to church. I was kind of miffed at this, although my friend didn't really care because the food at Boulevard was quite good.
Their appetizers are probably the best thing on the menu, but all of their dishes are very complex so you always feel full and happy after each course. And food presentation as is customary was excellent.
I had a triple creme brulee for dessert; eggnog with a dollop of whip cream, tangerine and cream with a snow flake shaped sugar cookie, and peppermint with a candy cane. Isn't that a cute idea for a sweet? You get three mini creme brulees, and they added extra things like a candy cane and a snowflake sugar cookie.
Boulevard adds nice little touches like when you go to the restroom, someone comes by and folds your napkin for you. Of course such luxurious treatment and great food doesn't come cheap, but it's worth it to do on special times like at Christmas.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)