A family tradition is to take a walk through Bethlehem sponsored by St. John United Methodist Church in Atlanta. It’s usually held on the first weekend of December and this year didn’t disappoint. Centurions at the city gates yelled out, “Sign the Census. Sign the Census.”

After signing the scrolls on the table lit only by candlelight, we entered the city. It was bustling with music, drumbeats and people all over the place. In one corner was a woman selling bread. Another market vendor sold bright jewelry but gave beautiful precious stones to the children. Soldiers urged people along to pay their taxes. A group of children were getting their Hebrew lessons. One woman came up and asked us if we had seen the bright star in the sky. (more…)

One of my daughters is taking Japanese in middle school this year. Although we’d been before, she wanted to make the trek up to Gwinnett Center to attend this year’s Japanfest the weekend of September 20. This was made more appealing by the two free tickets her teacher gave us.

My favorite performance of the two-day event is Matsurizo Taiko, a professional ensemble of Japanese drummers that regularly perform at Epcot. As we made our way to the auditorium, the usher said,”I’m sorry. It’s too crowded for you to enter.” No, this can’t be happening, I thought to myself. We still had a few minutes before the show was to start. However as more people came behind us and expressed disapointment, he shrugged his shoulders and let everybody in. “You have to stand up and there’s no security,” he warned. Inside the dark auditorium, we could feel (before we could hear), the constant boom, boom.boom of the large drums. Despite not having seats, the performance was captivating as the 14 men and women kept us entertained. (more…)