Culture

Martin Luther King, Jr.–A Lifetime of Change

A reader, Allison Miller, read my previous pieces on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and contacted me to share an infographic she developed to honor his legacy. It’s a wonderful visual timeline of some key moments in his life and how it changed the United States. This year, I want to honor Dr. King’s legacy by sharing with you her work and insights behind her project. I could not have said it better myself. She wrote:

After all the celebrations that come with the month of December, it’s easy to feel like the rest of winter is empty of special occasions or reasons to celebrate. One important day to commemorate, however, falls in the middle of January and is certainly a cause for thanks and remembrance: Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. People honor and celebrate the life of Dr. King for many reasons, but most importantly, for his role in working to achieve race equality in America. Dr. King had arguably the greatest impact of any single person during the fight for racial equality, and the fact that his life was cut short causes people to wonder what he may have gone on to achieve in his lifetime. History is full of important, memorable figures, but for those individuals who have helped influence equality, it’s especially important to honor their achievements. Most children learn a bit about Dr. King in schools today, but it’s vital to continue that conversation outside of the classroom and in the world, where equality issues are still pressing. The following infographic presents a timeline of the life of Martin Luther King Jr., to honor his legacy and fuel the conversation about his battle for equality.

Thank you, Allison, for sharing your work and reminding us of Dr. King’s legacy and the importance of racial equality not only in the United States but throughout the world.

Special thanks to Allison sharing this infographic. The work is protected under a Creative Commons license and can be reposted with attribution.

More About Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the U.S. Civil Rights Movement

The Christmas Tree

The Christmas tree has become the centerpiece of most modern Christmas celebrations. Whether its origins are Christian is unclear. Legend has it that Protestant reformer Martin Luther began the tradition of adorning trees with candles around 1500 A.D. after being awestruck by moonlight reflecting on a stand of evergreens. He brought a small fir tree home and decorated it with candles lit in honor of Jesus Christ’s birth.

Some claim that the Christmas tree has secular origins that range from the early Egyptian worship of evergreens to the Romans’ Saturnalia festival or Druidic rituals practiced during the winter solstice.

Whatever its origins, the modern Christmas tree represents something different to people who celebrate the holiday now than it did to their ancestors. The evergreen is a changeling in the sense that it can take any shape or form. It can be any color, tall or short, big or small, real or artificial, filled with lights, candles, garland and tinsel or none of them, topped by a star or angel, glittering or austere, and filled with identical ornaments or a hodgepodge of collectibles. The tree looks like whatever the person who puts it up wants it to be.

The only aspect that hasn’t changed through the centuries is that the tree should be a coniferous pine. Perhaps its evergreen nature symbolizes that it will always have a special place in people’s hearts, no matter what form it takes.

May your holidays ever be filled with the Christmas spirit.

M.G. Edwards is a writer of books and stories in the mystery, thriller and science fiction-fantasy genres. He also writes travel adventures. He is author of Kilimanjaro: One Man’s Quest to Go Over the Hill, a non-fiction account of his attempt to summit Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain and a collection of short stories called Real Dreams: Thirty Years of Short Stories. His books are available as an e-book and in print on Amazon.com and other booksellers. He lives in Bangkok, Thailand with his wife Jing and son Alex.

For more books or stories by M.G. Edwards, visit his web site at www.mgedwards.com or his blog, World Adventurers. Contact him at me@mgedwards.com, on Facebook, on Google+, or @m_g_edwards on Twitter.

The Christmas Nativity

The Nativity, or crèche, is one of my family’s favorite Christmas symbols. Introduced to Europe in 1223 by St. Francis of Assisi, who wanted to emphasize Jesus Christ’s birth at Christmastime by reenacting the event with humans and animals, the Nativity has become an iconic part of the Yuletide. Nativities can be both live or inanimate with pieces in all shapes and sizes.

My family loves to collect Nativity scenes from around the world. Each one is unique with cultural influences from the places where they were made.

Here’s a wooden one from Africa.

This one is a ceramic set made in China and bought at a store in the United States.

This is a ceramic Nativity from Peru in South America.

This set was made of cloth, metal, and twine in Zambia, a country in southern Africa.

Here’s a porcelain Nativity with Thai figurines from Thailand.

Although each set it different, they all symbolize Christ’s birth, and that has special meaning to our family on Christmas.

Have a blessed Christmas! May it bring you peace and joy.