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El Cant Dels Ocells
"El cant dels ocells" (, 'The Song of the Birds') is a traditional Catalan Christmas song and lullaby. It tells of nature's joy at learning of the birth of Jesus Christ in a stable in Bethlehem. The song was made famous outside Catalonia by Pau Casals' instrumental version on the cello.Historical Dictionary of the Catalans Helena Buffery, Elisenda Marcer 2010 97 "He settled in Catalunya Nord to remain close to Catalan soil and organized concerts and music festivals in Prada de Conflent. One of his most famous pieces is El cant dels ocells based on a Catalan folk tune. After his exile in 1939, he would begin each of his concerts by playing this song. For this reason, it is often considered a symbol of Catalonia. Joan Baez included it in her 1966 best selling Christmas LP, dedicating the song to Casals. In 1991, Catalan tenor Josep Carreras recorded "El cant dels ocells" on his album, ''José Carreras Sings Catalan Songs''. His Three Tenors colleague, Plácido Domingo also recorded t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christmas Song
Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or, in the case of carols or songs, may employ lyrics whose subject matter ranges from the nativity of Jesus Christ, to gift-giving and merrymaking, to cultural figures such as Santa Claus, among other topics. Many songs simply have a winter or seasonal theme, or have been adopted into the canon for other reasons. While most Christmas songs prior to 1930 were of a traditional religious character, the Great Depression era of the 1930s brought a stream of songs of American origin, most of which did not explicitly reference the Christian nature of the holiday, but rather the more secular traditional Western themes and customs associated with Christmas. These included songs aimed at children such as "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", as well as sentimental ballad-type songs pe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipation of Christmas Day. Together, both days are considered one of the most culturally significant celebrations in Christendom and Western society. Christmas celebrations in the denominations of Western Christianity have long begun on Christmas Eve, due in part to the Christian liturgical day starting at sunset, a practice inherited from Jewish tradition and based on the story of Creation in the Book of Genesis: "And there was evening, and there was morning – the first day." Many churches still ring their church bells and hold prayers in the evening; for example, the Nordic Lutheran churches. Since tradition holds that Jesus was born at night (based in Luke 2:6-8), Midnight Mass is celebrated on Christmas Eve, traditionally at midnight, in c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Blackbird
The common blackbird (''Turdus merula'') is a species of true thrush. It is also called the Eurasian blackbird (especially in North America, to distinguish it from the unrelated New World blackbirds), or simply the blackbird where this does not lead to confusion with a local species. It breeds in Europe, Asiatic Russia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to Australia and New Zealand. It has a number of subspecies across its large range; a few of the Asian subspecies are sometimes considered to be full species. Depending on latitude, the common blackbird may be resident, partially migratory, or fully migratory. The adult male of the common blackbird (''Turdus merula merula'', the nominate subspecies), which is found throughout most of Europe, is all black except for a yellow eye-ring and bill and has a rich, melodious song; the adult female and juvenile have mainly dark brown plumage. This species breeds in woods and gardens, building a neat, cup-shaped nest, bound toge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Woodlark
The woodlark or wood lark (''Lullula arborea'') is the only extant species in the lark genus ''Lullula''. It is found across most of Europe, the Middle East, western Asia and the mountains of north Africa. It is mainly resident (non- migratory) in the west of its range, but eastern populations of this passerine bird are more migratory, moving further south in winter. There are two subspecies of woodlark, ''L. a. arborea'' and ''L. a. pallida''. The former is native to northern regions of Europe, while the latter can be found in the south of the woodlark's range. Their diet is mostly composed of seeds but also includes insects during the breeding period. A comparatively small bird, the woodlark is between 13.5 and 15 centimetres long and roughly 20% shorter than the skylark. It is a brown bird with a pale underside and has a white-tipped tail. Taxonomy and systematics The woodlark was described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his ''System ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heaven
Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the beliefs of some religions, heavenly beings can descend to Earth or incarnate and earthly beings can ascend to Heaven in the afterlife or, in exceptional cases, enter Heaven alive. Heaven is often described as a "highest place", the holiest place, a Paradise, in contrast to hell or the Underworld or the "low places" and universally or conditionally accessible by earthly beings according to various standards of divinity, goodness, piety, faith, or other virtues or right beliefs or simply divine will. Some believe in the possibility of a heaven on Earth in a ''world to come''. Another belief is in an axis mundi or world tree which connects the heavens, the terrestrial world, and the underworld. In Indian religions, heaven is considered a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atlantic Canary
The Atlantic canary (''Serinus canaria''), known worldwide simply as the wild canary and also called the island canary, common canary, or canary, is a small passerine bird belonging to the genus ''Serinus'' in the finch family, Fringillidae. It is native to the Canary Islands, the Azores, and Madeira. Wild birds are mostly yellow-green, with brownish streaking on the back. The species is common in captivity and a number of colour varieties have been bred. This bird is the natural symbol of the Canary Islands, together with the Canary Island date palm. Description The Atlantic canary can range from in length, with a wingspan of and a weight of , with an average of around .Snow, D. W. & Perrins, C. M. (1998). ''The Birds of the Western Palearctic'' concise ed. Oxford University Press. .''CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses'' by John B. Dunning Jr. (Editor). CRC Press (1992), .''Finches and Sparrows'' by Peter Clement. Princeton University Press (1999). . The male has a largel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wren
Wrens are a family of brown passerine birds in the predominantly New World family Troglodytidae. The family includes 88 species divided into 19 genera. Only the Eurasian wren occurs in the Old World, where, in Anglophone regions, it is commonly known simply as the "wren", as it is the originator of the name. The name ''wren'' has been applied to other, unrelated birds, particularly the New Zealand wrens (Acanthisittidae) and the Australian wrens (Maluridae). Most wrens are visually inconspicuous though they have loud and often complex songs. Exceptions include the relatively large members of the genus ''Campylorhynchus'', which can be quite bold in their behaviour. Wrens have short wings that are barred in most species, and they often hold their tails upright. Wrens are primarily insectivorous, eating insects, spiders and other small invertebrates, but many species also eat vegetable matter and some eat small frogs and lizards. Etymology and usage The English name "wren" deriv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
European Stonechat
The European stonechat (''Saxicola rubicola'') is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a subspecies of the common stonechat. Long considered a member of the thrush family, Turdidae, genetic evidence has placed it and its relatives in the Old World flycatcher family, Muscicapidae. Taxonomy and systematics The European stonechat was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1766 in the twelfth edition of his ''Systema Naturae'' under the binomial name ''Motacilla rubicola''. This species is now placed in the genus ''Saxicola'' that was introduced by the German naturalist Johann Matthäus Bechstein in 1802. The English name derives from its call, sounding like two stones knocked together. The scientific name ''Saxicola'' means "rock-dweller", from Latin ''saxum'' meaning "a rock" and ''incola'' meaning "dwelling in". The specific epithet combines the Latin ''rubus'' meaning "brambles" with ''incola''. The subspecies name ''hibernans'' refers to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phoenicurus
''Phoenicurus'' is a genus of passerine birds in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae, native to Europe, Asia and Africa. They are named redstarts from their orange-red tails ('start' is an old name for a tail). They are small insectivores, the males mostly brightly coloured in various combinations of red, blue, white, and black, the females light brown with a red tail. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2010 led to a reorganization of the Old World flycatchers family in which the two species in ''Rhyacornis'' and the single species in ''Chaimarrornis'' were merged into ''Phoenicurus''. The genus ''Phoenicurus'' was introduced by the English naturalist Thomas Forster in 1817. The type species (by tautonymy) is the common redstart (''Phoenicurus phoenicurus''). The name ''Phoenicurus'' is from Ancient Greek φοινιξ (''phoinix''), "(Phoenician) crimson/purple" (see also Tyrian purple), and ουροσ (''-ouros'') -"tailed".. The genus contains the follo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nightingale
The common nightingale, rufous nightingale or simply nightingale (''Luscinia megarhynchos''), is a small passerine bird best known for its powerful and beautiful song. It was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae. It belongs to a group of more terrestrial species, often called chats. Etymology "Nightingale" is derived from "night" and the Old English ''galan'', "to sing". The genus name ''Luscinia'' is Latin for "nightingale" and ''megarhynchos'' is from Ancient Greek ''megas'', "great" and ''rhunkhos'' "bill". Subspecies *western nightingale (''L. m. megarhynchos'') - Western Europe, North Africa and Asia Minor, wintering in tropical Africa *Caucasian nightingale (''L. m. africana'') - The Caucasus and eastern Turkey to southwestern Iran and Iraq, wintering in East Africa *eastern nightingale (''L. m. golzii'') - The Aral Sea to Mongolia, wintering in coastal East Africa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thrush (bird)
The thrushes are a passerine bird family, Turdidae, with a worldwide distribution. The family was once much larger before biologists reclassified the former subfamily Saxicolinae, which includes the chats and European robins, as Old World flycatchers. Thrushes are small to medium-sized ground living birds that feed on insects, other invertebrates and fruit. Some unrelated species around the world have been named after thrushes due to their similarity to birds in this family. Characteristics Thrushes are plump, soft-plumaged, small to medium-sized birds, inhabiting wooded areas, and often feeding on the ground. The smallest thrush may be the forest rock thrush, at and . However, the shortwings, which have ambiguous alliances with both thrushes and Old World flycatchers, can be even smaller. The lesser shortwing averages . The largest thrush is the Great thrush at and , though the commonly recognized Blue whistling-thrush is an Old world flycatcher. The Amami thrush might, howe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is a central figure of Christianity, venerated under various titles such as virgin or queen, many of them mentioned in the Litany of Loreto. The Eastern and Oriental Orthodox, Church of the East, Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran churches believe that Mary, as mother of Jesus, is the Mother of God. Other Protestant views on Mary vary, with some holding her to have considerably lesser status. The New Testament of the Bible provides the earliest documented references to Mary by name, mainly in the canonical Gospels. She is described as a young virgin who was chosen by God to conceive Jesus through the Holy Spirit. After giving birth to Jesus in Bethlehem, she raised him in the city of Nazareth in Galilee, and was in Jerusal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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