Hallelujah

Leonard Cohen reportedly took five years to write the lyrics of Hallelujah, and his own explanation of the song's appeal was: "It's got a great chorus", but there is more to it than that, as outlined by Richard Godwin in the Evening Standard:

"The secret of good lyrics is less that they hang together under analysis and more that they convey a certain feeling. In Hallelujah's case it is a desire for transcendence, and despite the song's moral complexity, this is so eloquently expressed that it can be felt by anyone."

Richard Godwin, Evening Standard

standard.co.uk

godwin.thisislondon.co.uk

Snowflakes

Fantastic photos of super snowflakes:

snowcrystals.com

Christmas - Christ's official birthday - but when was he actually born?

Christmas is the time when we officially celebrate the birth of Christ, but it seems likely that this date was chosen to fit in with existing pagan celebrations around the winter solstice, rather than being an accurate record of his actual birthday.

Given the references to lambs in the fields at the time of his birth, Spring has been put forward as a possible alternative.

However, the latest astronomical findings point to a theory that Jesus may have been born in June.

Australian stargazer Dave Reneke used advanced computer software to calculate the position of planets in the night sky as they would have looked around 2,000 years ago.

A rare conjunction of Venus and Jupiter on June 17 in the year 2BC would have appeared as a spectacular beacon of light akin to a very bright star.

If this was the case, astrologically speaking, Christ would not be a Capricorn as was previously supposed, but a Gemini.