31 December 2012

Those Twelve Days of Christmas

It's the seventh day of Christmas. Do you know where your swans are swimming?

I look forward to reading the Christmas Price Index every year. That's the list detailing how much the traditional twelve days worth of holiday gifts would cost in today's economy. It was instituted in 1984 by Pittsburgh's own PNC Bank, gets updated annually, and receives attention whenever the media needs some holiday filler. 

Turmoil on the world stage has apparently eclipsed communal concerns about the cost of a partridge in a pear tree, because I've not seen much made of the rising costs of festive fowl and revelry. At this writing, if you're looking to gift your true love carol-style, the grand total will be over $150,0000 for all 364 gifts. Not sure of the tax ramifications of those purchases for the 1% who can afford them.
 

 
There's always been abuse heaped upon the Twelve Days of Christmas song, a leading contender for stupidest holiday carol ever. At our house the winners include anything by the Jingle Dogs, that Santa Baby song, and Frosty the Snowman. Particularly Frosty. My bias is always against any character who sounds like he needs to blow his nose. (Pooh Bear, I'm looking at you).

I'll grant that Twelve Days begs to be parodied. Mock-worthy as it is, there are countless versions with lyrics of varying degrees of cleverness.  

But I'm going on record to declare that it's a childhood favorite of mine.   Back in the days before the Internet made verifying lyrics effortless, I was proud of my ability to memorize and recite the Twelve Days lyrics through sheer dogged repetition. I can't say that my family was enamored of all that hard work, because it mostly occurred in the backseat of the car when we were driving somewhere. I was pleased with myself despite their lack of enthusiasm and I still like the carol. I also appreciate the historical continuity it represents.

Twelve days constitute the Christmas season in Western and Eastern Christian church traditions, and the aptly-named Twelfth Night falls on Epiphany. Take your pick as far as to what date that might be, though. The Western church begins the count on Christmas Day so that Epiphany falls on January 5th, while in the Eastern tradition the "first day of Christmas" is December 26th and Epiphany falls on January 6th. Whenever it is celebrated, Epiphany marks the visit of the Magi, who arrived to present gifts to the young Jesus. Bible stories never do specify how many wise visitors there were and some Eastern traditions even say that there were twelve. I like the idea of an even dozen bearing twelve gifts for a mystical total of 364 gifts, one for each day of the year except, uhm, I guess Christmas?

Journey of the Magi, Benozzo Gozzoli, 1459-62, with my Medici faves parading


Much religious significance has been attached to the carol, and there's a vague general notion that it originated in 16th century England. That was the time of the Protestant Reformation, a period of religious revolution that Henry VIII sort of unintentionally provoked by declaring himself head of the Church in England so he could grant himself the divorce that the Pope had denied for, well, complicated political reasons.

There's this idea that the Twelve Days of Christmas carol was mnemonically constructed to help educate the Roman Catholic faithful in the doctrines of their faith during the Reformation. Supposedly the carol allowed them to teach their children important things while remaining under the radar of would-be persecutors, because the song's repetitive nature assured that they'd not have to write anything incriminating. Adherents to this origin story believe that the carol's 'true love' is God, the 'partridge in a pear tree' is Christ on the cross, and the 'three French hens' represent the Trinity.

Or maybe the three theological virtues of Faith Hope and Charity.

Or the three gifts of the Magi.

No one really knows for sure. But the supposed allegorical references continue: two Biblical Testaments are represented, four Gospels, five books of the Torah, seven Sacraments, eight Beatitudes, nine hierarchies of angels, ten Commandments, eleven faithful apostles, and twelve articles of the Apostles' Creed. Or maybe that's the twelve tribes of Israel?

Unfortunately for those who like their holiday carols fraught with religious symbolism, there's not a shred of documentation to back up this origin story. The theory seems to have had its virgin birth in the 1970s, gaining widespread acceptance through a 1992 Our Sunday Visitor Catholic newspaper article.

Aside from the lack of evidence to support this allegorical theory, simple logic speaks against it. The catechetical associations that the carol purportedly spells out were actually NOT unique to the Roman Church as compared to beliefs of Henry's newly-formed English-centric church at the point in time in question. EVERYONE back then KNEW this stuff. Passing along this info didn't merit the creation of a cumulative carol of dubious musicianship. Folkloric explanations are captivating, though, so these lyrical religious attributions still get passed on as if they were Gospel truths themselves.

The real history of the song is intriguing enough without added associations. The twelve days of the Christmastide season were filled with joyous feasts and frolics. It all climaxed on Twelfth Night, which for most of Christian holiday history was a more festive occasion than Christmas itself. Birthday celebrations are more recent cultural customs, even Divine birthdays, and Christmas itself wasn't made much of until Victorian times. Up until the 19th century, it really was Epiphany that represented the revelation of Jesus.

The exact origins of the Twelve Days of Christmas carol are lost to time and memory, but most likely it began as musical accompaniment to a medieval “memories and forfeits game” that was enjoyed during Christmastide. A leader recited verses that followers had to repeat exactly, or else forfeit a sweet or kiss or pay some other playful penalty. The carol was presented this way in its first known publication, a 1780 children's book called Mirth Without Mischief.

Musicologists have suggested that the carol has French origins, given some of the items mentioned in the song. For example, the kinds of partridges which roost in trees were introduced from France to England in the late 1770s, and the song definitely predates their introduction. There are even theories that the "in a pear tree" lyric is a mondegreen; the line should be "and a partridge, un perdis" (perdis being French for partridge).

Different customs have evolved over time and place for the Christmas season. Some people give gifts only on Christmas Day, some solely on Twelfth Night, and some lucky souls receive gifts on all of the twelve nights. Here in the United States, we've largely lost any traditions associated with the Twelve Days of Christmas, although if you live at my house you'll continue to get a gift in your stocking on each day, and Epiphany is our holiday de-decorating date. Of course if you live in an area that celebrates Carnival, like New Orleans, you're just getting started on Twelfth Night, so it's not so much an ending but a beginning to revelry.

This song is part of the fun. It's really no more than what it appears to be: a fun secular carol about music, dancing, and getting stuff - albeit weird stuff, like calling birds. Ohhhhhh yeah, those "calling" birds? That's messed up, too.  It was a point of pride for me as a wee pedantic Sue to get the lyrics right, so I am here to tell you that the lyric is not "calling birds" but "colly" birds. Once upon a time, "colly" was another word for black. That lyric would have been understood as referring to four blackbirds. We can blame English composer Frederic Austin for publishing the arrangement in 1909 that we sing today, codifying the substitution of "calling birds" for "colly birds."

I will console myself over this change by thinking of my doggo here as a colly collie.



The Twelve Days of Christmas song has captured the popular imagination, for good or ill, in all its variations and parodies. Several countries, including the United States have even issued postage stamps to represent the gifts sung about in the carol, which you can see on THIS SITE.

But it's really all much ado about birds, maids, lords, feasting and revelry. Just like any good party should be.

Whatever holiday you celebrate and whatever meaning you attach to your symbols, I wish you great joy of it, and a happy new year, too.

15 December 2012

Uncle John Brashear

Though my soul may set in darkness; 
it will rise in perfect light; 
I have loved the stars too fondly
to be fearful of the night. 


What to say about someone whose contributions have been astronomical?

If you are an astronomy buff, or know about the history of the City of Allegheny and Pittsburgh's North Side, John Brashear's name will resonate. He was a polymath of the late 1800s and early 1900s who hobnobbed with all the luminaries who populate this city's history of that era. He was renowned for his self-taught innovative lens and optics work, his stellar reputation as a scientific educator and administrator, his abiding love for his wife and work-partner Phoebe, and his humanitarian endeavors. 

And he was so beloved by Pittsburgh that the entire city called him "Uncle John."

Brashear's life story is inspirational for lessons learned about resourcefulness, believing in oneself, making the most of opportunities, and giving back to society.

John Brashear, 1910. Allegheny Observatory Records, University of Pittsburgh.

John Brashear was born in Fayette County in 1840. He fell in love with the stars at age 9 when his maternal grandfather gave him the opportunity to view the rings of Saturn through a traveling telescope. From humble origins as a Brownsville tavern-owner's son through early days working in a grocery store and various machine shops, an enduring love of astronomy and applied science drove Brashear to work on fashioning a better telescope lens. For five years he held a full-time mill machinist job by day and tinkered by night in a coal shed behind his South Side Slopes home, with full support of his wife Phoebe.

John and Phoebe Brashear, circa 1862. University of Pittsburgh.

A literally crushing set-back occurred when Brashear broke his first finished lens. He persevered to recreate and prefect a five-inch telescope lens, state-of-the-art due to Bashear's pioneering silvering technique. Brashear presented this lens to Samuel Pierpont Langley, Director of the Allegheny Observatory and Professor of Astro-Physics.

Samuel Pierpont Langley, Smithsonian Institution

Langley (who became the third Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution) offered to mentor and collaborate with Brashear, bringing him into the Observatory fold to create lenses and other precision scientific equipment.

Brashear's optical shop, c 1914.  Allegheny Observatory Records, University of Pittsburgh.

In turn, Brashear's work facilitated Langley's solar research, standardization of accurate timetables, and experimentation with flight theory vis-à-vis the aerodrome. Langley's successor, James Keeler, did pioneering spectrographic observations of Saturn's rings that would not have been possible without Brashear's precision instrumentation.

In 1881 Brashear came to the attention of railroad tycoon William Thaw, who became his primary financial benefactor. With his research, travels, and a new workshop subsidized by Thaw, Brashear went on to revolutionize the field of astronomy with his advances in instrumentation.

Dr. FC Jordan using the 4 ton, 47 foot long Thaw Memorial Telescope, c. 1920-40. It was at that time the 3rd largest refractor telescope in the United States. Named for William Thaw Sr.,  designed and built by Brashear Optical Company in 1912 for $125,000. Allegheny Observatory Records, University of Pittsburgh.

Having never forgotten his chance to peer through a telescope as a young boy, Brashear was committed to making scientific findings available to all comers. He never patented or restricted his work, and he made sure that the newly-constructed Allegheny Observatory was publicly accessible.  

First Allegheny Observatory, c. 1886. Allegheny Observatory Records, University of Pittsburgh.

Second Allegheny Observatory construction, c 1913-14. Allegheny Observatory Records, University of Pittsburgh.

At his insistence, the building included a public hall that hosted a lecture series funded by industrialist tycoon Henry Clay Frick. 

Allegheny Observatory Lecture Hall, 1910-20. Allegheny Observatory Records, University of Pittsburgh.

The public was also invited to use the telescopes -- a great boon in May 1910 when Halley's Comet passed through. So great was Pittsburgh's astronomical interest that year that the observatory had to distribute free tickets to manage crowds wanting to peer through its telescopes, welcoming as many as 200 visitors per night when the comet was most visible. "Crowd of people made their way toward the observatory last night, and I don't suppose I have ever seen so many people looking at the sky at one time...."  commented Observatory director Schlesinger at one point to the Pittsburg Press.

Pittsburgh Post, 16 May 1910

Public accessibility was a critical concern for Brashear, as he wrote in his autobiography:

In my early struggles to gain a knowledge of the stars, I made a resolution that if ever an opportunity offered or I could make such an opportunity, I should have a place where all the people who loved the stars could enjoy them;...and the dear old thirteen-inch telescope, by the use of which so many discoveries were made, is also given up to the use of the citizens of Pittsburgh, or, for that matter, citizens of the world.

A strong believer in the moral necessity of doing one's civic duty, Brashear served as Acting Director of the Allegheny Observatory and was its primary fundraiser. He was also Acting Chancellor of the Western University of Pennsylvania (now the University of Pittsburgh). Modest and wishing to remain focused on the work he loved best, he refused permanent positions in both cases. He was also a member of the founding committee of Carnegie Technical Schools (now Carnegie Mellon University); organized and served as Chairman of the Henry Clay Frick Educational Commission at Mr. Frick's personal request; and served as president of multiple professional engineering and science societies. Brashear's formal education consisted of one semester at a business school, but his work garnered him countless awards and honorary degrees. Brashear and his wife Phoebe were great benefactors to their community. In 1916 a settlement house and community center were established on the South Side in his honor, and this Brashear Association remains active today.

Brashear's star shone far beyond the skies of Pittsburgh and many of his instruments actually remain in regular use. Even Einstein owed him a debt of gratitude, for the Theory of Relativity was developed using a mirror that Brashear designed in 1886. My favorite Brashear accolades are the craters on the far side of the Moon and on Mars that were named for him.

Brashear Crater on Mars. Source: Wikipedia Commons        
Photograph of moon taken through Allegheny Observatory telescope, c. 1910-20.
 Allegheny Observatory Records, University of Pittsburgh.

John Alfred Brashear died on April 8, 1920 after suffering for six long months from the effects of food poisoning. His ashes were interred in the Allegheny Observatory crypt, along with those of his beloved wife Phoebe. An excerpt from the Sarah Williams poem I quoted at the start of this entry is their epitaph.

So how is it that such a luminary, a man so popular in his day that he was known as "Uncle John" to the citizens of Pittsburgh, a man named “Pennsylvania’s Most Distinguished Citizen” by the governor in 1915, is relatively unknown today? 

Fortunately, there have been attempts to keep Brashear's light shining. He wrote an autobiography that was published posthumously. It is filled with charming anecdotes and fascinating reflections about his life and times. The book is in the public domain, and can be viewed online HERE. 

The Allegheny Observatory that was so central to Brashear's life remains in Pittsburgh's public Riverview Park, owned and operated by the University of Pittsburgh. Its white domes rise above serpentine Perrysville Avenue like an astronomical Taj Mahal. 


 

It is now a private research laboratory. Free public guided stargazing tours have been made available at the Observatory by reservation from April through October, retaining that public accessibility that was so important to Brashear. 


 



A 2009 profile about Brashear on WQED's now-defunct news magazine show OnQ can be viewed HERE

There have been multiple efforts to permanently and prominently inscribe Brashear's name in the history books so he's not left languishing in footnotes. Dr. Don Handley created an hour-long documentary entitled Undaunted: The Forgotten Giants of the Allegheny Observatory which premiered at the Heinz History Center in April 2012. Its release coincided with commemorations of the 100 year anniversary of the dedication of the Allegheny Observatory on August 28 1912. Undaunted highlighted the work of Brashear and his contemporaries. It's been available for public sale, and American Public Television accepted Undaunted for distribution to PBS stations throughout the nation.

I remain hopeful that such a larger scale refocusing of attention on his story can spur further action on preserving the architectural witnesses to this man's fascinating life story. Brashear's home and factory were long neglected on Perrysville Avenue of Pittsburgh’s North Side. The home, built for the Brashears by Thaw and incorporating the gracious Arts and Crafts styles of the day, is at this writing privately owned and used as a transitional living facility for rehab patients. 



The nearly-adjacent factory complex of the Brashear Company has been owned by the City of Pittsburgh since 2012 but it's in poor shape, having sat derelict and abandoned for decades.

 

 
When he was a Pittsburgh Councilman, former Mayor Bill Peduto helped produce Undaunted and publicize an effort by neighborhood activist/historian and artist Lisa Miles to register the Perry Hilltop buildings with the National Register of Historic Places. Both buildings were successfully nominated by the State of Pennsylvania in October 2012, and the final decision is currently under consideration at this writing.

I've written before about how critical it is to preserve architectural witnesses to history.  Sometimes empty buildings are all that is left to memorialize someone and recognize their accomplishments, and those buildings can make all the difference in keeping memory alive. 

 

The legacy of Brashear's friend Henry Clay Frick benefited from his daughter Helen's decision to preserve their family home, Clayton. But there's no one left to lovingly and single-mindedly honor John Brashear through preservation efforts. 

A national designation of significance for the Perry Hilltop buildings associated with him can pave the way to their historical preservation, which in turn can keep the light shining on Brashear's work. 

  ________________________ 

An unwelcome update:  An incredible loss for our region's history of industrial and scientific innovation occurred on Monday, 16 March 2015 when a wall of the Perry Hilltop factory collapsed. Demolition on the rest of this historic building followed the next day due to safety reasons. During demolition a 120-year-old brass time capsule was found in the former cornerstone. Later opened by the Antique Telescope Society, contents included Brashear factory plans and blueprints, an 1894 photograph of Brashear Factory workers, an optical glass, letters and newspaper articles, photographs of Brashear's family and Pittsburgh VIPS, a lock of hair belonging to Phoebe Brashear, and a copy of a book about benefactor William Thaw.
 

John A. Brashear Company Building.
 Allegheny Observatory Records, University of Pittsburgh.

Craftsman at work at Brashear Company, 1914.
 Allegheny Observatory Records, University of Pittsburgh.

John Brashear, 1910-1920.
 Allegheny Observatory Records, University of Pittsburgh.

 

ARTICLE about demolition.
 _______________________

Further Reading:

Advancing Astronomy and Community: John Brashear
Allegheny Observatory website 
Biographical Fact Sheet
Brashear House Historical Marker
Centennial: New Allegheny Observatory Dedication

Dr. J.A. Brashear Dead Following Long Sickness
Help Achieve Historic Status for John Brashear's Home and Factory
Historical Status Sought for Brashear's North Side Home, Factory
Historic status sought for Brashear' s home and factory in Perry Hilltop
National Park Service: Astronomy and Astrophysics: Allegheny Observatory
New film stars Allegheny Observatory
Pittsburgh's Allegheny Observatory: New History Film
The Story of John Alfred Brashear, The Man Who Loved the Stars
"Undaunted" shows pioneers who reached for the stars at Allegheny Observatory
Undaunted: The Forgotten Giants of the Allegheny Observatory film trailer