Happy Holidays from New York City

December 2011

The greatest decoration of all is the New York City skyline at night...

All photos copyright Michele Leight, December 2011.

By Michele Leight for www.ashraya-ny.org

The Holidays are a time to overeat, overdress, get emotional, be romantic, schmaltzy and sentimental...it's part of the fun and the magic. There is no city on earth that gets dressed up for the Holidays like New York! The imagination and talent - the sheer effort that goes into putting on this dazzling show - is mind-blowing, inspiring, awesome. It is an unforgettable magic carpet ride that returns us to our childlike sense of wonder, no matter how old we are. The Holidays take us to another place, a heart-swelling place of love, light and joy.

All nations and cultures celebrate holidays and festivals with that eternal symbol of hope and longing - light. There is more light in New York during the Holidays than at any other time of year. We share photographs of this festival of lights with you, with excerpts and quotes from famous books, films, shows, poems and personalities. We hope you enjoy the ride!

The tree at Rockefeller Center draws thousands of visitors each Holiday season. It has over 3000 lights!

"Christmas is the season for kindling the fire of hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the heart."
- Washington Irving

Pontius Pilate: "I dreamed I met a Galilean, a most amazing man. He had that look you very rarely find, the haunting, hunted kind. I asked him to say just how it started, and how it all began, I asked again, he never said a word, as if he hadn't heard. And next, the room was full of wild and angry men, they seemed to hate this man. They fell on him and then disappeared again. Then I heard thousands of millions crying for this man, and then I heard them mentioning my name, and leaving me the blame."

from the musical "Jesus Christ, Superstar."..coming to Broadway in 2012

Children pet calves in Chelsea Market

"OOOOOOOhhhhhhhhh" squealed one child: "his tongue is all bumpy..."

Radio City Music Hall, with orange tree lights

Tevye: "A fiddler on the roof. Sounds crazy, no? But here, in our little village of Anatevka, you might say every one of us is a fiddler on the roof trying to scratch out a pleasant, simple tune without breaking his neck. It isn't easy. You may ask 'Why do we stay up there if it's so dangerous?' Well, we stay because Anatevka is our home. And how do we keep our balance? That I can tell you in one word - tradition!"

From "Fiddler of a Roof"

The lights turn to red at Radio City Music Hall

"The moment we break faith with one another, the sea engulfs us and the light goes out." -James Baldwin

The lights turn to blue in the ceiling of FAO Schwartz, reflecting The Plaza Hotel, opposite

Let the straight flower bespeak its purpose in straightness - to seek the light.
Let the crooked flower bespeak its purpose in crookedness - to seek the light.
Let the crookedness and straightness bespeak the light.

- Allen Ginsberg, "Psalm III"

Magnificent "tree light" decorations on Avenue of the Americas

We don't accomplish anything in this world alone... and whatever happens is the result of the whole tapestry of one's life and all the weavings of individual threads form one to another that creates something

- Sandra Day O'Connor

Blue lights in the trees to celebrate Hannukah at 30 Rockefeller Plaza


Kindle the taper like the steadfast star
Ablaze on evening's forehead o'er the earth,
And add each night a lustre till afar
An eightfold splendor shine above thy hearth.

Emma Lazarus, "The Feast of Lights"

Elizabeth Taylors glows from the windows of Christie's, Rockefeller Plaza, December 2011. The exhibition of The Collection of Elizabeth Taylor has drawn thousands of visitors across the globe. The sale in New York was a huge success...continuing in London in January, 2012. Proceeds from the exhibition tickets and select publications will benefit The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation. If you wish, you can make a donation to www.theelizabethtayloraidsfoundation.org in her memory.


“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a little better place than we found it, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life breathed easier because you lived. This is to have succeeded.”

Walt Whitman

Young lovers entwine at the Rockefeller Center ice skating rink

"My bounty is as boundless as the sea,
My love as deep; the more I give to thee,
The more I have, for both are infinite."

William Shakespeare - Romeo and Juliet

Hanukkha and Christmas decorations mingle on Avenue of the Americas

"Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back to the delusions of our childish days; that can recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth; that can transport the sailor and the traveller, thousands of miles away, back to his own fire-side and his quiet home!"

- Charles Dickens, "The Pickwick Papers" (1836)

Statue of George M.Cohan amid the spectacle of lights in Times Square

"Always leave them laughing when you say goodbye"

- George M.Cohan

"Curtain! Fast music! Light! Ready for the last finale! Great! The show looks good, the show looks good! "

- Florenz Ziegfeld

Supersized holiday ornaments, a fountain and trees strewn with lights on Avenue of the Americas

"We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men"

- Herman Melville

A spectacularly ornate, gold-themed window at Bergdorf Goodman, Fifth Avenue

"Moderation is a fatal thing, Lady Hunstanton. Nothing succeeds like excess."
- Oscar Wilde, "A Woman of No Importance"

The toy and Holiday shop at Bergdorf Goodman

"There were six dolls to be taken up and dressed every morning, for Beth was a child still, and loved her pets as well as ever. Not one whole or handsome one among them; all were outcasts till Beth took them in; when her sisters outgrew these idols...they passed to her...Beth cherished them all the more tenderly for that very reason, and set up a hospital for infirm dolls. No pins were ever stuck into their cotton vitals; no harsh words or blows were ever given them; no neglect every saddened the heart of the most repulsive; but all were fed and clothed, nursed and caressed, with an affection that never failed."

- Louisa May Alcott, "Little Women"

Silver lights and decorations at Saks Fifth Avenue

Nobody minds having what is too good for them

- Jane Austen

A Rockette themed decoration in the window of Henri Bendel , Fifth Avenue

Florenz Ziegfeld: "Miss Brice, do I have to remind you this is my theatre?"
Fanny Brice: "So, what, nobody argues with the landlord?"

From "Funny Girl, starring Barbara Streisand as Fanny Brice

Lady Gaga rules in Barney's windows on Madison Avenue

My Mama told me when I was young

We are all born superstars

She rolled my hair and put my lipstick on

In the glass of her boudoir...

(from Born This Way, lyrics by Lady Gaga)

Beautiful blue Crystal Cave - Lady Gaga windows at Barneys

BLUE sagar ke dil mein
BLUE jitne khazane
BLUE dil ke sagar mein
BLUE utne fasaane

Blue Theme from the Bollywood movie "Blue" with lyrics by Raqeeb Aalam

Wonderful children's portraits of Lady Gaga that are for sale - on display at Barneys, Madison Avenue

I, need somebody who calls my name
When clouds are smokin up my way
You get me through these ch-changing skies

lyrics by Lady Gaga - Changing Skies

Gorgeous Rockettes and Santa on a tour bus

"How little the public realizes what a girl must go through before she finally appears before the spotlight that is thrown upon the stage."
(Florenz Ziegfeld , Producer and Creator of The Ziegfield Follies)

The limousines line up outside The Plaza

Eloise: "I absolutely love The Plaza..."

From "Eloise at The Plaza"

The pink "Eloise Tree "at The Plaza

Eloise: "Think Pink. A better way of life..."

The red carpet at The Plaza Hotel

Philip: "If you ever need me, find my star. If you listen closely, you can hear me laughing."

From "Eloise at The Plaza" 2003, IMDB.com

Tiffany's famous window decorations: Santa's sleigh flying over New York

"What I found does the most good is just to get into a taxi and go to Tiffany's; it calms me down right away, the quietness and the proud look of it; nothing bad could happen to you there..."

Truman Capote, "Breakfast at Tiffany's"

A glorious carousel decoration with animals in Tiffany's windows

Marty the Zebra: "I'm ten years old. My life is half over and I don't even know if I'm black with white stripes or white with black stripes!"

Alex the Lion: "I feel like a mile-high, pastrami on rye, on the fly from the deli in the sky!"

From "Madagascar," by Dreamworks

The stag in the window of Brooks Brothers on Madison Avenue is a personal favorite inthis Holiday season.

"No, I don't have a red, shiny nose that glows, but I am so cute this darn woman comes and peers at me every single day...(sigh)...and I just have to stand here and take it."

Michele Leight, circa 2011 (not famous, just love this reindeer)

 

A redtail squirrel enjoys a tasty treat courtesy of Mother Nature in Central Park, December 2011

“...after you have exhausted what there is in business, politics, conviviality, and so on - have found that none of these finally satisfy, or permanently wear - what remains? Nature remains”

Walt Whitman

Beautiful winter cabbages are the centerpiece of ornamental greenery in a flowerbed on 5th Avenue

Walrus: "The time has come my little friends, to talk of other things

Of shoes and ships and ceiling wax, of cabbages and kings

And why the sea is boiling hot, and whether pigs have wigs

Calloo, Callay, come and run away

With the cabbages and kings..."

Lewis Carrol, "Alice in Wonderland

A magical snowy Holiday window at "Blue Water Flower" florists in Downtown Manhattan

 

"Lights are gleaming far across the snow,

You're not dreaming

May I present The North Pole!

If it's penguins you expect to view

You surely haven't guessed

They all live down the other end!"

- The Polar Express

Detail of Holiday window with polar bears at "Blue Water Flowers"

"Hush little polar bear. Sleep in the snow, and dream of the places where sleeping bears go..."

from "Hush Little Polar Bear," Written and illustrated by Jeff Mack

 

Photos of The Beatles and other celebrities in a passage at The Plaza

"Here comes the sun

Here comes the sun...And I say

Its allright"

Lyrics by George Harrison, "Here Comes the Sun" - Abbey Road - The Beatles

 

A vendor trims his foodcart with holiday decorations and the American flag - and sings for passers by

"All great things are simple and many can be expressed in a single word:

freedom; justice; honor; duty; mercy; hope"

- Winston Churchill

 

Friends take time out by Turtle Pond. Weather has no impact on the young...December, 2011

"You've got a friend in me..."

Woody in "Toy Story," (Pixar)

Holiday lights in Chelsea Market

"A jazz musician can improvise based on his knowledge of music. He understands how things go together. For a chef, once you have that basis, that's when cuisine is truly exciting."

Charlie Trotter

Stars change color outside the Time Warner Building, Columbus Circle

Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

From "The Star Spangled Banner," lyrics by Francis Scott Key, 1814

Star decoration at 57th Street and 5th Avenue

"Twinkle, twinkle little star....how I wonder what you are,

Up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky..."

English nursery rhyme, lyrics by Jane Taylor, 1806

The sun sets behind Belvedere Castle, in Central Park

When the crowds and chaos get overwhelming, and you are stuffed to bursting with food and drink - and too many slices of delicious pie - take a walk in Central Park, or any park, or accessible land. Mother Nature decorates for free, all year round...

Happy Holidays from Ashraya New York

Wishing You Peace, Prosperity, Joy, Good Health, and Love in 2012

www.ashraya-ny.org

All photos copyright Michele Leight, 2011