On Friday we enjoyed the Easter Egg Hunt at East Lawn. Braving the elements, parents and children alike awaited the the arrival of the bunny on a firetruck and then watched as age group after age group proceeded to collect eggs in ever-faster times (they began with youngest to oldest).In hindsight I should have put something up on Easter Sunday, but I simply enjoyed the day with the family. You can read the Papal Easter Message here. This morning I was reading an article in the Express-Times (read it here) about the Brass Choir and was stunned that people would call the police to stop the early morning 'noise'.
For those unfamiliar with the tradition, the Brass Choir of the Moravian Church (and according to the article anyone can join for this occasion), gather at 2:00 a.m. at the Circle and break up into a few small groups and stroll through town playing music to announce Easter morning has arrived.
The tradition is over 200 years old and a quite nice one at that. For me, this is one of the things that makes a community like Nazareth special and distinguishes it from so many others.
9 comments:
That beautiful and cherished 200 year-old Easter Eve tradition of the Moravian brass choir playing melodic chorales to wake members for the Easter sunrise services was once again disrupted this year by an "unappreciative" if not arrogant young resident who decided to stalk one of the brass groups in his car and "accompany" them with his expensive car horn and cause a blaring disturbance in one Nazareth neighborhood in the early morning hours of Easter. The police handled the situation promptly and tactfully. How can one person disrupt something that so many residents find so special and meaningful? The offender indeed was the one "causing the disturbance" and should have been cited, disciplined, and definitely educated about the history and background of what has made this town the wonderful community that it is.
I can see both sides of the coin here. While it may be an old tradition cherished by many, I can see someone with an off hours work schedule being annoyed if they were subjected to this for a length of time.
I don't know the circumstances here, but I also know that a resident near Clipper Field complained about noise coming from a cheering clinic over the summer. Apparently, this resident works thirs shift and was trying to catch shut eye during the clinic.
Technically, if prolonged and oloud enough, the music at that hour would constitute a nuisance --no matter the intent -- according to most ordinances. Granted, I am sure that Nazareth PD would prefer to look away one day a year.
Question - why do they have to gather at 2 a.m.? Couldn't they begin closer to sunrise -- say 5 a.m. Is there some religious significance to the 2 o'clock hour?
To "Anonomous 11:56 Pm", to answer your question, it is about tradition...and that's one of many reasons that Nazareth is such a great place to live!!
Nazareth is not a great place to live. It is stodgy and insulated. You really need a reality check on how the town is perceived once you step outside of it.
If you need any assistance, perhaps Esther Lee of the Bethlehem Chapter of the NAACP can provide it. Her words really resonated about how the rest of the world perceives Nazareth.
I'd be happy to speak with Esther. She is a very nice woman and I've worked with her previously.
In the meantime, if you don't like living in Nazareth, that is fine, but for those of us who do, and are working to make it better, don't try to broadly paint the picture that there is nothing good about it and the whole world sees it different than we do.
All encompassing, broad generalizations serve no purpose. Of course different people will have different perceptions and that too is fine, but to state all in either sense is wrong, just as I've never said its the best or perfect place to live, only a good place that I want to see made even better.
To answer the commentor who said they see "both sides of the coin" - This happens Easter morning, which is or should be a holiday for most workers as well as the most important morning of the Christian year, and the lovely chorales last about 3-4 minutes at each stop that the brass choir makes. They do cover most of the town and play on corners where church members live as well as accompany worshippers to God's Acre as part of our sunrise service which can begin as early as 5:30. So starting out in the early morning hours is necessary. My neighbors, none of who attend my church, all appreciate and look forward to the music each year. (We keep one window open so as not to miss it.) Indeed, the music is not prolonged or loud but very moving and meaningful to many of us...as opposed to a blaring car horn which was nothing but annoying and ignorant.
I invite anyone wanting to know more about our "traditions and observances" or the background of the community in which we live to visit the Moravian Historical Society at the Whitefield House in Nazareth...or worship with us at one of the many Moravian Churches in the area.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion. It is sad when some opinions are so negative( to call Nazareth stodgy). If true,----WHY have so many moved into the area????
Nazareth has much to offer.
An award winning high school band. A Community Band and a Community Chorus. A YMCA. Borough park and pool. At least 6 playgrounds and/or ballfields with another being developed. A library. Two museums(Whitefield House and Martin Guitar).a competent emergency squad.
There is MUCH that is positive about Nazareth!!!
Don't fight the naysayers who want to get a negative rise from everyone else.
If the most horrible place to live is one where Easter is celebrated at 2:00 a.m. with the triumph of horns, then let me live in that cess pool.
Did these same people complain when people shot off illegal fireworks at New Years, Fourth of July, or Nazareth Days?
And frankly, except that I don't want them landing on my home, I appreciate the enthusiasm and celebration of those as well.
Celebrations and parties bring us together, let's enjoy them!
I feel so privileged to have been born and raised in the beautiful community of Nazareth. My mother, (who has since passed), loved to awake on Easter morning to the lovely sounds of the brass choir. Thankfully she has passed that love onto me and in return I have passed that love onto my twelve year old son.
I am not a memeber of the Moravian church, however, I am thankful to them for everything they do for our community.
We are a borough rich in historic traditions. Perhaps, when moving into the area, one should adapt to, and learn our traditions instead of expressing negativity towards them.
Thank you again to the brass choir for the many glorious Easter mornings.
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