Dear Paul,

The Baltic (Latvians, Estonians, Lithuanians) people
have lots of hand-woven colourful
belts that are worn as part of their national costumes
or used as wall decorations. They also have hand-woven
ties - and other hand-woven stuff ranging from tablecloths,
napkins, table-runners, and so on.
I love Bony M. As a matter of fact their Christmas collection
I'm giving to one of my sons as a stocking filler, and to my
other son - I'm giving the "Magic of Bony M." - which has
"Rasputin" on it, that he loves.

One of my housemates is quite religious.
He doesn't think much of the big churches though that build these huge church buildings, and then want to expand to new cities and build more big churches.
He thinks that by and large it would be better if they stayed true to their core values, and just rented the church space, and used all the remaining money to help the people who are less fortunate.

He thinks that the problem with these big churches is that by and large, no-one actually reads the bible, that the people rely on the higher-ups in the church to do the reading and give the sermons and that people are being lead astray by these churches because they don't actually read and understand what the bible is really all about.

As for me I'm not a bible-thumper so I don't really know.

I asked him once why do all these church leaders rant and rave their fire and brimstone message and talk like they think they are the reincarnation of Jesus, why don't they just talk normally?
- I can't remember off hand what his response was.

Maybe it gets them more money when they speak like this, and they gauge their success by how much cash is in the bag by lunchtime.

"This Boney M Xmas song goes down well just one of many, I've got over 40 songs on a loop from the traditional to the wacky, reggae, its all there."

I think the coolest religious oriented song ever is the one-hit wonder
'Spirit in the Sky' by Jewish raised chicken farmer Norman Greenbaum.
http://youtu.be/AZQxH_8raCI

As for Christmas carols, I think my favorite might be 'Ding Dong Merrily on High'.

Hi AC,

Christmas songs bring back so much nostalgia.
I love them all. The songs of a choir bursting
out at midnight mass reminds me of the "good old
days of yore" so to speak - surrounded by family.
Most are now gone. But hearing the songs can still
bring tears to my eyes.

As for the places of worship?

I love taking virtual tours on the web.
From the wonderful Cathedrals of England, to the heritage
listed places throughout the world.

There are places of worship that have awe-inspiring architecture,
magnificent facades and their sheer size is amazing.
These spectacular buildings draw visitors from every creed and
culture. They are appreciated for the work that led to their
creation.

There are mosques, temples, synagogues, and basilicas. These
buildings have a beauty that transcends any single belief and
brings people from every creed and culture together.
The Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem, St Peter's Basilica in the
Vatican, Brihadeeswara Temple, India, Shwedagon Pagoda, Myanmar,
Nasir o! Molk Mosque, Iran, Santa Sofia, Istanbul, to name just
a few.

Hi AC,

Did you get Normans follow up "hit" titled; 'Canned Ham' No? seems no one else did either, it was a shocker, so was his album. I also believe Norman was no dummy, he took a 20c royalty every time 'Sprite' was played on radio. Its also is in my 4,000 song collection.

I'll play your link for a bit of nostalgia, 1969 and Norman was in the right place, at the right time with the right song. Its a pity about 'Canned Ham" I don't thing us flower children were partaking of canned ham in those days. Ah my 'flower child' day. The beads and the love ins, the vegie foods and the love ins, Oh the love in, how I MISS THE LOVE INS, oh and the beads and vegie foods as well.

Hey Paul1405,
There's a few Boney M songs I like, so I checked out the Boney M Christmas album earlier and it wasn't too bad for christamas carols.
My religious housemate heard me playing 'Spirit in the Sky' earlier and he later came in and told me to try out 'Doobie Brothers Jesus is just alright with me'.
I think I'd heard it before many years ago and forgotten.
Probably enough religion for me for one day, but I do like 70's and 80's music.
Most church music always felt a bit dull but I don't mind the upbeat kind of stuff.