Do you remember when you were drawing pictures as a kid? Maybe you drew nativity scenes around Christmas, too? I had no idea that Mary was always drawn with a blue coat in the canon of art history. Of course, Joseph had a beard. And though both parents were dark-haired, my Jesus, although a new-born, had a shock of hair! I chuckle when I think of the naïveté. But at one time they and all the angels around received another item – a Heiligenschein (pronounce: ‘high-lee-gan-shine, meaning holy shine, aka halo). Of course! Having seen all these paintings and statues all over German churches and museums, this article was indispensable.
My mother (yes, she was not just knowledgeable but also my sternest teacher) looked at all my drawings and mostly indulged me. But she looked sideways at me when she received my Heiligenschein-drawings. I can’t remember exactly what she was saying, but it was to the point whether I had ever seen anything like this around anybody’s head. In later years, I might have taken her up on this and replied that maybe our world lacked in saints. But she pointed out that Joseph and Mary were NOT saints but ordinary people, which made it so special that they were chosen for their part in the story about Jesus Christ. Also, that true faith didn’t need any symbols such as scepters, halos, or any other paraphernalia. It was art that had created these items to have the holiness translated into the beholder’s mind, not anything that was even remotely mentioned in the Bible.
After that, I never even tried to draw any Heiligenschein again. But I learned about symbolism in the creative arts, and I have never stopped being fascinated by how much of Biblical symbolism even outside Heiligenscheine has been making it into the worldlier genres.
It was way later that I learned that a Heiligenschein is also an optical phenomenon. I have never encountered that which surrounds the shadow of a viewer in a dewy place. I guess, I’ll have to check this out the next time I’m doing a morning walk. Apparently, it’s a matter of reflection of sun light and works best with plants that have a rougher surface, such as tiny hairs. (Now, it might be a challenge to find such a place …) As the viewer moves, so does the halo.
I wonder whether wreaths of any kind – be they flowers or light tubes or anything else – have been devised to recreate a worldly kind of halo. Although, even though concert audience might feel as if in Heaven when listening to their favorite stars, I doubt they have halos in their mind when they wear light strings around their heads.
The most sought for phenomenon of a Heiligenschein, and this is another optical one, is the halo around a solar eclipse. My husband and I have been able to see one a while ago. We traveled down to Eugene, Oregon, to catch a glimpse of one. Of course, it was a wet and cloudy day. But believe it or not, as soon as the time of the total eclipse was nearing, the clouds started melting off, and we caught sight, if just faintly, of the sun’s halo. It was an awe-inspiring moment, for sure. And I had to think of all the people who in their faith (mind, I won’t call it superstition) viewed it as a sign of gods. Which in a way wraps up why a halo is called Heiligenschein – a holy shine. I guess, when mankind couldn’t explain a phenomenon, mankind used to place it with heavenly (or hellish) powers. I prefer the former ones – and I still won’t draw a Heiligenschein anymore.
Leave a Reply