Today I decided to listen to Christmas music, for the first time this year. I had heard a bit of it at the grocery store, loud blaring renditions of familiar tunes. I prefer the carols that were taught to me during my young years in primary school, Deck the Halls, Silent Night, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer, Jingle Bells, Here We Come A-Caroling, White Christmas, Hark The Harold Angels Sing, Joy To The World, O Come All Ye Faithful, and many more. I love choirs, and instrumentals like the Carol Of The Bells. Where I went to school Christianity ruled the classrooms, right down to the Monday morning check to see who had, and who had not, gone to Church the day before. It was a public school, but that was the way things were in that community. So most of my old familiar songs are religious in orientation, which is fine, the sentiment of love and goodwill is what I hear when I listen to them. We had a television set so I did hear a few of the secularist popular tunes, as you might have noticed from my list. What are your favourites?
Christmas music always takes me back to a time of innocent belief in love and goodwill out there in the world at large. That innocence has long passed, but the belief in the existence and strength of love and goodwill holds stronger for time and experience.
The weather is still dreary, but much warmer. I see raindrops on the windows, not very enticing. To combat the grey I have the Christmas tree lights on today, and they surely do brighten up the room. The thought crossed my mind that there were no Christmas lights in homes, for the most part, 100 years ago, when my Granny was a young girl. Then I remembered how much psychological warmth there is in having a wood stove in the room, the crackle, the warmth, it is one of the cheeriest, most comforting things I can think of. Electric lights don’t come anywhere close, but will have to do, because that is what I have!
For a brief few moments the memories of Christmases past, with my younger brother Carl, came to mind. Oh how we jostled Christmas morning to have our turns on the warm heat register, as we five children huddled in the small bathroom with the door shut to keep the heat in, taking turns standing over the heating grate. We always woke up early, well before light, to run downstairs to our stockings. What joy a simple colouring book with crayons can bring, it never got old. I shed some tears this morning, missing my brother, who passed away just over two years ago, remembering his innocence on a Christmas morning. My younger brothers and sisters were such beautiful, beautiful children. Christmas is a time to honour innocence, into which each of us is born.
Worldly
Weather
5°C
Date: 10:00 AM EST Friday 14 December 2018
Condition: Mostly Cloudy
Pressure: 102.6 kPa
Tendency: Rising
Temperature: 4.5°C
Dew point: 3.5°C
Humidity: 93%
Wind: S 21 km/h
Visibility: 13 km
Quote
“It was the boast of Augustus that he found Rome of brick and left it of marble. But how much nobler will be the sovereign’s boast when he shall have it to say that he found law… a sealed book and left it a living letter; found it the patrimony of the rich and left it the inheritance of the poor; found it the two-edged sword of craft and oppression and left it the staff of honesty and the shield of innocence.”
Henry Brougham
1778 – 1868
Your weather sounds like the weather here…warm, raining and dreary and I, too have all the Christmas lights on to cheer up the house. I am sure your brother is with you in spirit and will be celebrating Christmas with you. Sending hugs.
I enjoy the Christmas music, too. I hear the pop Christmas songs via the pop radio, and the classical station (which we get via the internet), plays the more traditional songs. Favorite songs? I like Carol of the Bells, Trans Siberian Orchestra, Jingle Bell Rock, O Come, O Come Immanuel (sp?), and a whole lot of others…. Joan
This afternoon as the sun was setting I found myself singing a number of the old traditional songs that you listed. No idea why, it just came upon me and I started singing. 🙂
Merry Christmas, Maggie…
Eileen, warm hugs to you! The lights are an antidote to dreary aren’t they! My brother carried the child he was with him his whole life through, so prescious, and that is something to celebrate, and cherish.
Joan, I love Carol of the Bells! Jingle Bell Rock, I forgot about that song, love it too! It is a short window we have to savour this music!
Teri, that is lovely, spontaneously breaking into song! Your experience reminds me of musicals. for some reason when I was a kid I loved musicals, just loved them, and it was always disappointing that people did not frequently break into song to express themselves… what a wonderful world it would be.
Merry Christmas, Teri…