Christmas Eve

"Oh, holy night!

The stars are brightly shining.

It is the night of our dear Savior's birth.

Long lay the world in sin and error pining,

'til He appeared and the soul felt its worth.

Fall on your knees! Oh hear the angel voices!

Oh night divine, 

Oh night when Christ was born."
-Adolphe Adam

Was your Christmas Eve was all you hoped for? 
I got to enjoy the unmistakable aroma of an old church, 
hear a handbell choir
(it would be very hard to stay humble as a bell choir member), 
and pass the candlelight from hand to hand. 

Why is it almost impossible to keep weeping at bay during 
this simple Silent Night ceremony?
The symbolism of receiving the tiny flame and sharing it with strangers, 
as well as the ones I love, 
plinks something deep inside. 
If only we shared the True Light as eagerly, 
without the slightest hesitation.

This is a New Year resolution to consider...

Christmas Music Without Hippos

We delay listening to Christmas music until after Thanksgiving, 

just so we don't get sick of the same old tunes repeating overandoverandover...

This season, we've been playing some actual albums found at a summer yardsale.

Henry Mancini is rocking our house, big band style, with his 1966 album, a Merry Mancini Christmas. 

It's been fun to hear holiday favorites accompanied by the subtle scratch of an old-school record player.

And by the way, the wonder of hearing the GOSPEL via Christmas music 

in the public marketplace, blaring through loudspeakers and store sound systems - 

that never gets old!

"... cast out our sin and enter in..."

"Veiled in flesh the Godhead see.."

" ... and with His blood mankind has bought..."

"His law is love, and His gospel is peace."

"Let every heart prepare Him room..."

SIDE NOTE:

We discovered Songza a couple years ago and now it plays almost daily during December. It's a free website offering multiple Christmas playlists. These lists are extensive - you've got to browse when you get a minute. Don't miss "Christmas at the Castle".

* Classical Christmas playlist - not a single mention of hippopotamuses or front teeth.

** Acoustic Guitar Christmas playlist - hard candy and washing in snow completely excluded.

      Songza Christmas playlists here.

             

Two Ton

Do you ever read over the third or even the fourth verses to the old Christmas hymns?

There is some two-ton theology in those verses we hardly ever sing!

(Could that be why we skip those verses?)

But so many are blessedly, sweetly, painfully, relevant. 

I love that! 

I need that!

(from) 'I HEARD THE BELLS ON CHRISTMAS DAY'

And in despair I bowed my head
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, good will to men.”

***

I know I'm not alone in the constant breathing of prayers for the bereaved in Connecticut.

Doesn't this seem like an appropriate Christmas hymn to add to our prayers?

Flower Patch Farmgirl

Band

I was in band for a very few years in my tender youth. In sixth grade it was the flute - poor Mr. Daniels. I was fascinated that he could bear to listen to us and not run out of the school gym - it was that terrible. Continuing in junior high school for seventh and eighth grades, I competed very poorly for 'first chair' flute with the truly talented whose names I have forgotten, even though I remember what they looked like so plainly - wait... Jill ...nevermind. I spent time admiring the saxophone players, the trombone players, and the drummers - cute boys, all, to us giggling young flutists. (hahahahahaha - never could a term be used more loosely than that) High school band camp was not allowed to me --- not exactly sure why, unless it had to do with going away to a camp with boys,for a week, much too far from the supervision of my vigilant parents. I didn't regret letting band go, since I knew that I was not a really band person. Band, and my lack of talent there, is still in my dreams, though. Yes, inadequacy dreams - oh, the relief of waking! Especially from the one in which I am surprised to find myself in the band room again, realizing that I am (the only one) completely unprepared, and the conductor is about to raise his baton to signal Begin!

Nightmares aside, I remain mesmerized by orchestral music. That these people can work together, each doing their part, which, when played alone, often sounds nothing like anything at all, and it all fits together to make - WOW - something so beautiful! I can't express clearly enough how impressed I am with this: