This never fails to move me.

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day ( Read more... )

People, look east. The time is near
Of the crowning of the year.
Make your house fair as you are able,
Trim the hearth and set the table.
People, look east and sing today:
Love, the guest, is on the way.

(from the Advent hymn by Eleanor Farjeon, 1928)

:: insert calypso-reggae beat ::

For a moment the world was aglow
All the bells rang out, there were tears of joy and laughter
People shouted, let everyone know
There is hope for all to find peace

While doing my research for the posts on the traditions of the days following Christmas, I came across the following article:

The Real Twelve Days of Christmas by Edwin and Jennifer Woodruff Tait.

I was particularly struck by the following portions:

"It is easy to dismiss all these customs as ... harmless follies ... But perhaps there's a ( Read more... )

It's interesting to me that the verse for the second day in The Twelve Days of Christmas lists the present as "two turtle doves." A pair of doves was the sacrifice for purification after a birth for a poor woman, who could not afford a lamb (Leviticus 12:8) and the sacrifice we are told Mary offered when she presented the infant Jesus at the ( Read more... )

Happy Second Day of Christmas!

Today is the traditional second day of Christmas, a tradition that has mostly been lost in our modern, North American society, more's the pity ( Read more... )