Melancholy Christmas Carols

This is the time of year that is kind of warm and fuzzy with snowflakes, candy canes, jolly white-bearded guys in red suits, angelic cherubs and cuddly shepherds singing sweet carols of Christmas.  But not all of the tunes written for this season are happy, slappy , sappy songs.  Some are rather melancholy and somber with a hint of irony. The list is not too long, but here are a few from my collection of off-kilter, but relevant Christmas tunes..some not quite carols that have spoken to my soul at one point or another during my lifetime:

1. "The Coventry Carol" dates back to the 16th Century and is part of a play remembering the slaughter of the Innocents during the reign of Herod during which the Christ Child escapes to Egypt with the Holy Family.  It is set as a lull-a-bye sung by the mothers of the slaughtered children to the babes they will hold no more.  How is that for melancholia?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIvH5GdY4JE

2. "Gabriel's Message" is a Basque folk tune and 13th century carol that came into the English lexicon in the 19th century.  It recounts the Annunciation to the Virgin Mary by the Angel Gabriel that she would bear the Savior, the Son of God. It also echoes the opening of the Magnificat, one of the canticles used in Morning Prayer.  Sting's recording is probably the most familiar.  I do like this one, but I am a sucker for any Sting tune.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GF2BzUDeTkY

3. "In the Bleak Mid-Winter" was written by English poet Christina Rossetti in response to a magazine that wanted to publish a Christmas poem.  After her death, it was put to music and placed in the Anglican hymnal...so the Episcopal church included it in theirs.  I happen to like this one quite a lot.  It just speaks to me, even though I find its theology a bit simplistic.  But, that is another discussion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0aL9rKJPr4

4. "I heard the Bells on Christmas Day" was written in 1863 by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow after receiving new that his son was seriously injured in a battle during the Civil War. It was first called "Christmas Bells' and was actually written on Christmas Day.  In its entirety, it references events that happened during the war that impacted Longfellow's thoughts. At the end, the bells bring hope for peace...a sentiment we can still relate to.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccHLJ7J84k4

So, there they are.  I am sure you have your favorites.  But I think I need to end this on a lighter note, so I am including a link to my new favorite Chanukah song that I heard at a recent concert.  It is sung in Ladino, a dialect spoken for centuries by Sephardic Jews living in Spain and along the Mediterranean.  It is called "Ocho Kandelikes"; I hope you like it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9h3u88wLrAQ

New for the Holidays

Here we are again, Christmas is upon us, and, if you are like me, there are things that rest in your holiday DNA that just seem to jump out year after year. My "must do" list includes putting candles in the window (now I use the flameless ones); arranging oranges and walnuts in bowls, preparing hot chocolate with peppermint sticks and gobs of freshly whipped cream, setting up the crèche with the magi in transit, and in homage to my Scandinavian in-laws, simmering glogg based loosely on Uncle Ole's recipe: aquavit or rum with raisins, blanched whole almonds, cinnamon sticks, cloves and orange peel mixed with hearty red wine. There have been variations of this basic recipe over the years with many debates and annual rivalries, but the spirit of the "spirit" of the Christmas Spirit was always accompanied by the smell of warm glogg on the stove.  

A very Swanson Christmas

So, our familial traditions were always a mishmash of Northern European traditions: Irish, British, German and Swedish melded with the  hustle and bustle of New York City during the holidays...a cosmopolitan celebration of mixed messages: blue and white Chanukah  lights with dreidels, latkes, jelly doughnuts, and chocolate coins covered in "gold" foil; Salvation Army Santas ringing their bells on the streets in Manhattan by Macy's; the decorated shop windows along Fifth and Seventh Avenues; the over-the-top Christmas lights in Dyker Heights and Belmont; the smell of roasting chestnuts near the Rockefeller Center Tree; the decorations at St. Patrick's Cathedral; the Nutcracker at the NYC Ballet; the decorated trees at Lincoln Center and Wall Street...these all mix together to make this time of year a great time to be in the city that never sleeps.

Over the past few years I have had to adapt my holiday activities to my new lifestyle as a downsized single adult.  I went from my parents' house to living with my late spouse in various apartments and houses.  I now essentially have a space of my own which is smaller than the space that could hold 30 to 40 people for a party or other gathering. So, you adapt. December 23rd will find me with cousins in Connecticut for a holiday gathering.  I show up with a good bottle of wine and assorted gifts for kiddoes and have a wonderful time. On Christmas Eve after the family service at my church, I take my immediate family and others to dinner at my favorite restaurant. I have given up wrapping lots and lots of presents and take the kinder and grandkinder to a NYC event of their choosing.  This year they chose to return to that New York staple: the Christmas Show at Radio City Music Hall complete with dancing Santas and high-kicking Rockettes. Christmas Day itself will be low-key.  Lunch at my son's with the newest grandchild and others for an informal gathering. New traditions for a new chapter of life.
                          

Now, it is important for all of us to understand that we are celebrating real miracles.  For our Jewish friends, it is the miracle of the Festival of Lights; a time for new hope and revitalization. For we Christians it is the miracle of the Incarnation: God made man. The beginning of our salvation story. So, Come let us celebrate together; gather with friends and family; enjoy old traditions or start new ones; blend and bend and dance and sing together: Let the Earth rejoice!

Take Responsibility, Already!

While watching a cable news network a few days ago, a lead story about the role that "fake" news articles played in our recent national elections was aired. In this short "spot", one of the cable news guys interviewed a normal looking man who lives in California.  Now, what makes this particular man a bit unusual was how he supplemented his income.  He wrote what he happily described as "fake" news stories deliberately designed to deceive.  He admitted that the "header" to the story was an almost exact replica of the "header" used by a well known and well respected online news network.

He admitted writing a completely false "news" article that slandered and besmirched the reputation of one of the candidates for President of the United States. He claims to have earned about $8,000 for the piece that was seen by over 1.5 million people and passed on by 500,000 of them.
He claims that this might be something he should not have sent out, but took no personal responsibility for his decietful actions.
 
Don't get him wrong, he was happy to finally talk to someone from a "real" news organization, but wondered aloud why they had not been investigating this kind of behavior before the election was over. No one stepped in to stop him, so he just went along his merry way creating false stories about people and getting financial reward for reeking havoc and openly lying.  Gee whiz, he knew it was wrong, but no one knew he was doing it, so he just continued to do it because he got rewarded for behavior he knew was wrong...and, just so you know...it was NOT his fault.  No one stopped him; no one called him out, and no seemed to care. In his mind that made it okay for him to act badly.  Shame on him.

In the case of this unwise writer, no one died as a result of his bad behavior.

This, unfortunately, is not true of another more tragic event in the news.  The deaths of 36 in a fire in a warehouse that was being used in ways inappropriate to its design or purpose.

The owners are recorded crying and wailing in front of TV cameras. The husband cried when he realized his children could be removed from this obviously unsafe household; the wife protested that they did not have the financial means to correct violations that they knew existed, so they just did nothing. One of their illegal tenants blamed gentrification for seeking housing in an unsafe sub-divided building; she had been, in her description "pushed out" of the housing market in two other California cities, and thought it a reasonable idea to join in the "artistic community" that was renting space form the owner who knew people were living in the space under less than ideal situations. They collectively blamed the local police and fire department for not citing their many violations and shutting them down, thus preventing the horrendous loss of life caused by a fire in a space with inadequate means of egress.  No one called them on the violations; they knew their were problems; they did nothing to correct the problems; people died as a result. Shame on them.

As a society, what have we devolved into here?  No one seems to want to take responsibility for their ill-advised or just plain bad choices.  We have all made bad choices. Some were small ones ( I did so love those brown leather boots I bought years ago, but boy, did they hurt my feet); others are much larger with larger implications: the road not taken; the job turned down; the opportunity missed. But one thing remains constant.  Owning our errors, our mistakes, our foolish choices will only help us to become stronger and more complete people. If one cannot do this, one is permanently stuck in a state of arrested development that will block personal growth into full and responsible personhood. And shame on us all.