As Always, Auden

At this point in the Christmas feast, with the New Year begun and Epiphany just around the corner, I always turn to this section from W.H. Auden's poem "For the Time Being: A Christmas Oratorio." It reminds me how easy it is to pack up the Incarnate One with the trimmings, and how important it is to hang on, even if only by a single thread, to the vision of the season.

+ Kit



Well, so that is that. Now we must dismantle the tree,

Putting the decorations back into their cardboard boxes --

Some have got broken -- and carrying them up to the attic.

The holly and the mistletoe must be taken down and burnt,

And the children got ready for school. There are enough

Left-overs to do, warmed-up, for the rest of the week --

Not that we have much appetite, having drunk such a lot,

Stayed up so late, attempted -- quite unsuccessfully --

To love all of our relatives, and in general

Grossly overestimated our powers. Once again

As in previous years we have seen the actual Vision and failed

To do more than entertain it as an agreeable

Possibility, once again we have sent Him away,

Begging though to remain His disobedient servant,

The promising child who cannot keep His word for long.

The Christmas Feast is already a fading memory,

And already the mind begins to be vaguely aware

Of an unpleasant whiff of apprehension at the thought

Of Lent and Good Friday which cannot, after all, now

Be very far off. But, for the time being, here we all are,

Back in the moderate Aristotelian city

Of darning and the Eight-Fifteen, where Euclid's geometry

And Newton's mechanics would account for our experience,

And the kitchen table exists because I scrub it.

It seems to have shrunk during the holidays. The streets

Are much narrower than we remembered; we had forgotten

The office was as depressing as this. To those who have seen

The Child, however dimly, however incredulously,

The Time Being is, in a sense, the most trying time of all.

For the innocent children who whispered so excitedly

Outside the locked door where they knew the presents to be

Grew up when it opened. Now, recollecting that moment

We can repress the joy, but the guilt remains conscious;

Remembering the stable where for once in our lives

Everything became a You and nothing was an It.

The Second Day of Christmas -- Feast of St. Stephen

Because most folks do not run off to church every day during the 12 days of Christmas, we miss a compelling understory that runs through this season of bowl games and parties, travel and relaxation. The understory is a dark one. The church calendar marks people and events that reflect the struggles and violence of the world that Christ came to save.

Today, the "two turtledove" day in the 12 Days of Christmas carol, commemorates the church's first martyr, Stephen, the deacon. He confronted the religious authorities in Jerusalem with his witness to Jesus Christ and was stoned to death for his comments. A young man named Saul, the future St. Paul, was a bystander.

The feast of Stephen is also noted in the carol "Good King Wenceslas" about a poor man looking for firewood on a bitter winter night in the 10th century. The Bohemian king, Wenceslas, decides to take his page out to find the man, build a fire and serve him dinner. The king and page fight through the bitter snow, and the page almost gives up the trek. The king tells him to step within his footprints ... and his feet are so warm that they melt the snow right down to the ground. This was one of the miracles that made the historical king, Saint Wenceslas I, a revered saint almost from the instant of his death.



It ends with a cry for this season, one we forget in our celebrations: "Therefore Christian men be sure, wealth or rank possessing/Ye who now will bless the poor, shall yourselves find blessing."

Where do you find someone struggling outside your doorstep today? Where do you see someone willing to die for their convictions? What does it mean to you that the Christmas season encompasses martyrdom and mercy, testimony and courage?

+ Kit

On Christmas Eve ... Thinking of Adam

I've been thinking of Adam since yesterday. In our house, we always call December 23 "Christmas Adam" because it comes before Christmas Eve. But Adam and Eve have been part of the Christmas story since the middle ages. They, after all, represent the reason we need a Savior -- human hubris, the desire to be like God, and the conviction that we can decide for ourselves without considering God's input or commands. Without this "fall," we would never have needed Immanuel, Godwithus, Jesus Christ.

An old medieval carol, 'Adam lay ybounden' perfectly captures the fate of the fallen and the delight at our redemption. Listen to it here by the incomparable choir of Kings College-Cambridge:



And this is the text:

Adam lay ybounden,
Bounden in a bond;
Four thousand winter
Thought he not too long.
And all was for an apple,
An apple that he took,
As clerkës finden written
In their book.
Nor had one apple taken been,
The apple taken been,
Then had never Our Lady
A-been heaven's queen.
Blessed be the time
That apple taken was.
Therefore we may singen
Deo gratias!

Thanks be to God, indeed. See you tonight, God willing, either at the 5 p.m. family service, or the splendiferous celebration of Christmas in all its glory at 9 p.m.

+ Kit

Join the Caroling Fun

Susan and Nico Gisholt are inviting anyone who would like to come to their house tonight for caroling and cookies, to please come! It starts at 6 p.m. If you email them, they'll give you directions and a phone number ... gisholt@msu.edu.

See you there!

+ Kit

When Christmas is Sad -- A Longest Night Service

On this shortest day and longest night, so close to Christmas, it can feel like darkness has swallowed the world. Especially if you have lost someone you love, to death, divorce, depression, this season of joy and merriment can feel hollow and meaningless.

All Saints offers its second annual "Longest Night" service in the chapel today at 5 p.m. This is a chance to pray, to remember, to sit in silence, to light a candle, and to share communion with others who feel the same way.

Join us, whoever you are and however you are. Share your sorrows with God, and remember the true meaning of the season: Christ born for us to heal us and make us whole.

This prayer from the New Zealand Prayer Book might help with your sorrows this season.

Lord it is night. The night is for stillness. Let us be still in the presence of God. It is night after a long day. What has been done has been done; what has not been done has not been done. Let it be. The night is dark. Let our fears of the darkness of the world and of our own lives rest in you. The night is quiet. Let the quietness of your peace enfold us, all dear to us, and all who have no peace. The night heralds the dawn. Let us look expectantly to a new day, new joys, new possibilities. In your name we pray. Amen.

+ Kit

From Puritan Christmas Ban to Crucified Santa ... How Far We Have Come?

I found this history of the development of Christmas tradition interesting:

An overview:
1600's: The Puritans made it illegal to mention St. Nicolas' name. People were not allowed to exchange gifts, light a candle, or sing Christmas carols.
17th century: Dutch immigrants brought with them the legend of Sinter Klaas.
1773: Santa first appeared in the media as St. A Claus.
1804: The New York Historical Society was founded with St. Nicolas as its patron saint. Its members engaged in the Dutch practice of gift-giving at Christmas.
1809: Washington Irving, writing under the pseudonym Diedrich Knickerbocker, included Saint Nicolas in his book "A History of New York." Nicolas is described as riding into town on a horse.
1812: Irving, revised his book to include Nicolas riding over the trees in a wagon.
1821: William Gilley printed a poem about "Santeclaus" who was dressed in fur and drove a sleigh drawn by a single reindeer.
1822: Dentist Clement Clarke Moore is believed by many to have written a poem "An Account of a Visit from Saint Nicolas," which became better known as "The Night before Christmas." Santa is portrayed as an elf with a miniature sleigh equipped with eight reindeer which are named in the poem as Blitzem, Comet, Cupid, Dancer, Dasher, Donder, Prancer, and Vixen. Others attribute the poem to a contemporary, Henry Livingston, Jr. Two have since been renamed Donner and Blitzen.
1841: J.W. Parkinson, a Philadelphia merchant, hired a man to dress up in a "Criscringle" outfit and climb the chimney of his store.
1863: Illustrator Thomas Nast created images of Santa for the Christmas editions of Harper's Magazine. These continued through the 1890's.
1860s: President Abraham Lincoln asked Nast to create a drawing of Santa with some Union soldiers. This image of Santa supporting the enemy had a demoralizing influence on the Confederate army -- an early example of psychological warfare.
1897: Francis P Church, Editor of the New York Sun, wrote an editorial in response to a letter from an eight year-old girl, Virginia O'Hanlon. She had written the paper asking whether there really was a Santa Claus. It has become known as the "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" letter.
1920's: The image of Santa had been standardized to portray a bearded, over-weight, jolly man dressed in a red suit with white trim.
1931: Haddon Sundblom, illustrator for The Coca-Cola ™ company drew a series of Santa images in their Christmas advertisements until 1964. The company holds the trademark for the Coca-Cola Santa design. Christmas ads including Santa continue to the present day.
1939: Copywriter Robert L. May of the Montgomery Ward Company created a poem about Rudolph, the ninth reindeer. May had been "often taunted as a child for being shy, small and slight." He created an ostracized reindeer with a shiny red nose who became a hero one foggy Christmas eve. Santa was part-way through deliveries when the visibility started to degenerate. Santa added Rudolph to his team of reindeer to help illuminate the path. A copy of the poem was given free to Montgomery Ward customers.
1949: Johnny Marks wrote the song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." Rudolph was relocated to the North Pole where he was initially rejected by the other reindeer who wouldn't let him play in their reindeer games because of his strange looking nose. The song was recorded by Gene Autry and became his all-time best seller. Next to "White Christmas" it is the most popular song of all time.
1993: An urban folk tale began to circulate about a Japanese department store displaying a life-sized Santa Claus being crucified on a cross. It never happened.
1997: Artist Robert Cenedella drew a painting of a crucified Santa Claus. It was displayed in the window of the New York's Art Students League and received intense criticism from some religious groups. His drawing was a protest. He attempted to show how Santa Claus had replaced Jesus Christ as the most important personality at Christmas time.

From The History of Christmas website.

Who is the most important personality at Christmas time for you? What would your family or friends or co-workers say?

+ Kit

What if the True Meaning of Christmas REALLY Shone Through?

I have been thinking about "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas" and that moment at the top of Mount Crumpet, when the Grinch is about to dump all the stuff he took from the Whos.

The story says, "Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more." Because of course, the Whos woke up and found no toys, no gifts, no trimmings or trappings, and no Roast Beast for the Feast. Nonetheless, they gathered in their square, "heart to heart and hand to hand" and started "singing, without any Christmas at all."

"He hadn't stopped Christmas from coming. It came. Somehow or other, it came just the same."

So, I'm just wondering ... what if the Grinch went ahead and dumped all that stuff into the ravine, and went back down the mountain and joined the Whos in their song? What if that really WAS Christmas, and they almost missed it with all the stuff they had laden on to it? After all, "Christmas Day is in our grasp, so long as we have hands to clasp. Welcome Christmas, bring your cheer. Welcome to all Whos far and near. Christmas Day will always be, just so long as we have we."

+ Kit

The Advent Conspiracy

This video tells us how to begin. The website tells us more.

As we begin Advent next Sunday, I support the core message of the Advent Conspiracy ... Worship fully, spend less, give more, love all. Let their suggestion to spend less money, enjoy our relationships more fully, and give more money to those who really need it inspire us all.

+ Kit