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Christmas Miscellany

I hope your Christmas Day was wonderful. I wanted to do a short post of a few bits of Christmas things. For appropriate background music, click here (*.ram music file on this page requires Realplayer). Angels We Have Heard on High is my new favourite Christmas Carol and the words don't at all do it justice. You have to hear the Gloria to get it (it has a lot of O's in it).
Angels We have heard on High

Angels we have heard on high Sweetly singing o'er the plains, And the mountains in reply Echoing their joyous strains.

CHORUS Glo----ria in excelsis Deo, Glo----ria in excelsis Deo.

Shepherd, why this jubilee? Why your joyous strains prolong? What the gladsome tidings be Which inspire your heav'nly song? CHORUS

Come to Bethlehem and see Him whose birth the angels sing. Come adore on bended knee Christ the Lord, the newborn King. CHORUS

With Christmas Day, Advent comes to a close and The Twelve Days of Christmas begin, lasting until January 9th. You would never know that by looking the media, which have nothing to do with the culture that does not involve a kickback. If they are your lens into the world you will have myriad problems - and not just with Christmas. As far as they and their advertisers are concerned, 'Christmas' is that period beginning after Thanksgiving and ending on boxing day. That tells you a lot about their focus: Buy, buy, buy, wham, here's your one or two days, now get over it. That sort of Christmas is a drag and when I hear people grumble about Christmas I have to fight the desire to smile and whisper - conspiratorial like - "psst! There's a better way, you know. There's more" and then let fly the secret. The last day of Christmas is known as Epiphany (that's more than than twelve days and I'm not sure why that is. Does Anyone know?). After January 9th, the priests' vestments will return to the green used to mark Ordinary time. White vestments are used only for special times like Christmas or Easter.

Today is the Feast of the Holy Family, which does not usually fall on the day after Christmas. This feast is a relatively new one, going back only until 1921, when it was pronounced as a response to the atomizing effects of modernism was and is having on the family. From today's readings:
Brothers and sisters: Put on, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do. And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection. And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body. And be thankful.
Merry Christmas everyone! **** Julie at Happy Catholic points out that Epiphany is Januray 2nd this year. We're not sure why though...

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