Our church refrains from Carols until Dec 24, but we are still singing them,. If you can avoid the malls and radio, its fun because the carols are not worn out.
I was recently thinking about the loss of sociability in our culture. I have a poorer social life than my fore bearers here. Our house was once home to midwinter country dances where the homemade cider and hard perry flowed, but everyone from kids to old folks gathered in one place. The fiddlers (Two great uncles) and caller (my grandpa) squeezed in a threshold between two rooms to allow for a set of dancers in each of two adjoining rooms. Over the years, they beat the floors down, but they had fun. I was reminded of this lost tradition by a fine recent essay from the David Walbert AKA the new agrarian.
The late agrarian writer John Seymour often lamented that loss of sociability was one of the greatest losses caused by industrialism and consumerism. We simply no longer no how to party. Our family gatherings are limited to eating and gathering around some kind of electronic entertainment.
Wishing all readers a happy and blessed Christmas! Only a couple days left so party on-- as best you can in our sad culture!
7 comments:
Despite growing up in a Protestant family, this year was the first time I heard anything about the Christian roots of the twelve days of Christmas, and how religious Christmas should be celebrated. First the priest at the Catholic church I attend made a small, obligatory - though resigned to it being ignored - mention, then a few days later I heard a Lutheran discussing it on the radio. Now you.
Next year I plan to switch my family's Christmas celebration to the religious traditions. Do you references, online or in print, that talk about some of the traditions held during the twelve days of Christmas?
Very true. And very sad. But hopefully changing a little as people focus on spending less?
Hi Lucy,
Here is one site I am familiar with. Hope it helps!
http://fullhomelydivinity.org/articles/Twelve%20Days%20of%20Christmas.htm
Wow, thanks for that awesome link. I was just wondering about the 12 days of Christmas recently.
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