"Some say that ever 'gainst that season comes
Wherein our Saviour's birth is celebrated,
This bird of dawning singeth all night long;
And then, they say, no spirit dare stir abroad,
The nights are wholesome, then no planets strike,
No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm, So hallow'd and so gracious is the time."
William Shakespeare, from Hamlet
My mother used to say that lost things could be found on Christmas Eve. She was talking about relationships. I was thinking she got that bit from Shakespeare, too, but I couldn't find the quote.
Anyway, I wish all of you a happy and blessed Christmas!
Happy Christmas, everyone (excepting Expedia, United and Lufthansa Airlines). Well, made it in time for Christmas with relatives anyway.
ReplyDeleteGlad you made it home, Stanley!
DeleteKatherine, thank you! I had forgotten those bittersweet lines from Hamlet that wish that peace and justice might hold sway for even just one night a year.
ReplyDeleteDorothy Parker (!) wrote a Christmas poem I stumbled on yesterday that I like.
The Maid-Servant at the Inn
“It’s queer,” she said; “I see the light
As plain as I beheld it then,
All silver-like and calm and bright —
We’ve not had stars like that again!
“And she was such a gentle thing
To birth a baby in the cold.
The barn was dark and frightening —
This new one’s better than the old.
I mind my eyes were full of tears,
For I was young, and quick distressed,
But she was less than me in years
That held a son against her breast.
“I never saw a sweeter child —
The little one, the darling one! —
I mind I told her, when he smiled
You’d know he was his mother’s son.
It’s queer that I should see them so —
The time they came to Bethlehem
Was more than thirty years ago;
I’ve prayed that all is well with them.”
Thanks Jean! That's lovely. I didn't know Dorothy Parker wrote any poetry.
DeleteDorothy started her literary career as a poet, and she was very serious about it. Her religious heritage was quite diverse, and her religious poems sometimes come from the POV of someone looking on at a distance, outside the Gospel. I like this poem because it could just as easily be read at Easter.
DeleteSome high points of my trip were musical. At Częstochowa, the icon is uncovered twice daily. My little old priest guide said that this is the Queen Patroness of Poland giving audiences like the Queen of England. As we waited in a side balcony for the uncovering, there were a couple men with trumpets. My guide also picked up a horn and joined in the salute accompanying the icon's uncovering.
ReplyDeleteIn the square in Kraków, a rather mournful trumpet hourly plays as a memorial to the sacking of the city by the Mongols in the 13th Century. The latest theory about why they just up and left is based on paleoclimatology. Tree rings and other data show extreme rain that year. Muddy terrain would have nullified the Mongols' quick light cavalry advantage. Smart guys knew when to quit. If it were us, we'd have stayed until we wasted 6T USD.
In Zakopane, the highlight was hearing the folk music in the restaurants. Violins, accordion and viola usually.
Always just a little offkey and "undisciplined" like Cajun music and with similar voices, but with a gypsy flavor, I found it very beautiful and moving. Really rooted in the occasional respites for hard working people of the earth. Maybe I can extract the audio from the video somehow and more easily share it.