...Christmas cards, candles glowing on the Advent wreath as I scribble news and send love. Darkness by four o'clock, and hurrying to get shopping done. The local High Streets have a strange feel about them as Woolworths is closing. It's been such a part of British life for so long that it seems somehow shocking to see it stripped bare, with "BARGAINS!! 50 per cent off!!!" shrieking from posters, and everything in a mess.
There is a sense of rush as I have a lot of work to tackle before Christmas (new book out in 2009 - more on this later) and so does everyone else. And Christmas brings a sense of time passing - of goshcanitreallybeawholeyeargone...
Christmas feels more solemn as you get older.I still love it all, am going carol-singing again this Friday, have been spending happy times with tinsel and ribbon and wrapping-paper, deliberately play Advent and Christmas music as I work, have set up the Crib scene on the mantlepiece as I always do with the Christ-child waiting to be added at Christmastime. But the solemnity rings out from the beautiful Advent readings (yes, I'm using Magnificat, as mentioned in an earlier blog - do invest in it, a perfectly splendid way to have a daily and weekly prayer-book, all up to date with the readings for each day...)and the message of Christmas is glorious, but like the traditional spicy foods, is somehow bittersweet...
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4 comments:
Dear Joanna,
Thank you for such a thoughtful pre-Christmas soliloquy. That is EXACTLY how I feel too here in Australia. Maybe it is getting older, seeing one's children grow up and move on, or maybe it is these uncertain times. But the Crib this year has brought a feeling of much needed security and hope. Best wishes, Hannah Wise
I don't find Christmas at all solomn in New Zealand! Far from it and why should it be with the sun shining and summer well and truly here! Sure, people are spending less and there are tough times looming, but a simpler version of the festive season brings a greater sincerity and there is every reason to enjoy it with a positive spirit. I love Christmas and its frills and will never be cynical about it!
Sorry, solemn. Not solemn though, tinsel and festive :-)
"Solemn" is a very Catholic word. Christmas and Easter are solemnities, whilst Good Friday is not.
Solemn doesn't mean the opposite of joyful.
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