This was going to be another cynical rant about how Christmass has gone down the drain and in its place has been erected the monstrous pillar of corporate greed and ignorance...but never mind; we've all heard that story. At work yestermorn a woman complained not only that the close of business was five o'clock but that we are going to be closed on St Stephen's Day as well. "Well, everywhere else is open," said she. I wanted to hit her, the stupid bint! On that note, Quentin Crisp once said that love is the extra effort we make with the people we do not like. I wonder, does our charity extend to the greedy and ignorant as much as to our friends and family? It's a tough one.
Anyway, I feel rather serene now that I have had my lunch, watched Her Majesty's Address and had copious amounts of champagne. I could even face church. I did try to watch the festival of Nine Lessons from King's but switched off when they brought on a woman to read. Nobody ever gets it right these days, and as for carol services in place of liturgy...don't get me started! It's like eating strawberries in the winter; round hole, square peg.
I think I shall go and read The Hobbit now. My mind is hungry for adventure, and for some of Beorn's honey strangely enough.
Wishing you all a very Happy (new kalendar) Christmass!
Oh, that things on BBC2 masquerading as 9L&C is awful; poems; and carols; prerecorded ; utterly dead atmosphere. The nine lessons is only on the Home SErvice at 3pm, or if one wants to hear the full voluntary the next day.
ReplyDeleteI was unable to find Evensong on Gaudete Sunday let alone Advent IV.
As for some woman on Heart FM who kept asking what we should call this period between Christmass and New Year words failed me.
I am sorry that the 9 L. and C. now omits its "founder" Eric Milner White's Bidding prayer which must be one of the most stunning pieces of Prayer/Prose in modern English.
ReplyDeleteI'm cool with the noise and fuss each year over Christmas. If anything, I would argue for more hoopla. No one likes greed and commercialism, of course, but I do not detect much of that in the people I meet. What they feel is mostly nostalgia, and a normal penchant for spirituality. Thomas Kempis wrote that "each man does what is agreeable to his own mind" and Christmas is all of that. People celebrate Christmas because they enjoy doing so and want to do so. Thing is, we were meant to aim a mile higher than just that. If I get even one chance to point this out to someone who has an open heart, then it's worth the noise and hoopla I wade through to get there.
ReplyDelete