If you're familiar with very many Christmas carols, then you'll recognize the following words as lyrics to Carol of the Bells.
Hark! how the bells
Sweet silver bells
All seem to say
‘throw cares away.’
Christmas is here
Bringing good cheer
To young and old
Meek and the bold
Ding, dong, ding, dong
That is their song
With joyful ring
All carolling
One seems to hear
Words of good cheer
From ev’rywhere
Filling the air
Oh how they pound
Raising the sound
O’er hill and dale
Telling their tale
Gaily they ring
While people sing
Songs of good cheer
Christmas is here
Merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas
Merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas
On, on they send
On without end
Their joyful tone
To ev’ry home
Hark! how the bells
Sweet silver bells
All seem to say
‘throw cares away.’
Christmas is here
Bringing good cheer
To young and old
Meek and the bold
Ding, dong, ding, dong
That is their song
With joyful ring
All carolling
One seems to hear
Words of good cheer
From ev’rywhere
Filling the air
Oh how they pound
Raising the sound
O’er hill and dale
Telling their tale
Gaily they ring
While people sing
Songs of good cheer
Christmas is here
Merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas
Merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas
On, on they send
On without end
Their joyful tone
To ev’ry home
Throw cares away, Christmas is here. Bringing good cheer.
Our greater society seems to have taken a wrong turn when it comes to celebrating Christmas. While watching YouTube videos the other week, I was bombarded with ads for the "perfect gift for someone you love." I was browsing a forum one afternoon, and there was a multiple page thread on the Advent calendars that folks were gifting their family members or wanted for themselves. These Advent calendars definitely fall into the luxury category. There are calendars for specialty jams, Funko Pops, coffee pods, teas, figurines, Godiva chocolates, Legos, crafts supplies, and even ones for cats. I had no idea these sorts of Advent calendars even existed, and even more surprised that so many folks were buying and gifting them.
The type of Advent calendar I grew up with was made of 2 stiff layers of paper, printed with a nice Christmas scene and with 24 little doors set into the top layer of paper. Under each door was a little picture or a Bible verse. It was exciting to wake up each morning, get dressed and then open that day's little window. The picture or the verse truly was a nice surprise and treat to start the day. By the time my children came along, Advent calendars were often filled with small chocolates. I still see those types in stores beginning in November each year.
I have no problem with people buying expensive gifts for their loved ones, spending what could be interpreted as large sums of money on some of these gifts. The amount of buying and spending isn't my point. My point is today's buying and spending seems to overshadow the rest of the Christmas celebration.
We were talking at the dinner table tonight about what Christmas was like for my kids' grandparents during the Great Depression, and how their experiences might have colored how they chose to celebrate Christmas once they were the adults. My husband recalled that in his family, gift-giving took a back seat to other aspects of the Christmas holiday, such as the church service, a nice family meal, a holiday concert or two in the weeks leading up to Christmas, and sharing with others. In my own family, we went caroling, visited a local care home, participated in (when younger) and attended (when older) both church and school Christmas shows, had a special Christmas meal, attended our church's Christmas Eve service together, as well as exchanged gifts. As a kid of course the presents were a highlight. But my parents were wise enough to not allow the gifts to overshadow the significance of the birth of our Savior. I would hope that even if a family had no religious orientation, they would intuitively know that bombarding their children with many, many, many shiny baubles and playthings might not be in their best interest, and would therefore try to balance the gift-giving with other types of activities.
My daughters were asking when my family would set up a tree when I was growing up. They were stunned when I told them somewhere around the 15th or 16th of December. That seemed late to them. They also asked what we did between the Thanksgiving holiday and Christmas celebrations, as if Thanksgiving simply had to lead directly into Christmas. I replied that life pretty much went back to normal after Thanksgiving for a couple of weeks. We went back to school and my parents' lives continued as normal until about mid-December when the Christmas festivities, shopping, baking, and visiting would begin. Black Friday as a national shopping spree didn't even exist when I was a child. I wish Christmas caroling in the neighborhood would make a comeback. We enjoyed both the caroling and being the lucky householder to hear the sweet Christmas a cappella music.
The tune for Carol of the Bells originated in the Ukraine as a New Year song in the early 1900s. The English version with Christian lyrics was introduced to American audiences in 1936 during the Great Depression. The rearrangement and new lyrics transformed the music into a Christmas song, with references to caroling, handbells, and of course wishes for a merry Christmas.
The lyrics to Carol of the Bells recall a less consumer-driven Christmas holiday. Christmas in itself brings the good cheer, not the number of packages under the tree or whether or not one received a luxury Advent calendar. To note, this good cheer is available to all, young, old, meek, bold.
Lucky for us, one of the easiest ways to tap into the Christmas good cheer is also free, listening to carols online. In December, I like to take a few minutes each day to "throw cares away" briefly and enjoy some of my favorites. I hope you enjoy this a cappella version of Carol of the Bells.
My mom told me that they didn't put their tree up until the night before Christmas back during the Depression years..... not sure if that was the norm or not but I can't imagine waiting that long. Love the Carol of the Bells! You should check out Lindsey Stirlings video and version of it on Youtube if you haven't seen it, it's fantastic.
ReplyDeleteJust listened to Linsey Stirlings version yesterday.
DeleteHi Trina,
DeleteI'll check out Lindsey Stirling's version. Thanks for the suggestion!
When our first child was little, we waited to put up a Christmas tree until the 24th several years in a row. For one, we bought our tree each year back then and by waiting we could get one on clearance, and two, it was easier to not have him over-excited with the tree up for days and days.
I do think it was somewhat common in the past to wait to put up a tree until Christmas Eve. So your mom's experience during the Depression may have been typical.
Thank you for sharing that!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome!
DeleteI love this carol! Every year, my family and I plan to work up a version of it. We have the sheet music for it, but never make it much past singing our favorite parts while we talk about it.
ReplyDeleteI, too lament how commercialized Christmas has become. I think the extended availability of everything to buy had diluted the experience. However, I realize that Christmas is the time of year when many business make most of their money and it often carries them for the rest of the year. They are "making hay while the sunshines" as I like to say. I can't begrudge them the opportunity to do well in their business. But I wish there was another way.
Hi Live and Learn,
DeleteYou make a very good point. One thing I've been more mindful about in recent years is to shop at small businesses for our gifts. The big box stores will stay around, but some of the small businesses really need support just to make it another year. I try to patronize those businesses as much as I can during the holidays.
I also love Carol of the Bells. I wasn't familiar with the song they segued into--Bells of Notre Dame--but that was pretty, as well. I have sung Carol of the Bells in choir before and I still remember the alto part. I enjoy a capella music--thanks for this, Lili!
ReplyDeleteConsumerism has been part of the Christmas scene as long as I can remember, but it seems to be on steroids now. It can be tricky to find the balance between the spiritual and the fun aspects of Christmas. Speaking of advent calendars, my mom purchased one for me back when my kids were tiny. It is a wooden one with little doors behind which you can stash little goodies. On the top of it is a manger scene. Our family tries to do a family devotional most days, so during Christmas, I integrated that into our time together. I tried several different things to keep it interesting, but what I ended up with was putting one or two of the verses of Jesus' birth from the book of Luke on a piece of paper to be read daily, in sequential order. Each day the kids would alternate who read the verses. I also included tiny "treasures" (chocolates, fun erasers, coins, mini ornaments for their mini trees .... ). I've been amazed at how much this has become one of our Christmas traditions. I keep the same verses in the calendar and we just re-read them every year. Funny thing is, I put out the advent calendar in its usual place this year but forgot about putting gifts in them. My daughter (who just turned 18) was disappointed that there wasn't a fun surprise in it. I have since rectified this. :) The neat part is that my kids enjoy the surprise of getting something and aren't concerned with the monetary value of it. I had kinda thought that they might be outgrowing the tradition, but apparently not. I feel like this is a way of us to daily center ourselves on the real meaning of the season.
Hi Kris,
DeleteWhat a great way to use the Advent calendar your mom bought when your kids were small. I'm glad you corrected that little oversight with the missing little surprise in each box!
I'm an alto, too. I remember singing Carol of the Bells in school choir many, many decades ago. I'm afraid my singing is not so great now that I'm older. But I love to listen to good music.
It takes a village to raise kids. Since we don't have the village anymore, we try to replace it with things. We could still pull off a less consumption based Christmas only if we had people with similar values/ mindset. You can still do it but it's a lonely place when hardly anyone can relate to you, this is especially true for young/er people since they feel left out/ not belonging when they don't follow what's trending. Thank you for your post.
ReplyDeleteHi Farhana,
DeleteYou're so right about young people and how they like to feel like their lives are like those of others, and how that can make it difficult for a family to do things differently. Trying to have a less consumeristic Christmas with children in the picture is a lot like other aspects of frugality, buying clothing second-hand, or bringing rather humble lunches to school each day, or having parents pick the kids up in an old car. Kids are especially susceptible to feeling singled-out when their lives don't match what they believe other kids' lives are like.