FAULT OF THE CAROLS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 7, Issue 26, 23 November 1943, Page 3

FAULT OF THE CAROLS

There was to have 'boon no sentiment thus Christmas: no heart 11 uttering at the sight of glossy leaves and roil berries, no pu.shing with the crowd in front of the card and calendar counter, no loitering before shop windows all .dressed up in spangled cotton wool, with little while lumps dangling suggestively in rows from the ceiling, and a sprinkle of "frost" elegantly ■distributed over the fancy goods. There was to have been no childish delight over the sight of Christmas trees brilliant with electric bulbs: over the illuminated windows of o!d churches., reminiscent of the painted card of long ago that lit. up mys-* teriously when held against the light. „, Everything was to have been se.nsible and matter-of-fact. For why, one asked, should mistletoe make any difference, or turkeys, or mince pies. Why should one. go out of one's way to purchase, small presents that no one particularly wants, and wrap them up in fancy paper, and fumble with greeting cards slung on bits of red string? Far better to spend onc'.s time in getting things done— emptying the. stocking basket, for instance, and-mending the. lining of one's winter coat. That would be using Christmas in a really practical way. So one argued in November, holding to one's principles with unshaken zeal; maintaining an air of sup* crior aloofness, even when December dawned, and. refusing to be entangled in the web for a further week or two. An extremely subtle process that began unawares and worked up ~ and up as Christina's Day approach-: cd. lit was the. fault of the carols. Someone has. lale'.y talked- about the "sort of glory" of Christmas tide the wonder of eeslasy that embraces "the child and is weakened to some degree over after with the first notes of a carol. It is a .strange thing. The carol may be out of tune, issuing forth from the mouths of bad little boys who mix the. words up in a meaningless jumble, and wlioye sole reason for singing at all is to get to the movies; yet the "sort of glory" is there, the giory that filled the word on Christmas night when we were young. I did not lu\ir I ho. carol singers this year, but 1 listened to the inharmonious efforts of a specially poor band, gathered together round

n lamp below my window. There Avas nothing Christmas about the hour; it had been raining, and. a muggy dampness had settie.il o\ev tiie town, The band played two verses of "The First Noel" badly, then paused for a long time before adding two verses of "O Come, All Ye Faithful." During the next pause. 1 "was convinced that they had given up and gone shamefacedly away. But li -was wrong. A feeble effort at "Auld Lang Svne'' was made, followed by another long pause, and then "Christians Awake." "Christians Awake" is not an appropriate hymn to play for last thing at night, but what did that matter? As I listened, the Avhole of Christmas was in the room, tlio whole of Christmas, the full glory that .shone upon one's childhood and placed a halo round every simple thing. It will be the same next year, and the year after that, and every year so long as carols last. CHRISTMAS GREETINGS 1943 — Sounds over the Avater Reach out from all lands: The. chorus of A'oices ; The clasping of hands. Sing songs that were sung By the Stars of the Morn f Sing songs of the Angels When Jesus Avas born. Im glad Jubilation Bring Hope to the Nation ; The dark night is ending And dawn has begun. Rise hope of Ages; Arise like the Sun, All speech flow to music. All hearts beat as one. "What would you do if you were in my shoes?" "1/d shine them." "What was your sister so angry about?" "Why, she sent me to the Avillage to get some colli cream, and I got ice cream, which Avas the coldest they had." Customer: Tfie.se apples taste a bit fishy.. Greengrocer: QuiLc right—they're crab apples.