Monday, December 26, 2016

On the feast of Stephen ...

In olden days, a favorite (and annoying) holiday party trick of mine was to spontaneously (without warning) burst into song and perform all the lyrics to that grand old carol, "Good King Wenceslaus."  I don't recall why I know all those words, but do recall that it helps to be slightly lubricated when you sing them. Also appropriate: Wenceslaus is the patron of both Bohemia and Czech brewers.

Which is probably why I like this video clip so much. But be warned: Although the music is performed by the Rovers, those are not the Rovers lip-syncing and cavorting in the snow. I have no idea who they are.

It's an appropriate day for the song, however --- the feast day of St. Stephen, boxing day in Britain and much of the Commonwealth, the second day of Christmas elsewhere. In the U.S., it's the day many scurry to sweep as much of Christmas as possible away. We can't have too much of that peace and good will sticking around, you know.

It was a wonderful Christmas --- candlelight and carols on Christmas Eve, followed by supper (four varieties of soup; I should not have decided try one of everything on Lisa's dessert tray). On Christmas day in the morning, rather than reprising Christmas Eve, we just sat in a circle in the parish hall and read Morning Prayer. In the afternoon, I was lucky enough to share lasagna and raspberry cheesecake with Kathleen, Jake, Kylie, Karoline, Patrick and various canine crew members, including Ruckus. 

Sadly, I neglected Good King Wenceslaus. Maybe at the office tomorrow ....

No comments: