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Nancy Parker Brummett

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The Sounds of Christmas

December 11, 2018 by Nancy 16 Comments

christmas-bellsIt may happen as early as October. You’re standing in the grocery store aisle trying to decide which of 15 oat and honey granolas would be best, when you suddenly realize you’re hearing Christmas carols coming from the store’s sound system. It strikes you as odd at first, but then you realize it’s just a sign that the holiday shopping frenzy is on the way!

Yet it’s not all bad. I actually love to hear Christmas carols any time of year. And although the Christmas season certainly has something to delight all our senses—the fresh smell of pine boughs, the twinkle of the lights, the creamy sweetness of a favorite fudge recipe—the sounds of Christmas are a cherished part of each year’s celebration.

Even the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow appreciated the importance of Christmas sounds when he penned the words to the familiar carol “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” for his church in 1864. The miseries of the Civil War were much with Longfellow as he wrote. He managed an optimistic first line reading, “I heard the bells on Christmas day, their old familiar carols play, and wild and sweet the words repeat of peace on earth, good will to men.”

But then in sadness he added, “And in despair, I bowed my head: There is no peace on earth, I said; For hate is strong, and mocks the song of peace on earth, good will to men.” Gratefully he went on to write, “Yet pealed the bells more loud and deep: God is not dead, nor doth He sleep; the wrong shall fail, the right prevail, with peace on earth, good will to men.”

Those words are as comforting today as they must have been to those in Longfellow’s Boston Sunday school class decades ago. Can we let the sounds of Christmas peal in our hearts again? The carols we love can soothe our souls if we really listen to the words, and should be the primary soundtrack of our Christmas season—not just the background music in the grocery store. Add a choir singing Handel’s Messiah with full orchestral accompaniment to the mix, and you’ll be truly blessed!

And oh, the bells! I was blessed to live in a small town in Germany many years ago and can still remember the church bells ringing out familiar carols at Christmas time. Carillons and bell towers in small towns in America still do the same. Seek one out, bundle up on a bench nearby, and let the bells minister to you.Church ornament

Listen for the sounds of Christmas in your own home, too. Coffee perking before everyone is up on Christmas morning. Perhaps children or grandchildren squealing with delight when they see their gifts. Laughter and conversation around the Christmas dinner table.

But may you also have moments of quiet solitude when you can reflect on the words of the angel accompanied by the songs of the heavenly host so long ago: “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord (Luke 2:10-11).”

Filed Under: Back Porch Break Tagged With: Bells, carols, Christmas, Longfellow, solitude, sounds

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Elizabeth H. Van Liere says

    December 12, 2018 at 9:15 am

    Lovely, Nancy.

    Reply
    • Nancy says

      December 13, 2018 at 8:22 pm

      Thanks, Betty. Merry Christmas!

      Reply
  2. Your Huzzband says

    December 12, 2018 at 10:13 am

    Beautiful my dear

    Reply
    • Nancy says

      December 13, 2018 at 8:22 pm

      Thank you, dear.

      Reply
  3. Jimmie says

    December 12, 2018 at 10:47 am

    Merry Christmas!!
    Love you, jimmie

    Reply
    • Nancy says

      December 13, 2018 at 8:22 pm

      Back atcha!

      Reply
  4. Rachel Wannlund says

    December 12, 2018 at 1:39 pm

    Beautiful

    Reply
    • Nancy says

      December 13, 2018 at 8:23 pm

      Thank you, Rachel!

      Reply
  5. Kathy Fitzgerald says

    December 13, 2018 at 1:56 pm

    One of your best yet, Nancy! Merry Christmas to you and Jim with much love, Kathy

    Reply
    • Nancy says

      December 13, 2018 at 8:23 pm

      Thank you, friend. And the same to you!

      Reply
  6. alice scott-ferguson says

    December 15, 2018 at 8:49 pm

    Beautiful reflections and observations, Nancy
    I too remember Christmases in Germany…magic!
    thanks for the lovely pix from the party
    and the one of you and Jim is glamour plus!!

    Reply
    • Nancy says

      December 16, 2018 at 7:29 am

      Thank you, my friend. I still have some of the wooden Christmas ornaments from Germany on my tree. Special.

      Reply
  7. Peggy Ellis says

    December 17, 2018 at 8:55 am

    For me, it’s the aromas of Christmas that linger, in particular going with Dad into our woods and selecting a white pine to decorate, and the “rope” of some type of evergreen which we looped along the front of our mantle shelf. As Bob Hope said so many times: Thanks for the memories.

    Reply
    • Nancy says

      December 20, 2018 at 4:22 pm

      Those are some wonderful memories, Peggy! Merry Christmas!

      Reply
  8. Beth Lueders says

    December 20, 2018 at 10:30 pm

    Poignant, Nancy. Does hearing the squeak of Christmas stuffed animals count? Bellie has her favorite that I pull out in December. 🙂

    Reply
    • Nancy says

      December 24, 2018 at 11:06 am

      It definitely counts, Beth! What a treat for her (and you?). Merry Christmas!

      Reply

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