As this year rolls to an end, it’s time for Chicken Wrangler Sara and me to begin our annual holiday break.
Before we leave, we want to offer a special holiday greeting to our blog community and let you know how much your thoughtful comments have brought pleasure. Thank you for being a part of our community all these ten years.
We leave you with an Irish Christmas Blessing to keep you through the holiday season.
See you back right here in the New Year with more thoughts and views from the front porch and Miller farm. Until then enjoy the archive posts.
Christmas tunes are everywhere this time of year. One of our family traditions is to gather around the piano and sing holiday songs. I love sharing the origins of the songs we sing.
“The Holly and the Ivy” is one that’s not heard much, though it dates to medieval times. It has an interesting history and staunchly Christian words set to a haunting melody.
There are five verses of the carol. You can read all the words here. I’m sure you’ve heard it. This is the first verse with the refrain to refresh your memory.
The holly and the ivy
When they are both full grown
Of all the trees that are in the wood
The holly bears the crown
Refrain:
The rising of the sun
And the running of the deer
The playing of the merry organ
Sweet singing in the choir
The history behind the carol: Holly and ivy were gathered along with mistletoe and other evergreens to decorate churches, houses, and streets at Christmas as early as the 16th century and probably before. Their shiny green leaves brim with life throughout the winter when most other plants and trees are leafless making them perfect for decking the halls for the holiday.
It may be a relic of pagan midwinter celebrations with the evergreens symbolizing rebirth, the return of the light, and the greening of the landscape in spring. Holly with berries and mistletoe are still used as Christmas decorations.
The words appear in the early 18th century Broadsides printed lyrics, but not the tune. Most likely because different melodies, with local modifications, passed between generations as part of the oral tradition.
One of several carols from medieval England, “The Holly and the Ivy” tells of the rivalry between holly and ivy for mastery of the forest. The holly “bears the crown” so wins the contest; perhaps that’s why we hear no more about the ivy.
Holly was seen as a masculine symbol because of its stouter prickly leaves and ivy is a feminine symbol with its softer leaves. The carol may, therefore, hold a gentle reference to the difficulties of relationships between men and women. The seasonal Christian message is clear in how the song’s words tell the story of Christ’s life interwoven with the life of the holly tree.
Verse 2: “The holly bears a blossom as white as the lily flower” refers to the white flowers Holly produces in late spring. The white signifies the purity of Mary and Jesus.
Verse 3: “The holly bears a berry as red as any blood” refers to Christ’s blood.
Verse 4: “The holly bears a prickle as sharp as any thorn” refers to the crown of thorns.
Verse 5: “The holly bears a bark as bitter as any gall” is another reference to the crucifixion.
The most popular version was first published in 1911. Folksingers popularize the carol in the fifties and sixties. It continues to be a much-loved, traditional Christmas carol immersed with Christian and pre-Christian symbolism.
I am not sure there is a rougher week for teachers than the week of Halloween. And if Halloween is on a Monday, as it was this year, the week stretches into almost two weeks.
Our Fall Festival was on Friday then they had a Haunted House at the school on Monday evening. We are still feeling the effects two days later.
In times like these, I find myself doing more correcting than cheering.
As I greeted students this morning, I noticed one of my “happy notes” in the outside pocket of a backpack. These are just small pieces of paper with a positive message that I hand out to kids who have done a good job in music. It made me smile. I forget how much it means to students to be recognized.
In a culture that gives trophies for everything, sometimes just a small note can make a huge difference.
I am determined to look for students doing a good job from now on. It is an important reminder as we head into more weeks of craziness between now and Christmas.
On October 12, 1492, after a two-month voyage, Christopher Columbus landed the Santa María, the Pinta, and the Niña on an island in the Bahamas he called San Salvador. From there, he and his men traveled around the Caribbean for five months.
The Italian explorer believed he’d reached East Asia. He sighted Cuba and thought it was China, and when the expedition landed on Hispaniola, he thought he’d found Japan.
Statute of Christopher Columbus in Lavagna, Genova, Italy
His discovery has been celebrated since the 18th century. Columbus Day became a U.S. federal holiday in 1937.
Columbus’s contribution to world history was introducing Europeans to the New World, which led to cultural exchange, commerce, and exploration, and eventually to the discovery of the real westward route to the Indies.
But Columbus Day and the man who inspired it have also generated controversy.
Many argue that Europeans got land, slaves, and gold, while the aboriginals were dispossessed, enslaved, and infected. Those protests of Columbus Day celebrations resulted in the creation of Indigenous People’s Day in the 1990s, which coincides with Columbus Day.
South Dakota became the first U.S. state to recognize Indigenous People’s Day in 1989. Many states and cities officially celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day instead of Columbus Day. Only Alabama and Oklahoma observe both.
I’m not taking sides on which day to celebrate, but I will forever recall the jingle I memorized to remember the man’s accomplishment.
Now you’ll have the jingle sailing through your head all day today too.
FYI, I do recognize the inaccuracies in the jingle. Columbus never really set foot on US soil, but I will forever remember when he discovered the Bahamas. =)
This year at school, we have new procedures in place to increase security. These have been added to the procedures regarding illness creating what could be a tedious morning duty routine.
However, as the self-appointment Campus Morale Officer this year, I am trying to stay positive in as many situations as possible. This includes morning duty.
My assignment is to greet the youngest students as they enter, take their temperature, and send them directly to their class. The older students who come through my door are headed to breakfast. All others enter a different door. Everyone has their temperature taken.
For this task, we have a rather bulky thermometer that is intended to rest on a stand. It monitors temperature as people walk by. The problem is that our people are too short. So, we take the thermometer off and point it at the students as they walk by.
This makes for some interesting situations.
Some students come in with a juice box and insist I check its temperature also. My favorite student believes I am taking his picture each morning.
He gives me the biggest smile! I smile back.
The principal put out a rotating duty schedule. I refuse to move from my duty station. I look forward to my morning smiles and don’t want to share.
Bottle tree art is a southern tradition that goes back to ancient Egypt. African slaves carried the bottle tree tradition to Europe and North America in the 17th century.
Many African tribes and communities believed that the talents of the dead could be stolen or could escape from graves. Bottles placed around the gravesite captured the good talents and kept them safe and trapped evil spirits.
That belief came with the slave trade to the American south when enslaved Africans placed bottles in trees around their slave quarters to keep evil slave owners away.
SOURCE: eBay auction item
Interesting side note, the Victorians incorporated the same idea with witch’s balls placed inside their homes. Witch’s balls look like Christmas ornaments and were added to the base of marble top tables, hung, or placed on stands.
Blue bottles are most often seen. Originally Milk of Magnesia bottles, which were blue, were used. They’re too hard to find these days. Most folks settle for blue wine bottles.
The blue color is important because it is believed to discourage the haints. That’s southern speak for ghosts. A special shade of blue called “haint blue” is used on southern porch ceilings to ward off evil spirits and stinging insects.
Whether you believe all the hocus pocus folklore, bottle trees make an interesting piece of yard art. If you don’t want to use a live tree, you can find lots of iron trees at garden shows and plant nurseries or make one yourself.
My bottle tree is a mix of colors, including blue, that brightens my garden. And just maybe, that’s the reason I have zero haints.
