tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post5452271542067830373..comments2024-03-23T12:38:46.260+00:00Comments on The History Girls: 'Christmas - Ritual and Remembrance' by A L BerridgeMary Hoffmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06241989732624913706noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-62086237735605864842013-12-22T09:07:16.389+00:002013-12-22T09:07:16.389+00:00The Bampton Mummers! Lovely to have a reminder of ...The Bampton Mummers! Lovely to have a reminder of them (grew up in Stoodleigh and rode in Bampton every week). Our rituals are multicultural here in the Middle East - the compound is like the UN. Last year, I had Carols from Kings blasting on Christmas Eve at the same time as the evening call for prayer. Happy Christmas!Kate Lord Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00278515379867576350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-82495405152140055232013-12-21T20:01:52.238+00:002013-12-21T20:01:52.238+00:00Where I live, the rituals are different. We've...Where I live, the rituals are different. We've just been through the summer, not winter, solstice. Christmas is as likely to be a barbecue followed by the beach as a hot lunch. The bells are there, of course. ;-) <br /><br />I have my own rituals, as it's not my holiday. They involve making a picnic lunch and enjoying it on the beach in the oompah of a new book. But the Christmas tree is everywhere, though we have our own evergreens here - last year, someone brought one to my local beach ad planted it in the sand!Sue Bursztynskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09362273418897882971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-4214523859962604712013-12-21T11:16:14.651+00:002013-12-21T11:16:14.651+00:00Lovely post, Christmas is definitely a bitter-swee...Lovely post, Christmas is definitely a bitter-sweet time.<br />Last night I went to a Carol Service at Bolton Abbey church in Yorkshire. Beyond the stone altar wall in this small and charming church, the nave continues because the church is part of the great, ruined Bolton Priory itself. Standing there, listening to the mix of age-old carols and readings, certainly linked time now with time past.Penny Dolanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16386668303428008498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-81711640219466737372013-12-20T21:12:48.489+00:002013-12-20T21:12:48.489+00:00I just read about this, speaking of "the Dick...I just read about this, speaking of "the Dickens factor": <br />http://bit.ly/JLR6C8Petrea Burchardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13043950465171821852noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-88713150085426884132013-12-20T18:31:20.880+00:002013-12-20T18:31:20.880+00:00We definitely have "the Dickens factor"!...We definitely have "the Dickens factor"! Dickens toured America and is still very popular here. "A Christmas Carol" is performed every year, everywhere, it seems. We love the guy.<br /><br />My mother made mincemeat pies but I think even then (the 1960's) there was no meat in them. <br /><br />Church bells, yes. Paper hats, no. You have the crackers, we have stockings. And the mummers! We don't have them but I would love to see them.Petrea Burchardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13043950465171821852noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-43038151192561048962013-12-20T17:56:30.124+00:002013-12-20T17:56:30.124+00:00
Loved the sound of the bells,Louise. Cold, wet, d...<br />Loved the sound of the bells,Louise. Cold, wet, dark and miserable where I am at the moment so that really cheered me up. Thank you! Theresa Breslinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02240135723649161949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-19742066625553435242013-12-20T17:33:27.075+00:002013-12-20T17:33:27.075+00:00Lovely post Louise, thank you, and spot on about c...Lovely post Louise, thank you, and spot on about church bells. We live next door to the village church so get to enjoy them all year round!Mark Burgesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17271587070391155947noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-53915372144618281412013-12-20T12:26:15.922+00:002013-12-20T12:26:15.922+00:00The sound of church bells IS Christmas to me altho...The sound of church bells IS Christmas to me although I am an agnostic. If I can I always try to listen to the bells on BBC RADIO 4 on Christmas morning as well as The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols on Christmas Eve. I can always smell Mince Pies baking even if they're not and remember family Christmases past. So many memories. Sally Zigmondhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07520579251842006765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-64796416938573662032013-12-20T12:20:27.733+00:002013-12-20T12:20:27.733+00:00Thank you, Petrea! I'm very ignorant of US cus...Thank you, Petrea! I'm very ignorant of US customs at Christmas, but it would be fascinating to see how they developed without the 'Dickens factor' that so heavily influenced our own. More Research Needed...<br /><br />And thanks, Mary - for the inspiration too. Mummers are an extraordinary phenomenon, and I once stumbled across a Somerset group for whom it is clearly more than a religion. I think Ngaio Marsh may have had a similar encounter once - have you read 'Off With His Head' (published in US as 'Death of a Fool')? <br /><br />And the winter solstice is tomorrow. Just saying...alberridgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15986443240923520466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-72702022181265836022013-12-20T12:05:23.703+00:002013-12-20T12:05:23.703+00:00Lovely post, which I'm glad to have inspired! ...Lovely post, which I'm glad to have inspired! I didn't know about the Bampton mummers in Devon. We have our own Morris men in Bampton in Oxfordshire - several rival groups in fact. I loved the story about your grandfathet; "is there a fire?" made me smile. Bless him.<br />Mary Hoffmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06241989732624913706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-34213807546438713542013-12-20T04:40:41.478+00:002013-12-20T04:40:41.478+00:00Thank you for this lovely post.
Having grown up i...Thank you for this lovely post.<br /><br />Having grown up in middle America it strikes me how our traditions diverged a few hundred years ago, yet how many we share.<br /><br />Too bad about the overloaded hotels. We expect so much at Christmas and it's easy to be disappointed.Petrea Burchardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13043950465171821852noreply@blogger.com