You are currently browsing the monthly archive for December 2015.
Arb may not be such a fan of Silent Night, but it will always be special to me. In my church while I was growing up, we would end our Christmas Eve service by all getting out of the pews to stand in a huge circle around the sanctuary. We’d pass out candles, then turn out all the lights, so there total darkness except the Advent candles at the altar. Somebody who had perfect pitch – usually my mom – would sing the first note, and then we would all join in, and sing Silent Night a cappella, in English and German, while passing the flame from candle to candle around the room. After it was done, we’d all stand in reverent silence for a little while, then the lights would come back on and we’d blow out our candles and put on our coats and quietly file out into the normal world again.
As Arb said last week, we’ve sung Silent Night in choir every year since we joined. It is getting a little old – I wouldn’t mind a new arrangement – but this year our concert at the women’s prison made it new for me again. Here’s the arrangement we always use – this video is in Swedish because our director is Swedish and she likes this arrangement by the Swedish composer Anders Öhrwall. We do it generally in English, and sometimes in other languages. I usually sing the solo.
Our choir has a ‘sister’ choir at the prison; this was a joint concert with them. The women’s choir took the solo line together and I joined them to add a bit of power. We did the middle verse multiple times, in multiple languages: we sang softly on “ooo”, as we were joined by a prisoner who sang in French, a couple prisoners who sang in Cree, an off-duty guard who came in on her day off to sing in Ukrainian, and the chaplain who sang in Afrikaans. Finally, another prisoner had composed a rap to be spoken over us. Each soloist – even the guard – got applause and cheers. As we did our last verses with the rapper, the room fell silent except for the sobs of a couple prisoners in the second row who held one another as they openly wept, then as the rapper finished the whole room burst into rapturous applause and cheering. Even the on-duty guards allowed themselves to smile.
It’s funny. I hate everything prisons stand for, and I don’t believe in Christmas, but that night I felt the Christmas spirit for the first time since I was a child. And it’s real. That sense of community, that despite our differences we’re all family, even if only the most distantly related, is something we need to carry with us out into the cold night, and keep in our hearts the whole year.
So…
Wishing you joy, whatever holidays you may or may not celebrate at this time of year. May your days be merry and bright.
Us folks at DWR seem to be all full of Holiday sweetness and light and goodwill, this year. Just to reassure y’all that we haven’t gone totally soft, I’d like to share this video with you. It helped me earlier in the season, when I wasn’t ready for celebrating yet, and I needed an antidote to the hype and the cheer and the carols my co-worker was playing at her desk, with the speakers up on the cubicle walls to be sure everybody could share and enjoy.
For everybody who’s just not feelin’ it…
Now a tradition here at DWR, I present the final moments from the episode of the West Wing titled ‘In Excelsis Deo’. A powerful reminder of all the happenings of the holidays and the courage people muster during these forcefully happy times.
Be Well All.
Warm wishes to you and yours from all of here at DWR.
On being female in society.
Boom.
Think you’re immune to social constructs? Think again.
“Let’s examine that a bit. “Men don’t see dirt the way women do.” That’s a pretty common assertion. And it’s bullshit. Vision problems aside, we’re all seeing the same dirty house; we’re just interpreting it differently. You and your boyfriend both walk in, see the pile of crap on the kitchen counter, and have different reactions to it. You likely think, “Man, that pile of crap is really bugging me. I should really
clean it up a little.” He likely sees it and thinks, “Huh. Pile of crap. It’ll get taken care of.”
Why does he think that? Well, because we’re dealing with endless generations of social gender constructs that tell us that taking care of the home is “women’s work.” Whether you or your boyfriend or your parents or your peer group believe these constructs is largely irrelevant, though, because it’s so deeply ingrained in our society that it permeates every level of culture: You see it in TV shows, movies, commercials, in the workplace, in literature, and in almost every facet of life. There’s no escaping it.
So when someone says, “Men don’t see dirt the way women do,” what they’re actually saying is, “Men have been conditioned over generations to process the dirt that they see in a way that requires no further action on their part.” It’s not genetic. It’s learned. And it can be unlearned.”
The take away of this is in the last line. Learned behaviours can be altered over time. So no more weak excuses people. :)
Sooooo… I happened to mention to Arb’s mom, that I’d like to go to Home Hardware to check out their Christmas lights because they always seem to have different ones from everybody else. Being an inveterate shopper, my mother in law was all over that idea! So off we went… and all their Christmas merch was 50% off… And I came home with this glorious, so-bad-it’s good, monstrosity.
I’m sure the guests at our Solstice party tonight will be thrilled.
bleatmop
Mystro
Dead Wild Roses 
Your opinions…