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Oh, Christmas Tree
Read moreWe come into your home, the forest, carrying saws and axes, with no thought of your well being. We disturb your peace. We cut you off from your roots. We let gravity do the hard work of pulling you down to our level where we tie you up, top to bottom, with such rough utility […]
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The Christmas Trigger
Read moreFor a lot of people, this season is not the jolly one that it is supposed to be. Songs and movies that give comfort and joy to many, pull a decidedly nasty trigger for others. It is no coincidence that suicide rates rise during the holidays. The days are as short as they get […]
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Silver Bells
Read moreJay Livingston and Ray Evans – both Jewish – wrote one of my favorite Christmas songs. They also wrote Mona Lisa and Que Sera Sera, among others, mostly for movies, and won three Oscars for original song. They were originally calling the song Tinkle Bells until Livingston’s wife Lynne told him that tinkle was a […]
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The Christmas Lyrics Poem
Read moreLet’s hear those sleigh bells ringingDo you hear what I hear?Please have snow and mistletoeWhere the treetops glistenIt’s up to your knees out thereOn a cold winter’s night that was so deep Jack Frost nipping at your nose Laughing all the way Tidings of comfort and joyWe won’t go until we get someLet your […]
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In the Bleak Midwinter
Read more“The darkest nights produce the brightest stars.” Humans have been aware of the winter solstice since at least the stone age and built monuments, like Stonehenge, designed to align with the solstice sunrise and sunset. There’s something about this particular time of the year, when day is shortest and night is longest, that brings out […]