A Shrewdness of Apes

An Okie teacher banished to the Midwest. "Education is not the filling a bucket but the lighting of a fire."-- William Butler Yeats

Friday, December 23, 2005

The Christians and the Pagans

I actually went to a Christmas meal like this one sung about by Dar Williams. If you are having a hard time getting into the spirit of Christmas, like I am, listen to this song. It will make you laugh.

Amber called her uncle, said "We're up here for the holiday
Jane and I were having Solstice, now we need a place to stay."
And her Christ-loving uncle watched his wife hang Mary on a tree
He watched his son hang candy canes all made with red dye number three
He told his niece, "It's Christmas eve, I know our life is not your style..."
She said, "Christmas is like Solstice, and we miss you and it's been awhile."

So the Christians and the Pagans sat together at the table
Finding faith and common ground the best that they were able
And just before the meal was served, hands were held and prayers were said
Sending hope for peace on earth to all their gods and goddesses

The food was great, the tree plugged in, the meal had gone without a hitch
Till Timmy turned to Amber and said, "Is it true that you're a witch?"
His mom jumped up and said, "The pies are burning!" and she hit the kitchen
And it was Jane who spoke, she said, "It's true, your cousin's not a Christian,
But we love trees, we love the snow, the friends we have, the world we share
And you find magic from your God, and we find magic everywhere."

So the Christians and the Pagans sat together at the table
Finding faith and common ground the best that they were able
And where does magic come from, I think magic's in the learning
Cause now when Christians sit with Pagans only pumpkin pies are burning

When Amber tried to do the dishes, her aunt said, "Really, no, don't bother."
Amber's uncle saw how Amber looked like Tim and like her father
He thought about his brother, how they hadn't spoken in a year
He thought he'd call him up and say, "It's Christmas and your daughter's here."
He thought of fathers, sons and brothers, saw his own son tug his sleeve saying
"Can I be a Pagan?" Dad said, "We'll discuss it when they leave...."

So the Christians and the Pagans sat together at the table
Finding faith and common ground the best that they were able
Lighting trees in darkness, learning new ways from the old, and
Making sense of history and drawing warmth out of the cold.

5 Comments:

At 12/24/05, 8:56 AM, Blogger Fred said...

Cute. Have a great holiday weekend, Ms. Cornelius.

 
At 12/24/05, 1:14 PM, Blogger "Ms. Cornelius" said...

Thanks Fred...

 
At 12/24/05, 2:14 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

One of my favorite songs by one of my favorite singer songwriters. That song does say it all doesn't it?

 
At 12/24/05, 2:26 PM, Blogger "Ms. Cornelius" said...

Absolutely! As I face having to go home to deal with all the stuff going on right now, I know that our family meetings will probably be just as uncomfortable, for a slightly different reason--my sister is a witch, but she's not officially a pagan...:)

 
At 5/26/11, 9:43 AM, Anonymous Buy Cialis said...

I just love the Christmas meals! Specially with my family, it's an excellent way to forgive the pain but what do you mean with "spirit of Christmas"? I couldn't understand that phrase.

 

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