Christmas season

The word “Advent” is derived from the Latin word, “adventus,” meaning arrival. If you were a citizen of Rome in the days of the early church, you would have heard the word used in reference to an emperor entering the city, full of pomp and show. That could have been Rome. It also could have been any other major city within the Roman Empire, such as Thessanolica, Ephesus or Corinth. All of these are mentioned in the New Testament, therefore, it is easy to see why Christians began to use the same word in reference to the arrival of Christ or His birth.

Traditionally, Advent is marked with certain practices. The lighting of candles is one. Another is daily readings from the Bible, telling of Christ’s birth and the surrounding events. Most of these are taken from the first four books of the New Testament, known as the Gospels. However, there are also Old Testament passages that prophecy about Christ’s arrival. Those may also be included.

One, for example, is from Micah 5:2: “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from old, from everlasting.” (The Oxford Self-Pronouncing Bible; 1897).

Some may contest, and I have heard it argued, we do not know the exact day of Christ’s birth, therefore, to celebrate it on Dec. 25 is somehow wrong. I have also heard it said that Christmas is nothing more than the morphing of a pagan holiday into a Christian one. All that may be true but are those reasons not to celebrate God giving His Son as a gift to the world?

Pick a day, any day of the year, and I am willing to change and celebrate Christ’s birth on that day. In fact, I have thought, at times, it might be interesting to have Christmas changed to some other day and divorce it from all the commercialization and materialism that has grown up around it. Jesus, after all, turned over the tables in the temple and drove out the merchants, admonishing them for turning His Father’s house into a market.

During the Advent season, there is another tradition Christians practice: the singing or listening to certain hymns or Christmas carols. One such carol, which is a favorite of mine, is titled, “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.” The carol is based upon the poem, “Christmas Bells,” written by American poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in 1863.

Two years prior, Longfellow suffered the loss of his second wife, to whom he had been devoted in marriage for 18 years. A tragic, accidental fire had taken her life. Then, with Union and Confederate soldiers clashing in a brutal civil war between the states, Longfellow nearly lost his eldest son. Charles was severely wounded in the Battle of Mine Run. Ultimately, he would survive, however, on Christmas Day in 1863, Charles’ condition was far from certain.

In anguish over life’s circumstances and the condition of the country, Longfellow despaired as he listened to the peel of church bells in Cambridge. Inspired by his emotions, he penned the words that would later be put to music by English organist, John Baptiste Calkin. (Note: others would also compose similar but different versions, including one made popular by Bing Crosby in 1956).

As the poem begins, one can almost hear, along with Longfellow, the cheerful, Christmas bells from a church bell tower. However, by the fourth stanza, it is apparent circumstances are not cheerful. They are dark. By the sixth stanza, the melancholy is thick. It reads:

And in despair I bowed my head;

“There is no peace on earth,” I said;

“For hate is strong,

And mocks the song

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!”

However, Longfellow leaves the reader with reason for hope and faith in God. He proclaims:

“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;

The Wrong shall fail,

The Right prevail,

With peace on earth, good-will to men.”

A former member of the San Carlos City Council and mayor, Matt Grocott has been involved in political policy on the Peninsula for 17 years. He can be reached by email at mattgrocott@comcast.net.