Music of the day – Coventry Carol

December 28 is the 4th day of Christmas, the Feast of the Holy Innocents.

What are the lyrics to ‘The Coventry Carol’ about?

The lyrics detail King Herod’s harrowing orders, made at the news of the birth of Jesus Christ, to slay all children known as the ‘Massacre of the Innocents’.

Lully, lullay, thou little tiny child,
Bye bye, lully, lullay.
Thou little tiny child,
Bye bye, lully, lullay.

O sisters too, how may we do
For to preserve this day
This poor youngling for whom we sing,
“Bye bye, lully, lullay?”

Herod the king, in his raging,
Chargèd he hath this day
His men of might in his own sight
All young children to slay.

That woe is me, poor child, for thee
And ever mourn and may
For thy parting neither say nor sing,
“Bye bye, lully, lullay.”

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Story of the day – The Gold and Ivory Tablecloth

By: Rev. Howard C. Schade – 1954

At Christmas time men and women everywhere gather in their churches to wonder anew at the greatest miracle the world has ever known. But the story I like best to recall was not a miracle — not exactly. It happened to a pastor who was very young but his church was very old.

Once long ago it had flourished. Famous men had preached from its pulpit and prayed before its altar. Rich and poor alike had worshipped there and built it beautifully. Now the good days had passed from the section of town where it stood. But the pastor and his young wife believed in their run-down church. They felt that with paint, hammer, and faith they could get it in shape. Together they went to work.

However late in December a severe storm whipped through the river valley and the worst blow fell on the little church — a huge chunk of rain-soaked plaster fell out of the inside wall just behind the altar. Sorrowfully the pastor and his wife swept away the mess but they couldn’t hide the ragged hole. The pastor looked at it and had to remind himself quickly, “Thy will be done!” But his wife wept, “Christmas is only two days away!”

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General Discussion, Thursday, December 28, 2023

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This is really happening

Have you heard of the Trusted News Initiative?

How does the legacy media collude to destroy independent voices by systematically repeating the exact same messaging? This is how. A hidden cartel of legacy media organizers behind the scenes agreeing on what to tell you and what to crush.

From the horses mouth (or other orifice), the BBC:

The Trusted News Initiative is a partnership, founded by the BBC, that includes organisations from around the globe including; AP, AFP, BBC, CBC/Radio-Canada, European Broadcasting Union (EBU), Financial Times, Information Futures Lab, Google/YouTube, The Hindu, The Nation Media Group, Meta, Microsoft, Thomson Reuters, Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, Twitter, The Washington Post, Kompas – Indonesia, Dawn – Pakistan, Indian Express, NDTV – India, ABC – Australia, SBS – Australia, NHK – Japan.

TNI members work together to build audience trust and to find solutions to tackle challenges of disinformation. By including media organisations and social media platforms, it is the only forum in the world of its kind designed to take on disinformation in real time. Our most recent conference took place in London and Delhi in March 2023 – you can watch all of the sessions again here.

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Music of the day – Come and hear the joyful singing!

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Story of the day – Mr. Edwards meets Santa Claus (Laura Ingalls Wilder)

“The real things haven’t changed. It is still best to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what we have; to be happy with simple pleasures; and have courage when things go wrong.”   — Laura Ingalls Wilder 

This story is from the book, Little House On the Prairie, written in 1935, the third book in the Little House series.

About the book, according to Wikipedia:

The book tells about the months the Ingalls family spent on the prairie of Kansas, around the town of Independence, Kansas. At the beginning of this story, Pa Ingalls decides to sell the house in the Big Woods of Wisconsin, and move the family, via covered wagon to the Indian Territory near Independence, Kansas, as there were widely circulating stories that the land (under Osage ownership) would be opened to settlement by homesteaders imminently…

Ma’s fears about American Indians and Laura’s observations at the time of them are contrasted with Pa’s liberal view of them, and all these views are shown side by side with the older Laura’s objective portrayal of the Osage tribe that lived on that land.

At the end of this book, the family is told that the land must be vacated by settlers as it is not legally open to settlement yet, and in 1870 Pa elects to leave the land and move before the Army forcibly requires him to abandon the land.

“Laura was anxious because Christmas was near, and Santa Claus and his reindeer could not travel without snow. Mary was afraid that, even if it snowed, Santa Claus could not find them, so far away in Indian Territory. When they asked Ma about this, she said she didn’t know.”

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It’s Doggityday!

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General Discussion, Wednesday, December 27, 2023

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Music of the day – Good King Wenceslas

In honor of St. Stephen! Saint Stephen’s Day is a Christian saint’s day to commemorate Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr, celebrated on 26 December in the Latin Church and 27 December in Eastern Christianity.

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Story of the day – The Twelve Days of Christmas

The song may seem all about gifts. But there is more to the name of the 12 Days of Christmas than just lots of presents. The 12 Days of Christmas start on Christmas Day and they last until the night of January 5th. The 5th is also known as the Twelfth Night.

While it isn’t necessarily an American tradition, all across Europe the 12 Days are celebrated and have been since the middle ages.

The 12 Days themselves traditionally celebrate a feast day for a saint and have different celebrations attached to them.

For example (not a complete list):

Christmas Day is actually the first day of Christmas and is dedicated to celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.

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