We just completed our Holiday Concert this past weekend complete with readings from Dicken's A Christmas Carol. My favorite piece from the musical selections was a haunting version of "In the Bleak Midwinter" written by Abbie Betinis. Somehow the contrast of our current excesses became all the clearer when paired with the sparse, clear harmonies of Betinis and the difficult times of Dickens. I have to admit that I long for a simpler time especially during the barrage of advertisements and mindless consumption that seems to begin earlier and earlier in the year.
This week we start preparing the PSO Holiday Pops concerts in earnest. The work culminates in 6 concerts starting Dec 20: and ends with two concerts back to back on Sunday Dec 23. It can be tough to maintain the "right amount" of holiday spirit with that many concerts (particularly when you add in the nightly rehearsals starting the Tuesday before) so the choristers do our best to support each other with gifts of food and spirits.
My complete absence from our own family life during that concert week has sparked an odd tradition in our house. Although we practice Judiasm with our children, I was raised Methodist and really missed the pleasures of a decorated tree. And so, we began to decorate our tree with strings of 6 pointed stars and other hand made and unusual ornaments made by our kids and family members. My dad has added a wooden elk, a painted loon and several other carved birds. We have a metal moose with a hanukkiah in place of antlers, and scores of musical notes and miniature french horns in deference to our love of music and my brother's profession. We have a painted ornament with puffins from our trip to Alaska and a minature wine bottle from Italy.
Since I often can not even buy a tree until the last minute, our Jewish friends Stuart and Beth and their children have taken to starting off the decoration spree so that when I arrive Sunday night after the last concert, the tree is already up and lit. We join together to finish the decorating in record time to the dulcet tones of Harry Belafonte's Christmas album and a mixture of wild klezmer if I can find the old cassette tapes. Not a bad tradition if I say so myself.
So Happy Hannukah and Merry Christmas and any other holiday you choose to enjoy! Any may your New Year be true, simple and full of love.
