Monday, November 29, 2010

In the Bleak Midwinter




In the bleak mid-winter
Frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron, 
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak mid-winter
Long ago.
[Christina Rossetti, please see the end of this post for the complete poem]

It is nearly midwinter, and we are in the midst of the season of darkness here. The sun rose this morning about 8:30 am. These photos were taken in the early afternoon. You can see how low the sun is in the sky, even near the middle of the day. The sun was below the horizon this afternoon by 3:30 pm and it was dark by 4:00 pm. So, we light candles, cozy up by the fire, and make an early dinner of warm soup and hot, freshly-baked bread. For we know that the sun (and the Son) and the summer will eventually return.
12:30 pm

Disclaimer: this photo was taken at about 1:00 in the afternoon,
but I had my camera at the "sunset" setting, so the colors are a little more golden than in real life.

3:30 pm

4:00 pm
In the Bleak Midwinter 
(Christina Rossetti, 1872)

In the bleak mid-winter
Frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak mid-winter
Long ago.

Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him
Nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away
When He comes to reign:
In the bleak mid-winter
A stable-place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty,
Jesus Christ.

Enough for Him, whom cherubim
Worship night and day,
A breastful of milk
And a mangerful of hay;
Enough for Him, whom angels
Fall down before,
The ox and ass and camel
Which adore.

Angels and archangels
May have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim
Thronged the air,
But only His mother
In her maiden bliss,
Worshipped the Beloved
With a kiss.

What can I give Him,
Poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd
I would bring a lamb,
If I were a wise man
I would do my part,
Yet what I can I give Him,
Give my heart.

4 comments:

  1. The short days you are experiencing remind me of the long days we experienced while in Alaska. I remember sitting outside reading and it was nearly mid-night. Sure changes how you feel about it being a day. Will you get extra rest now that you have so much night? MOM

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  2. Maybe . . . we certainly tend to eat dinner earlier, and I think it is easier to get the kids to bed earlier.

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  3. Thanks for your updates, I really enjoy reading them. Your into (In the Bleak Midwinter) is a song that our choral group is singing in our Christmas concert. It is a great song.
    We are doing well, busy, and looking forward to 3 weeks in Arizona from Dec 18 - Jan 8.
    Take care!

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  4. I love this song, I think we must have sung it when we were in grad school. Enjoy Arizona (sure sounds good about now!)

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