Past Three O'Clock

THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT
WHERE ALL'S ACCUSTOMED, CEREMONIOUS

"Christmas Back Home"

& "The True Meaning of Christmas"

cartoons by xkcd
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Past Three O'Clock

past three o'clock,
on a cold frosty morning,
past three o'clock,
good morrow masters all.

born is a baby
gentle as may be,
son of the Eternal
Father supernal.

seraph choir singeth,
angel bell ringeth,
hark how they rhyme it,
time it and chime it!

mid earth rejoices
hearing such voices.
ne'ertofore so well
carolling nowell!

hinds o'er the pearly
dewy lawn early
seek the high stranger
laid in the manager.

cheese from the dairy
bring they for Mary,
and, not for money,
butter and honey.

light out of star-land
leadeth from far land
princes, to meet him,
worship and greet him.

myrrh from full coffer,
incense they offer;
nor is the golden
nugget withholden.

thus they: i pray you,
up sirs, nor stay you
till ye confess him
likewise and bless him.

Old English Carol
by George Ratcliff Woodward (1848 - 1934)

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Q: What makes the perfect midnight
or after - midnight snack?

A: Mince pies! (& a cup of tea, of course)

Thanks to Ben & Cathleen for the perfect present!

And a Toast to Gerry & the Christkindlmarket!

Previous Visits: 2011 ~ 2012 ~ 2013

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SEE YOU IN TWO WEEKS ON MY
Next Fortnightly Post
Monday, January 14th

Between now and then, read
THE QUOTIDIAN KIT
my shorter, almost daily blog posts
www.dailykitticarriker.blogspot.com

Looking for a good book? Try
KITTI'S LIST
my running list of recent reading
www.kittislist.blogspot.com

Shorter by the Day

THE WINTER SOLSTICE, ACCUSTOMED, CEREMONIOUS

Whistling Boy ~ Marques E. Reitzel

On the Shortest Days

At almost four in the afternoon, the
wind picks up and sifts through the golden woods.

The tree trunks bronze and redden, branches
on fire in the heavy sky that flickers

with the disappearing sun. I wonder
what I owe the fading day, why I keep

my place at this dark desk by the window
measuring the force of the wind, gauging

how long a certain cloud will hold that pink
edge that even now has slipped into gray?

Quickly the lights are appearing, a lamp
in every window and nests of stars

on the rooftops. Ladders lean against the hills
and people climb, rung by rung, into the night.

by Joyce Sutphen
found in Modern Love & Other Myths
© Red Dragonfly Press, 2015
(see facebook)

[See also "The Shortest Day" by Susan Cooper]

See the mystical oil painting above, as well as this nostalgic pastel,
at the Art Museum of Greater Lafayette (Indiana)

Two Hour Delay by Ron Burgess

The shortest day -- and longest night -- of the year will be here before you know it: on December 21st, one week from today! For the next seven days, we will continue to lose approximately thirty seconds of light per day; and then magically after we round the Winter Solstice, start gaining it back again. So prepare your hearts. As the earth turns towards the solstice, so do we:

December

The white dove of winter
sheds its first
fine feathers;
they melt

as they touch
the warm ground
like notes
of a once familiar

music; the earth
shivers and
turns towards
the solstice.

Linda Pastan, American Poet (b 1932)

SEE YOU IN TWO WEEKS ON MY
Next Fortnightly Post
Friday, December 28th

Between now and then, read
THE QUOTIDIAN KIT
my shorter, almost daily blog posts
www.dailykitticarriker.blogspot.com

Looking for a good book? Try
KITTI'S LIST
my running list of recent reading
www.kittislist.blogspot.com