HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1990-12-21, Page 28PAGE 28. THE CITIZEN, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1990.
Joyous Christmas bell ringing has historical background
Bell ringing
The Joyful Ringing of Bells ushers in the merriment of the
Christmas season. Here, in an 1874 illustration from Harper’s
Weekly entitled “SantaClaus is Coming!” by Thomas Worth,
a bearded angel rings the bells as Santa arrives in his
reindeer-driven sleigh.
We experience Christmas with
all of our senses, enjoying the
evocative fragrance of evergreens,
the bright colours of the decora
tions, festooned everywhere, the
haunting, spicy flavour of freshly
baked cookies.
The traditional glass balls hung
from "he tree have a particular feel
to them, smooth and cool to the
fingertips, and markedly in con
trast to the roughness of bark or the
stinging prick of pine needles.
But, most of all, we hear
the tree is touched. And, great,
sonorous bells call the faithful to
prayer, their ringing adding an
important top note to the Christmas
tableau.
Like so many other aspects of the
Christmas season, bell-ringing has
ancient roots. During many pre-
Christian mid-winter celebrations,
bells, were rung because it was
believed that repeated loud noise
would drive away the lurking evil
spirits that caused the frightening
phenomenon of winter, and ensure
the rebirth of life which occurred in
spring.
Early Christians believed bells to
have powers over their physical
well-being as well as their spiritual
health, so much so that in the early
centuries A.D. priests regularly
blessed bells before they were
hung in the church steeple.
Even after being taken down and
buried (in wartime, for instance),
church bells can still be heard
ringing on Christmas Eve, accord
ing to legend, at least by true
believers.
In medieval times, the church
bells were rung to announce $
Christ’s redemption of the world.
And, in parts of England, church
bells would ring each morning for
three days before Christmas as a
reminder of that holiday’s ap
proach.
One English custom, still prac
ticed in some localities even today
is, Tolling the Devil’s Knell, also
called The Old Lad’s Passing Bell,
which occurs on Christmas Eve.
The sonorous sounds of church
bells ringing the Devil’s Knell - a
death knell, because folklore holds
that the Devil died at Christ’s birth
- precede the joyous ringing after
midnight has struck, to mark the
day of Christ’s birth.
An eerie folk story of Christmas
bell-ringing comes from the French
region of Brittany.
According to this tale, a black
smith chose to ignore the bells
which rang for Midnight Mass on
Christmas Eve and, despite the
sacred nature of the evening,
continued with his work.
He was interrupted by a custo
mer, an old, crooked man carrying
a broken scythe, which he asked
the smith to repair. This the
blacksmith did, not knowing that
the old man was the personfication
of Death, and his scythe the tool he
used for his work.
By dawn of Christmas Day, the
blacksmith was dead, a victim of
his own blasphemy, for by working-
on such a holy day he had
grievously flouted its sanctity.
Church bells were not the only
bells associated with traditional
Christmas celebrations. In many
communities, caroilers were ac
companied by hand bell-ringers
when they made their rounds.
Today, some of our most popular
holiday songs evoke the cheerful
chiming of bells at Christmastime.
“Jingle Bells,” which dates from
the middle of the 19th century and
which was written for a Boston
Sunday School event, is probably
the most famous of these, but also
very well-known is the enchanting
“Silver Bells”, a paean to the joys
of Christmas in the city, which was
performed in the 1951 Bob Hope
movie, The Lemon Drop Kid, but
popularized by Bing Crosby.
More meaningful by far is the
poem “Christmas Bells”, by Henry
Wadsworth Longfellow, which has,
since its composition during the
Civil War, been set to a variety of
tunes. In it, the joy the Christmas
bells evoke is contrasted with the
yuletide
Cheer
May Christmas
and all the joy
it brings
be yours throughout
the coming year.
pain caused by war and killing. The
poet cries out in anguish, but the
bells peal their reassuring re
sponse:
“The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to
men!”
It is this message that Christmas
brings to the world each year,
reminding us anew of the impor
tance of love, compassion and
kindness - the most basic fabric of
the Christmas spirit.
o
Io
J
A
GREY
TOWNSHIP
Council and Staff
•JI
Christmas in a myriad of ways - the
joyful carols, the laughter of child
ren as the holiday excitement
builds, and the ringing of bells ...
everywhere, the ringing of bells.
Just walk downtown, and listen
to the bells rung by the Santas
posted at every street corner. Their
bells serve as a reminder, not only
of the season’s pleasures, but of
the season’s spirit - the importance
of giving to those less fortunate
than we are.
Merry little bells decorate
Christmas stockings and hang from
tree branches, tinkling every time
WE'D LIKE TO SEND
YOU EACH A CARD
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our cherished customers and friends
we wish a very merry Christmas.
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NEW & USEDPARTS /J
DEADLINE FOR APPEALING YOUR
1990 PROPERTY ASSESSMENT
Tuesday, January 8th, 1991
The final day for appealing your 1990 property assess
ment to the Assessment Review Board is Tuesday,
January 8th, 1991. Your assessment will be used to
calculate your 1991 municipal and school taxes.
You should appeal your 1990 property assessment (a)
if you are dissatisfied with the amount of the assessment,
even after discussing it with your Regional Assessment
Office; (b) if you appealed your previous assessment and
the appeal has not been settled; or (c) if you received
a Notice of Property Valuation which does not reflect
a settlement of your previous appeal.
The Assessment Review Board is an agency of the
Ministry of the Attorney General and operates less
formally than a court of law. It is authorized to decide
if your property assessment is fair and equitable, com
pared with similar properties in your area. You may
present yciur own case, retain a lawyer, or ask a friend
or relative to act as your agent.
A Notice of Appeal form is available from your
municipal office, your Regional Assessment Office, or
the Assessment Review Board. You may also use the
reverse side of a Notice of Property Valuation or write
a letter. Appeals should be forwarded in writing to the
Regional Registrar of the Assessment Review Board at
the address shown below.
If you have any questions or require assistance in
filing the appeal, please contact your Regional Assess
ment Office. The address and telephone number are in
the Blue Pages of your telephone directory, under
“Property Assessment Information.''
Ontario
Ministry
of
Revenue
Regional Registrar
Assessment Review Board
426 Third Street, 1st Floor
London, Ontario
N5W 4W6