Postcard from Bishkek

Tomorrow is Christmas Day here in Kyrgyzstan … Orthodox Christmas, that is.

Back home, in the West, Christmas is more or less over. I say “more or less” because, technically, traditionally, the Christmas season ends today – The Twelfth Day of Christmas … Epiphany – the “manifestation” of Jesus as the Son of God and over the years it has been associated with the visit of the Magi – the Wise Men or Kings that are mentioned in Matthew’s Gospel, (hence today is also known as Three Kings Day) …

Unlike the traditional portrayal of the Nativity story it’s very unlikely that they arrived on Christmas Night – the night that Jesus was born – along with the Shepherds and heavenly choir.  If the star appeared appeared on that night to signal the birth then they would have have taken time to travel to Bethlehem … the story of the Massacre of the Innocents suggests that journey may have taken as long as two years.

… or, especially with the Orthodox, with the Baptism by John the Baptist in the River Jordan … although that is celebrated here in the 19th.

The Orthodox Church still works on the Julian Calendar, (the Soviet Union only adopted the Gregorian Calendar in 1918), which means that many of their festivals occur about two weeks later than in the West.

In Ireland today is also known as Little Christmas, (although this name is used in different parts of the world for 1st January, or 13th January). It’s sometimes said that the reason for calling 6th January Little Christmas, is associated with the fact that the Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas at this time … but that’s probably not the case because Orthodox Christmas actually occurs on December 25th – according, that is, to the Julian Calendar … and they have always celebrated Christmas on 25th December … it’s just that, nowadays, it falls in January because of the Calendar Shift which occurs because of the inaccuracies built into Julius Caesar’s calendar.

Anyway, be that as it may … it’s the day when the celebrations and festivities come to an end … the decorations are taken down and life returns to normal … well, almost … today also sometimes called Women’s Christmas, especially in the counties of Kerry and Cork, because it is a day when women of the household can take advantage of the fact that the long season of preparation and cooking is over and they can have a celebratory meal of their own … in some cases the men of the household take over the domestic chores for the day.

I don’t think there is any equivalent of the day or similar celebrations here … in fact, one of our (female) staff was counting up how many “holidays” there were in January and bemoaning, (although that’s too strong a word – but phrases like “commenting on” seem a little to soft), how much extra work she faced in preparing for them all … and I didn’t exactly make her day when I, mischievously, pointed out I thought that she had missed out some.

 

There are some other associations with the phrase Little Christmas … as in the song, Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas.

Although it is a well known and popular ditty – even seventy years after it was first penned – it wasn’t written especially as a seasonal piece … and it’s certain that the songwriter and composer Hugh Martin didn’t have the Irish Little Christmas in mind when he put pen to paper – or fingers to keyboard.

It was written for the 1944 musical film Meet me in St. Louis starring the child star Judy Garland and there have been numerous cover versions – including a heavy metal version –  albeit, some of them with different lyrics, (there are, apparently three different versions).

The words were changed even before the film was shot.  The film was about a family in St. Louis who were faced with a dilemma … the head of the household resolved to move to New York for his career … but that meant leaving their home in their beloved St. Louis … just before the 1904 World Fair was about to open.

The song occurs in a scene where Judy Garland is trying to comfort the five year old daughter of the household who is distraught about the impending move … and bursts song:

.

.

Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Let your heart be light
From now on,
our troubles will be out of sight

Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Make the Yule-tide gay,
From now on,
our troubles will be miles away.

Here we are as in olden days,
Happy golden days of yore.
Faithful friends who are dear to us
Gather near to us once more.

Through the years
We all will be together,
If the Fates allow

Hang a shining star upon the highest bough.
And have yourself
A merry little Christmas now.

Its haunting melody and some of the words make it one of the saddest Christmas songs ever composed – combining both melancholy and hope … looking both backwards and forwards.  It is said that members of the audience would burst into tears as the scene unfolded.

For the record: It could have been much worse … apparently the original opening lines were:

Have yourself a merry little Christmas
It may be your last
Next year we may all be living in the past

Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Pop that champagne cork
Next year we may all be living in New York

…

It was felt that this was too depressing … and hence the rewrite.

 

As I have said several times, even though I think it can be useful to commemorate certain events and anniversaries and to interrupt our normal daily routines for a moment in order to focus our attention for a brief period on some particular aspect of life – personally, I am not very fond of holidays.  Apart from the fact that they can be very arbitrary, (look at how many New Year and Christmases there are), they can put us all under great stress …

Then again, as Martin’s lyrics point out – we need to remind ourselves that it’s not the end of the story … life goes on and this is (or has been) just a brief interlude in our lives.  Even if life is difficult, there is no reason to assume it will continue to be so … and we make the most of the present and look forward … with hope and optimism.

 

Tags: Calendar, Religion