Advent Reflection 19 December

The Coventry Carol

Pause for a moment

What makes you feel sad around Christmas?

Listen to the music

Lully lulla thou little tiny child
Bye, bye, lully lulay

 

O sisters too how may we do?
For to preserve this day
This poor youngling for whom we do sing
Bye, bye, lully lulay

Herod the king in his raging

Charged he hath this day
His men of might in his own sight
All young children to slay.

That woe is me poor child for thee
And ever morn and day
For thy parting neither say nor sing
Bye, bye, lully lulay

Lully lulla thou little tiny child
Bye, bye, lully lulay

Learn about the carol

A 16th-century carol originating from Coventry, it was traditionally performed during Coventry Mystery Plays, which were Medieval plays telling New Testament Stories, including that of the Nativity.

Of the few surviving plays, The Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors depicts the Nativity from Chapter 2 in the Gospel of Matthew – from the ‘Annunciation’ to the ‘Massacre of the Innocents’. The lyrics rather disturbingly detail King Herod’s harrowing orders, made at the news of the birth of Jesus Christ, to slay all children of a certain age in Bethlehem (known as the ‘Massacre of the Innocents’).

So not very cheery at all, which is why it’s set in that hauntingly sombre, but undeniably beautiful, minor melody.

Time for reflection

I remember one Christmas at home as a teenager. My younger brother was away on a school trip, so it was a bit odd anyway. We managed to stay civil to each other all the way through Christmas Day, but on Boxing Day tempers flared and the contents of teh coffee mugs got thrown. Lunch that day was painful. My sister and I weren’t talking, my mum was furious because she’d cleaned up after we left to change out of coffee-soaked clothes, and my dad was trying to make conversation.

We try to ignore the difficult stuff, but this carol takes us right to the place of heartbreak. For too many people, this Christmas will be difficult, as there are empty places at the table. There are no words that can make that better, but we stand alongside the people for whom these sad notes strike too familiar a chord.

Time for Action

Drop a note to someone who is finding life difficult at the moment, to remind them that they are not alone.