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www.celtic-connection.com
DECEMBER 2012/JANUARY 2013
The Twelve Days of Christmas
The twelve Days of Christmas, although now largely associated with Christian rituals, date back to the pagan Yuletide feast of northern Europe.
This was held at the time of the winter solstice and lasted 12 days. The origins of Yuletide itself lay in prehistoric days when, to encourage the dying sun to new life, primitive peoples lit bonfires to give the sun light and warmth.
No one knows when Yule logs were first ceremoniously carried into Norsemen's dwellings, but from the Middle Ages the custom was well established in northern Europe.
A huge log chosen from a forest tree was dragged home and decorated with greenery and ribbons.
After it was dried, it was burned over the 12 days of Yuletide: Nordic people believed that this had a magical effect in helping the sun to shine brightly.
But some part of the log was always kept for the following year not only to kindle a new Yule log but also to keep away evil spirits.
'I bring you tidings of great joy'
"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
"And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
"And the angel said unto them, 'Fear not: for behold, I bring unto you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.
"And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger."
"And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."
"That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown."
- Linus Van Pelt, quoting from Luke chapter two of the Bible in A Charlie Brown Christmas TV special
ANGELS
We believe in angels, The kind that heaven sends, We are surrounded by angels But we call them friends.
- Aizabel Farinas
The Christmas miracle of 1914
Trench warfare was particularly brutal as the Great War encompassed four long years of suffering: more than 70 million military personnel mobilized, more than nine million were killed.
Then, a little-known 'miracle' took place on Christmas Day, 1914. It was a miracle of human kindness and love.
In the week leading up to Christmas, candlelit trees began to appear along the German trench lines on the Western Front.
The British soldiers could hear "Stille Nacht (Silent Night)" from across the field. The Allies reciprocated. Gradually, up and down the front, an unofficial Christmas truce broke out.
On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, many soldiers from both sides - as well as, to a lesser degree, from French units - independently ventured into "no man's land," where they mingled, exchanging
food and souvenirs.
As well as joint burial ceremonies, several meetings ended in carol-singing. Troops from both sides were also friendly enough to play games of football with one another.
The truce is seen as a symbolic moment of peace and humanity amidst one of the most violent events of modern history.
It was not ubiquitous; in some regions of the front, fighting continued throughout the day, while in others, little more than an arrangement to recover bodies was made.
The following year, a few units again arranged ceasefires with their opponents over Christmas, but the truces were not nearly as widespread as in 1914; this was, in part, due to strongly worded orders from the high commands of both sides prohibiting such fraternisation.
Fairytale of New York: An unlikely Christmas classic
It was Christmas eve babe In the drunk tank An old man said to me: won t see another one And then they sang a song The rare old mountain dew I turned my face away and dreamed about you Got on a lucky one Came in eighteen to one I've got a feeling This year's for me and you So happy Christmas I love you baby I can see a better time Where all our dreams come true.
WENT Y-FIVE years after its re-ease, the duet about a couple who have fallen on hard times is still considered by many to be the greatest Christmas song of all time.
That song, Fairytale of New York by the Celtic punk group The Pogues was released in 1987 and featured Shane MacGowan and the late British singer Kirsty MacColl.
It has re-entered the Top 20 every December since 2005, and shows no sign of losing its appeal.
Recorded in the style of an old Irish ballad, the song is loved because it feels more emotionally "real" than the homesick sentimentality of White Christmas or the bonhomie of Merry Xmas Everybody, but it contains elements of both and the story it tells is an unreal fantasy of 1940s New York dreamed up in 1980s London.
The story of the song is a yarn in itself: how it took more than two years to get right and became, over time, far bigger than the people who made it. As Pogues accordion-player James Fearnley says, "It's like Fairytale of New York went off and inhabited its own planet."
Fairytale of New York by the Celtic punk group The Pogues was released in 1987 and featured Shane MacGowan and the late British singer Kirsty MacColl.
The song was originally planned as a duet by Shane MacGowan and Pogues bassist Cait O'Riordan, but O'Riordan left the band in 1986 before the song was completed.
The Pogues were at the time being produced by Kirsty MacColl's then-husband Steve Lillywhite, who asked his wife to provide a guide vocal of the female part for a demo version of the song.
The Pogues liked MacColl's contribution so much that they asked her to sing the part on the actual recording.
The song follows an Irish immigrant's Christmas Eve reverie about holidays past while sleeping off a binge in a New York City drunk tank.
When an inebriated old man also in the cell sings a passage from the Irish ballad The Rare Old Mountain Dew, the narrator (MacGowan) begins to dream about the song's female character.
The remainder of the song (which may be an internal monologue) takes the form of a call and response between the couple, their youthful hopes crushed by alcoholism and drug addiction, as they reminisce and bicker on Christmas Eve.
MacColl's melodious singing contrasts with the harshness of MacGowan's
voice, and the lyrics are sometimes bittersweet - sometimes purely bitter: "Happy Christmas your arse / I pray God it's our last."
The lyrics "Sinatra was swinging" and "cars as big as bars" seem to place the song in the late 1940s.
The title, taken from author J. P. Donleavy's novel A Fairy Tale of New York, was chosen after the song had been written and recorded.
Twice MacGowan and MacColl sing, "The boys of the NYPD choir still singing Galway Bay." The New York Police Department (NYPD) does not have a choir, but it does have a Pipes and Drums unit that is featured in the video for the song.
The NYPD Pipes and Drums did not know Galway Bay and so played a different song for the music video, and the editor put it in slow motion to fit the beat.
The video featured Matt Dillon as the NYPD patrolman who arrests the intoxicated MacGowan.
The song remains a perennial Christmas favourite. It was re-released in the UK in December 2005, with proceeds being split between the Justice for Kirsty Campaign and charities for the homeless.
IRISH CANADIAN IMMIGRATION CENTRE
Reflections on our inaugural year
TORONTO - As I write, the Irish Canadian Immigration Centre (I/CAN) is entering its final month of our first year of operations.
We have reached out to over 7,500 new arrivals via e-mail, 2,500 via phone, over 2,000 via Facebook, 900 via national seminars, 750 via drop-ins in Toronto, and over 4,000 via business cards handed out at the Dublin Working Abroad Expo.
New arrivals and potential new arrivals from the age of 19-55 are finding us across Canada and Ireland.
As we look toward 2013, I/CAN intends to solidify and grow our mandate to offer outreach and information in areas such as employment, social services, and immigration.
We will be working closely with our founding partners the Department of
By CATHY MURPHY
Executive Director of the Irish Canadian Immigration Centre
Foreign Affairs/Ireland Abroad Program; the Ireland Canada Chambers of Commerce (Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver); the Ireland Fund of Canada; the Gaelic Athletic Association; and the Toronto Irish Cultural/Benevolent Society.
We will also continue developing our relationships with our valued community partners such as the St. Patrick's Society of Montreal; the Edmonton Irish Sports and Social Club; the Irish Cultural Society of Calgary; the Ottawa Irish Societies; Moving2Canada; and
the Vancouver Irish Women's Network.
We look forward to building relationships with the Irish Association of Manitoba (I notice that the new Manitoba Irish have answered I/CAN's call to start a FB page) and to increasing our relationship with the Irish in Saskatchewan.
In addition, we will be reaching out in person to the Fort McMurray Irish and new arrivals in Newfoundland - a population that is increasing monthly.
Thank you to all of you who have contributed to I/CAN's inaugural year. The community support has been tremendous.
In particular, I want to make special mention of interim Chair Eamonn O'Loghlin and to Irish Ambassador Ray Bassett without whom this endeavour would not have been possible.
Nollaig Shona agus Athbhliain faoi Mhaise Daoibh.