THROUGH
MOUNTAIN MISTS
Early Settlers of
Their
Descendants...Their Stories...Their Achievements
Lifting the
Mists of History on Their Way of Life
By: Ethelene Dyer Jones
Christmas is upon us and we’ve
barely
recovered from the wonderful feasting and family gatherings of
Thanksgiving.
With the short days and early
darkness of
this particular season, it is well that we have special holidays to
boost our
spirits. Already we hear familiar carols played in many places—over
music
systems in stores and from our own cassette disk players, radio and
television.
Can you recall when you first
heard and
sang American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's carol, "I Heard the
Bells
on Christmas Day"?
I thought back to our
two-teacher school at
Choestoe where I attended as a child. Our teachers always prepared us
for a big
event, "The Christmas Program," to which our parents and the
community were invited. It was sometime during my early elementary
school days
that I was first introduced to and memorized the words of Longfellow's
poem
that was set to music composed by John Baptiste Calkin.
Of course I didn't learn many
facts about
either the poet or the composer back in those early elementary school
days. I
just memorized the words and learned to sing them to the tune. But from
those
early years, this particular Christmas carol has remained a favorite of
mine,
and still is to this day.
The spark for poetry and music
was ignited
away back in those years at that county school, and fed and nourished
as well
at the country church by the same name.
Since then, I have learned the
story behind
the carol, and it, too, is both sad and inspiring.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was a
northerner, born
He then became a professor of
Modern
Languages at Harvard, and continued in that position from 1836-1854. It
was
while there that he began in earnest his writing career. He knew much
sadness
during these years. His first wife, Mary Storer Porter, whom he wed in
1831
died following the loss of their first child in 1835.
He met Frances Appleton in
Tragedy visited again. His wife
Frances
died in a house fire on
There is some confusion as to
whether
Longfellow wrote the seven-stanza poem, "Christmas Bells," on
Christmas Day 1863 or 1864. In 1862, the aging poet received word that
his son,
Lt. Charles Appleton Longfellow, had received a severe wound to his
spine. Some
have said that the poem on which the carol is based was as much
"anti-war" as "pro-Christmas."
In 1872, after the terrible
conflict while
the nation was still recovering from war, a composer, John Baptiste
Calkin set
five of Wadsworth's seven stanzas (with only slight changes) to his
tune,
"Waltham." In later years, other melodies have been used as settings
for Longfellow's Christmas poem, but the most popular is the one
composed by
Calkin.
If you are a fan of the "Casting
Crowns" contemporary musical group, you might hear the 2008 version by
Mark Hall, lead vocalist, as he sings "I Heard the Bells on Christmas
Day" in the Christmas album, "Peace on Earth."
Read again Longfellow's
inimitable
Christmas poem. It will inspire you today as it did people who heard it
in 1872
when it was first set to music. Two stanzas are repeated here, the 3rd
and 4th
of the carol. The 3rd refers to the despair brought on by war; the 4th
forsees
the end of war and restoration of peace:
And in despair I bowed my head:
"There is no peace on earth," I
said;
“For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth good-will to
men!”
Then pealed the bells more loud
and deep:
"God is not dead; nor doth He
sleep!
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, goodwill to
men!"
Longfellow's words still have a
strong
message of optimism and hope for us today in the midst of an economic
decline
and, as our ancestors would say, "perilous" times. Listen to the
Christmas Bells. They still ring out, 'loud and deep'!
c2008 by
Ethelene Dyer
Jones; published Dec. 4, 2008 in The Union Sentinel, Blairsville,
GA.
Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Updated August 10,
2009
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