Tennyson & Christmas Trees...

Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote:

Ring Out, Wild Bells

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light:
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow;
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Ring out the grief that saps the mind,
For those that here we see no more;
Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in redress to all mankind.

Ring out old shapes of foul disease,
Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;
Ring out the thousand wars of old,
Ring in the thousand years of peace.

Alfred Lord Tennyson as printed in The Book of Christmas by Hamilton Wright Mabie, 1909

I heard no bells ringing out (or in...) this morning or at anytime today as we cleaned up after the holidays. We packed up the ornaments and put away the trimmings. We unwound the inside lights and took the tree outside. It proudly stands, propped up by hardened snow that fell throughout the week, as a sentinel of the season to the multitude of sledders on their way to the Brown's Sledding Hill, or to anyone driving by.

Tennyson speaks of bells which, in his day, literally rang in the New Year. For us, it was emptying our front room of last year's Christmas. We had a wonderful holiday season, but it's time to look ahead, time to ring in the true and hopefully begin the thousand years of peace. Happy New Year everyone!