Village news from Helen Price – 20th December

Village news from Helen Price – 20th December

Published 17 December 2018

Kings Bromley Harmony Choir

The village choir gave a splendid concert in church on Saturday 8th December consisting of carols and a variety of songs, both Christmassy and non-seasonal. It was almost a year to the day since the choir gave their first public performance, also in church, and the number of choir members has grown substantially since then.

Despite very wet weather, there was a very good attendance to enjoy the afternoon. Kathryn, choir leader, had also brought two of her pupils along and they gave excellent solo performances. Tea and mince pies were served during the interval.

Thanks to Kathryn and the choir for an excellent concert and also to everyone who came to support them.

Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal

Kings Bromley’s local appeal, including collection boxes from businesses in the district and donations from village organisations, is so far £3,573.54, an amazing achievement, believed to be a record for the village. The house-to-house collections raised £776.09 of the above total so thanks to all the collectors.

Kings Bromley Historians

Our first taste of ‘Christmas Past and Present’ was a view of Stonehenge. Mary Bodfish, our speaker, explained that not only was it a sacred site for the summer but also the winter solstice. The sun was fading in the sky and to ensure its return, evergreens and berries were used to represent returning life.

The Roman sun god was Saturn, hence their winter festival Saturnalia. For the Persians it was Mithras who was celebrated on December 25th, the shortest day according to the Julian calendar. When finally Christianity reached Rome, the Emperor Constantine decreed that Christians could worship openly and that the date of Christ’s birth be fixed as December 25th. In the orthodox church it is 6th January.

The tradition of the Christmas tree began with Queen Charlotte. It was also mentioned in the diary of the 13 year old future Queen Victoria “after dinner two trees hung with lights and ornaments”. Martin Luther decorated a fir tree with candles, a tradition carried on until 1903, when EverReady produced a string of electric tree lights. Much safer!

Father Christmas began life as Captain Christmas in a play by Ben Johnson. Also he appeared in early mummers plays together with the characters Mince Pie, Carol and Wassail. December 6th is the feast day of St Nicholas , whose name became Santa Claus.

Mary was a great theatrical orator and we all enjoyed her presentation.

The following day was Christmas lunch at the Royal Oak, where we all enjoyed an excellent meal. Allan Howard spoke of the highlights of last year and Lynne outlined considerable progress made in the Archive.

Following our Christmas walk on 30th December, our next meeting will be in the Village Hall on January 25th at 8.00 pm when Allan will talk about Major General Sir Ronald Bertram Lane. All are welcome.