Christmas - A Triumph of Hope?

We have now once again reached the festive season and as we are confronted with Christmas once more, there are some who will be wondering if it is appropriate to celebrate due to the shadow cast by the mindless slaughter that has taken place at Newtown, Conneticut. Tragedy at Christmas is sadly not a new phenomenon, we can recall the worst aspects of humanity through the Lockerbie bombing in 1988 and Christmas market terrorist attack at Liege in Belgium last year. In addition, who could forget the awesome scale of the Boxing Day Tsunami of 2004, the worst natural disaster in living memory.

Inspite of the recent horror that has dominating the international news,  Christmas is arguably more important than ever. Since the day that evil visited Sandy Hook Elementary, wickedness has been countered by innumerable tales of kindness. This includes thousands of letters sent to the grieving families, toys donated to the children of the town and a movement that encourages people to do 26 acts of kindness in the memory of those whose lives abruptly ended on that fateful day. The acts of kindness have swept across America, with many stories of people paying for other people’s meals, coffee and subway tickets as well as an upsurge in charity to the homeless. The movement has been driven by social networking and has gone global, indeed Glasgow City Mission is able to give in excess of 250 homeless people a Christmas dinner due to an increase in donations. This wave of kindness demonstrates that humanity has a soul, that intangible, eternal kernel of spirit that burns within us and brings us closer to Godliness.

The Christmas story in its stripped down form is an intoxicating tale with a teenage mother, shepherds receiving an amazing vision, an overbearing government, a jealous king and mysterious visitors from abroad bearing exotic gifts. The gifts brought to the Christ child of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh tell their own story. The Gold was a gift of kingship and Frankincense a symbol of Deity. The burning question popularised in Monty Python’s Life of Brian, has to be “Myrrh, Myrrh, What’s Myrrh?”, this was a symbol of death as it was used as an embalming oil. These gifts were a prophesy of the type of life that would be lived by Jesus Christ and the visit of this delegation must have been quite an overwhelming experience for Mary and Joseph. The words of the John Betjeman poem, Christmas, eloquently express the reaction that many people today feel towards the story:

And is it true,

This most tremendous tale of all

Seen in a stained-glass window's hue,

A Baby in an ox's stall ?

The Maker of the stars and sea

Become a Child on earth for me ?

And is it true ? For if it is,

No loving fingers tying strings

Around those tissued fripperies,

The sweet and silly Christmas things,

Bath salts and inexpensive scent

And hideous tie so kindly meant,

No love that in a family dwells,

No carolling in frosty air,

Nor all the steeple-shaking bells

Can with this single Truth compare -

That God was man in Palestine

And lives today in Bread and Wine.

Betjeman was a member of the Anglican Church who had a faith that waxed and waned throughout his life. This extract from the poem combines wonder and awe with honest questioning about the events of that first Christmas. An invitation exists in the lyrics to put aside cynicism  and ponder the deeper meaning of the story. In the last 2000 years, there have been many kingdoms that have risen and faded away but the great old story of Christmas has endured, bringing transformation to many lives throughout the generations.  Whether anyone reading this blog is a person of faith or not, the humility of the history defining events in a squalid stable in the furthest reaches of the Roman empire teach us about peace and goodwill to all men, qualities that we need more than ever in today’s society. I wish you and your families a very Merry Christmas.

On Saturday 1^st December, I made my annual pilgrimage to a Continental Christmas market. After a nice time in Lille last year, I headed into Belgium to the city of Bruges for my only day of the year spent away from this island.

Travel Diary - Bruges

The day started at stupid o’clock as I had to be at the rendezvous point in Sevenoaks Kent for the departure time of 8am. The conditions were foggy on the journey but thankfully it was possible to see cars several hundred metres away, although this didn’t stop some fools from activating their fog lights. Unlike weekdays, the journey took about 55 minutes so managed to get there for before 0710. This seemed really early but the decision was wise as the coach turned up 10 minutes later and I was able to get my preferred seat right at the front on the top deck.

There were aspects of long distance coach journeys that I had forgotten about such as the slightly embarrassed smile that people do when they shuffle down the aisle on their way to the rather cramped toilet. It is always amusing to see them return to their seat, seemingly doing a face that tells everyone “honest, it wasn’t a number 2”. Another aspect of the journey is that there is always the travel bore who has been everywhere and he will delight in telling you about the number of times that he has previously visited the city. He also does a good job of never looking impressed at just about anything, its just as well that Judith Chalmers didn't adopt the same tactic on the old ITV show Wish You Were Here. The only thing more certain than death and taxes is that travel bore will at some point be sitting next to you, advising on the best places to eat in Bruges and name dropping of other places he has visited.

One of the best inventions of the last 20 years is the channel tunnel. The next stage of the journey took place from the Eurotunnel terminal aboard Le Shuttle. Don’t let anyone fool you into thinking that this is like a normal train, it is essentially a big car park with a small toilet block that so happens to have an electric locomotive at either end.  The journey from Folkestone to just outside Calais takes around 30-35 minutes. The French Eurotunnel terminal is plugged into the motorway network, making it quick and easy to get on the journey. The landscape around Calais is full of retail estates and large warehouses packed with cheap alcohol, the latter of which is to service the “booze cruise” industry.

The coach took the main A16/E40 route which is a good fast motorway although is mainly has two lanes on either side and a rather threatening looking concrete partition to separate the carriageways. The frontier between the two countries is interesting as the French have a sign with the name “Belgique” surrounded by the European flag and “3000m” written beneath, an almost identical sign is then placed at the border, this time with “Belgie” written in the middle then a further two Flemish signs welcoming motorists to Belgium. Inspite of being a dual language nation, it is immediately obvious that French is not as welcome in this part of the country.

As you enter the city limits of Bruges, there is a degree of poignancy as you travel on the Expressway and see the imposing Sint Jan hospital that was used to treat victims of the Herald of Free Enterprise disaster back in 1987.  Beyond this point it is also possible to see some of the spires of the cities cathedrals as the historic cityscape looms into view.

As we made our way into the city, we were greeted by Sinterklaas on the back of a tandem powered by his helper Zwarte Piet. Ah yes, the controversial Black Pete is an integral part of the Christmas season in Continental Europe. He is considered to be the servant of Sinterklaas and revellers have been known to “blacken up”and wear an afro wig, jewellery and lipstick in honour of the character. It’s not like he is Santa’s dodgy black mate who rolls up with his crew to steal the presents that the blessed bearded one has just brought down the chimney. Surely it’s time to give Zwarte Piet a break and see him for the good work that he does, giving sweets to kids and generally preparing the way for Sinterklaas, a bit like John the Baptist from the real Christmas story.

Another aspect of the continental Christmas narrative that is different, is the act of placing a shoe near the fireplace to receive presents. This is fine if you have asked for a mobile phone or something but it is more problematic if you really want a Scalextric.

The main Christmas Market was in the Markt, dominated by the imposing Belfry and the Provincial Court building. The market stalls were right in the heart of the pedestrianised part of the square. There were many stalls selling Gluhwein and crepes, although they do prefer to refer to the latter of these as wafels in this part of Belgium. The crepes/wafels are always excellent when filled with Nutella. Another popular filling is cream, or slagroom, as it is gloriously known in the Flemish speaking world.         

 

                                                        

Beyond the commercially oriented Markt, there is Burg, a square that is the administrative heart of the city dominated by the Gothic town hall. There is also the old Civil Registry in this area. The city is connected by a number of canals, which explains why it is known as the Venice of the north. There are many wonderful architectural jewels around the city such as Sint Salvator Cathedral, the largest church in the city. There was a second smaller Christmas market located not far from the Cathedral. In addition, the Church of Our Lady with its large brickwork tower is also a major landmark in the Bruges skyline. Near to this church is the site of Oud Sint Jan’s hospital is a fascinating medieval hospital that was designed to care for sick pilgrims and travellers, this was an active hospital until 1978.

 

 

 

 

 

It is compulsory to purchase some of the wonderful chocolates that are made in the city and I made sure that I purchase a 500g box to take home as well as a couple of smaller confections. Bruges is certainly a city that has been close to my heart since I first visited back in 1993 and worthy of a visit, as is the nearby city of Ghent which share much of the beauty of its’ more celebrated neighbour. Over the last 15 years, I have found that the European Christmas market is always a good way to start the Christmas season and it is a tradition that I hope to continue for many years.