o little town of bethlehem…
By a reminisce-er
Luang Prabang, Laos
For more years than we can remember (maybe a decade), the first Friday night in December has been spent at our city’s town hall with friends singing Christmas carols with a choir and orchestra. Not this year.
And this year there’s no piped music when you go to the mall – come to think of it, there’s no mall either.
On December 1 we opened up our pages of Christmas carols we had brought with us. We sang, but it didn’t quite sound right! ‘Hark, the herald angels sing’ is very different to the Lao pop music, which we constantly hear from neighbouring houses. Then Rob started “While shepherds watched their flocks by night”….and as he does every single time we sing it, he chose the wrong tune, and suddenly it felt more Christmaslike…..a few days later we may be the only ones singing “Joy to the world” in Luang Prabang, but the message of joy was as much meant for this place as for cities with shops overflowing with goods to be purchased, and we are happy to proclaim it.
Each morning we read a Scripture that will lead us through our salvation story, starting with Jesus’ family tree and prophecies, which were fulfilled in Him….and when we spied some candles hanging from a coathanger down the lane, we bought one, to chop up and continue our family tradition of lighting Christmas candles of hope, preparation, joy, love and Christ…..with no Christmas cakes to bake or wreaths to make, fruit mince to chop or floors to mop, we have an abundance of time to consider the TRUE meaning of Christmas.
We even have time to write our own carols (not that this one took much time 😉 )
O little town of Luang Prabang
How still we see thee lie
Above the misty Mekong hills
The northern stars go by
We hear the rooster crowing
Before the break of day
The monks get up and don their robes
Under the sun’s first ray
Rob’s first version had for the second-to-last line
“O give to me a big sharp knife” but he couldn’t find anything to rhyme with it 😉
So the rooster lives.
T-family, enjoy the carols and Christmas lights up Franklin Road tonight – we’ll be thinking of you! Have an ice-cream for us when it’s all over, OK?
Tags: postcard: Laos, tradition
rayres
We will miss you tonight . Taking enough people to fill the seats you would sit in normally and then they will be saved for next year. Love you guys heaps.
The T’s
Oh Bronwyn – that just made my eyes fill up!! That will be us next year with the Wills! I have promised the girls a trip to Franklin Street – but they seemed satisfied when I let them get up at 9pm the other night to have a look at the Sky Tower which is currently green and red!