Promptvent - Day 16
25 days of winter prompts to thaw your writers (ice)block - and this year it's all about being Cozy.
Hello and welcome to day 16 of Promptvent!
If you’d like some wintry musical inspiration whilst you write, why not try listening to ‘Walking In The Air - from ‘The Snowman’’ by Gareth Malone’s Voices on Spotify.
Listen to me read the guided invitation via audio below or if you prefer to read the transcript, that is also available for you underneath the audio.
Welcome back to our Promptvent village advent calendar where you find yourself standing once again before the cozy Christmas window.
Bundled up in your warm woolen mittens and thick scarf, you are eager to to know what wintry word of the day awaits you. What world will you step into and discover today? You lean closer, and can feel the eagerness in your fingers as you pull off your mittens and reach for the iron latch on the window, lifting it with care.
You are looking at the small cozy square in the middle of a village. There is a large beautifully decorated tree with a music stand placed in front of it. Chairs are placed in the square and a growing anticipation comes from locals gathering to take a seat. There are hundreds of candles sitting in the tree, flickering under the indigo sky.
All of a sudden the red wreathed door to your left slowly opens, inviting you further. You step through the door just as a string of young children appear from behind the tree, holding a small lantern and wearing a red and white smock dress. Their faces shine brightly with excitement as they take their positions just before the music stand. They are promptly followed by a community of people of all different ages, dressed the same and holding a single white candle in a golden holder, lighting up their faces like angels.
You take an available seat, something is about to happen and it feels like it could be magic. The air is surprisingly warm and each onlooker is handed a delicious smelling cup of spiced apple to warm their hands whilst the band arrive and place themselves on the edges of the group. They are wearing bright red suits with big gold buttons and are holding various shiny instruments.
The conductor steps out with a big smile, dressed as Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and everyone cheers and claps. Then, there is a palpable silence that falls amongst the square and you lean forward in your seat excitedly. The first carol is ‘Carol of the Bells’, and it starts so suddenly and perfectly it gives you goosebumps. This is soon followed by ‘Holly and the Ivy’, and ‘A Silent Night’. You sing along under your breath, remembering when you used to sing these very carols when you were in school. ‘Hark! The Herald Angels Sing’, and ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’, are sung next and the latter brings tears of joy and sorrow. Each carol means something different to you and unlocks a particular memory from days gone by.
You marvel at how much complicity there is in the group and even though you are alone, you look and smile at your neighbors sat beside you as you all appreciate the music together. Suddenly the crowd are handed sheets of paper, there must be a sing-a-long coming.
When ‘Walking in the Air’ from The Snowman begins, you get shivers and feel as if you are floating on air. Memories of watching The Snowman as a child and then with young children yourself gives you such a powerful feeling. Christmas really does hold so many different special moments. You shift your feet closer to the harmonious and crystal clear voices skating around the square. You look at the sheet of paper handed to you, except yours is blank apart from one word written in cursive script at the top.
It reads: CAROLS
The volunteer smiles and hands you a pen. You close your eyes and let the perfect notes from the choir fill and warm your very soul. Then you pick up the pen - and you write.
Carols
I used to sing Carols many years ago . At school especially . Carol singing was a great pastime before Christmas . Local friends and I , would set off and knock at people’s doors . Asking politely if they would like a carol . It was the typical , “Good King W, Come all ye faithful , 0h little town of Bethlehem , Away in a manger , Silent Night . In the bleak mid winter “ and others . We knew most of the words and would sing what they wanted . Sometimes we were invited in . We even earned some money . Nowadays I can’t imagine it’s done . We used to get a few children around singing “ We wish you a merry Christmas “, thinking that was a carol . We were not taught that it was . What’s the difference , just the story of Christmas and long standing traditions changing which is inevitable. Now so many people do not celebrate Christmas as they come from other countries with different traditions . The custom of carol singing is often confined to outside events or churches . Sometimes they are jazzed up and hit the charts which is a different way of conveying the Christmas message .
I don’t go to church now , but I do sometimes miss the singing . Carols were more upbeat than other durgy hymns I have heard sung today . The words of in the bleak midwinter are beautiful , just like a poem and I knew two versions of how to sing the verses . Now I will listen out for some .
PromptVent Day 16
Carols
In the place where I live in North Devon, they always sing carols around a Christmas tree on Christmas Eve. It’s decorated with fairy lights and placed in the centre of the village. It’s always well attended with people of all ages coming together to sing and celebrate the beginning of Christmas. There are many more people here now than when I came here over twenty years ago and the whole street is full of song and good cheer. For me now it’s a bittersweet occasion as some of my friends are no longer with us and I feel their absence strongly and relatives who are too infirm to be here with us now. I am very fortunate as I will have my adult children with me, perhaps remembering when they were little and tingled with excitement at what Father Christmas might bring them and how they would look up to the sky to see if the sleigh pulled by rheindeer was passing by. Magical times to always remember.