We’re going from mid-century modern to probably late Medieval England for today’s Advent piece. It brings up the dark side of the Nativity story—the part that’s usually left out of the festivities, but which the current administration is re-enacting every day in and out of season.
On their journey following the star, the three Wise Men
stopped for a spell in Jerusalem and asked King Herod for directions to where
they might find the child about to be born who would rule the world. This
turned out to be a costly mistake, because Herod—so the Gospels tell
us—followed the time-honored Middle Eastern custom of ensuring security of his
administration by ordering the slaughter of all male children up to two years
of age in the vicinity of Bethlehem. (Joseph was warned by an angel, and he, Mary
and Jesus fled to Egypt, where the government did not separate them or put them
in cages or deport them back to Palestine.)
(On a side note, imagine how Mary, having just endured an
uncomfortable journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem and given birth to her first
child, must have felt having to pick up and run all the way to Egypt. No
returning to the comfort of her home and the support of friends. She's got to
manage with a newborn, on that dag-blamed donkey for hundreds of miles, to a
strange country where she doesn't speak the language, and where the hell is she
going to get diapers? We should really hear more about this.)
“Coventry Carol” is from a mystery play put on annually in
the city of Coventry. Not sure about the precise date, but it was documented in
the 16th Century. It’s the only song to survive from that
particular play, and it was sung by three women, representing all the mothers
trying to reassure the children they knew were doomed.
It therefore seems appropriate to have a women’s choral group singing it, so I’m giving you Anúna.
©2025 Bas Bleu
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