[Editor: This poem, by Harold Mercer, was published in The Bulletin (Sydney, NSW), 24 December 1903.]
Christmas is Christmas still!
[For The Bulletin.]
What though the fare is humbler than of yore,
The lordly turkey missing from the board,
Awhile we’ll smite Depression to the floor,
And take the joy we can (or can’t) afford.
Christmas is Christmas still! With careless hand
From the old pleasure-chest we’ll lift the lid,
Put on the robes of festive folly, and
Dash the expense — if it’s our latest quid!
Still revelry shall dance in paper caps,
With blaring horns and noises young and gay;
Greybeards join hands again with little chaps
And share with them the frolics of the day.
Bottles on friendship’s altar still shall bleed;
The wine of laughter dull old Care shall drown —
Later the bottle-ohs shall reap their meed
And give us coppers for our fares to town!
What though the fare is humbler than of yore,
The sunlit air is tingling with the chime
Of merry bells; the cool waves kiss the shore
Singing soft carols of the festive time;
And revelry shall stir on beach or where
Nature has decked the bush with all her arts
For carnival — we need no Yule-logs here
With Christmas fires of friendship in our hearts.
Christmas is Christmas! For a time we bang
The door on each pursuing care we know;
The festoons of our mirth from rafters hang,
Call in the hours of joy — and let it go!
Staid age and buoyant youth united in
The feast of pleasure their gay laughter fling —
Chase out the shades of gloom with merry din;
Christmas is Christmas still, and Joy is king!
HAROLD MERCER.
N.S.W.
Source:
The Bulletin (Sydney, NSW), 24 December 1930, p. 11
Editor’s notes:
board = a table (especially in the context of food being served)
bottle-oh = (also spelt: bottle-o) the person (usually a man) who collects empty bottles for recycling purposes (these bottle collectors commonly used to call out “Bottle-oh!” as they went round the streets, to let people know that they were in the area); can also refer to a bottle shop (a shop selling alcoholic drinks), especially a drive-through bottle shop
See: “bottle-o n.”, Green’s Dictionary of Slang
copper = copper coinage; brown coins of low denomination, made from bronze or copper
Depression = the economic depression of 1929-1939 (also known as “the Great Depression); as a term, “depression” can refer to other economic depressions, such as the depression of the 1890s
See: “Great Depression”, Wikipedia
din = a loud noise which continues for a significant amount of time, especially an unpleasant noise
festoon = a decorative chain of flowers, foliage, ribbons, etc, suspended in a hanging curve between two points of attachment (or in a series of such curves); a carved, drawn, or painted representation of a festoon, used in architecture, furniture, plasterwork, or pottery; fabric suspended in a hanging curve, or curves, with loops or scalloped folds (often used to decorate windows); to adorn or decorate a place by using balloons, festoons (decorative chains), flowers, lights, or other decorations
gay = happy, joyous, carefree; well-decorated, bright, attractive (in modern times it may especially refer to a homosexual, especially a male homosexual; can also refer to something which is no good, pathetic, useless)
greybeard = an old man with a grey beard (a man who is so old that his beard has turned grey); a wise old man, a sage
meed = (archaic) a fitting recompense; an appropriate amount of praise, honour, or reward; a payment or reward given for work done or services rendered
quid = a pound or a dollar; originally “quid” referred to a pound, a unit of British-style currency used in Australia (until it was replaced by the dollar in 1966, when decimal currency was introduced); after the decimalisation of Australia’s currency, it referred to a dollar
yore = in the past, long ago (as used in the phrase “days of yore”)
Yule = a winter festival of the Germanic peoples; the name is believed to have originated with the Norse festival of Jól; in modern times, Yule is closely associated with the celebration of Christmas
See: 1) “Yule – Day of Winter Solstice”, National Day Calendar
2) Gael Stirler, “Yule history and origins”, RenStore.com
3) Catherine Boeckmann, “What Is Yule? What Is a Yule Log?”, The Old Farmer’s Almanac, 17 November 2023
4) Alison Eldridge, “Yule: festival”, Encyclopaedia Britannica, 18 December 2023
5) “Yule”, Wikipedia
Yule-log = (also called a “Christmas log”) a large log of wood which is traditionally used as the foundation of a fire in a hearth at Christmas, especially on Christmas Eve; a chocolate cake, made in the shape of a log, which is traditionally eaten at Christmas
See: 1) “The history of the Yule Log”, WhyChristmas.com
2) Sam Bilton, “Why yule log has become a Christmas favourite”, National Geographic, 13 December 2023
3) “Yule log”, Wikipedia
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