Yesterday was the shortest day of the year and a good opportunity to reflect (again) on the relative universality of solstice celebrations. So many Christmas carols evoke themes that cut across cultures: kindling lights on short days, the feeling of the earth slumbering and ready to wake in the spring, the winter’s cold. These themes aren’t truly universal, though—they’re specific to a climate that has a certain kind of seasons. Snow was not a part of my Northern California childhood and, while the winter was colder than the summer, Christmas was marked as much by wet and dark than cold, and in a more equatorial climate seasonality means something even more different. Many things that we might casually assume are common experiences are unusual to someone from a different background.

Like many organizations around the country, Voices of Ascension is still grappling with questions of representation, and I hope we will have more to share on that topic in this space and elsewhere over the coming months, but for the present moment I will content myself with the reminder that “universal” often isn’t.

That might seem like a bit of a heavy note to hit for this short and cheerful carol (about which a simpler note might cover the controversy over whether “Hall” should be plural or singular in the title). But if we look to the original Welsh lyrics (“The best pleasure on new year's eve, / Is house and fire and a pleasant family, / A pure heart and brown ale, / A gentle song and the voice of the harp”), the carol is a celebration of gathering together in community, donning festive garb, sharing of food and drink, and the raising of voices together in song. And this—despite specific cultural expressions that are as varied as the human experience—is truly universal, and something we will all look forward to doing again over the course of the coming year. — Wesley Chinn

TRADITIONAL CHRISTMAS CAROL Deck the Hall(s)

Voices of Ascension
Dennis Keene, Artistic Director
Colin Britt, Guest Conductor

Recorded live at the Voices of Ascension HOLIDAY FAMILY CONCERT
Wednesday, December 14, 2019, The Church of the Ascension, New York City
The singers in this performance are represented by the American Guild of Musical Artists, AFL-CIO.