LULLY, LULLAY, AND CHEERING FOR THE WRONG TEAM

Today, day four of the twelve days of Christmas, is also called Childermas, and it celebrates the Feast of the Holy Innocents, which is incredibly ironic since the Holy Innocents were the babies slaughtered by King Herod's men in the course of disproving the Magi.

Anyone know the words to the Christmas carol "Lully, Lullay" (aka "The Coventry Carol")?

Now, here's a fabulous holiday song!  The words to one of the verses: Herod the King, in his raging, charged he hath this day -- his men of might in his own sight, all young children to slay.   Most of the carol is in a minor key, which makes it sound almost like a funeral song, and then on the word "slay," it changes to a major chord, and it sounds all happy and celebratory.  "Yay!  Yes, let's all be glad because little children die!  Merry Christmas, everyone; Merry Christmas!"

So, today apparently we all celebrate infantcide.  Huzzah!

As if that's not bad enough, in Spain the masses celebrate the Day of the Holy Innocents by playing practical jokes on each other, like we do here in America on April Fool's Day.  In the Middle Ages in France, the celebrants elected a mock bishop, but, like many things French, it degenerated to elaborate burlesque shows by the 1400's, then the whole damn thing was thrown out by the 1600's.

I don't think I like Day Four as much as the other days.  There doesn't seem to be any spirit of giving or sharing going on: no presents, no horses roaming through the church aisles, and no hot spiced wine (which was excellent, thank you for asking).

Nope, today is just about the systematic slaughtering of tiny male infants in an attempt to kill baby Jesus because someone (Herod) actually believed that an infant might be interested in stealing his crown, even though the kid couldn't wipe his own ass yet, being newborn and all.

Here's to Childermas!  Here's to cheering for the wrong team!  Lully, lullay!