Angels Don't Just Play the Harp

Some friends told me about preparing for Christmas as they do for Lent, with yearning (and also fasting in some traditions). It has been many years since I’ve looked toward Christmas with anticipation. The holiday has been like a tinsel piñata, which I tap to collect cash to pay for my car insurance in the new year.

I wasn’t always indifferent about Christmas. My parents didn’t tell me about Santa Claus but somehow I believed in him and have a vivid memory-dream of him visiting our apartment in Korea. I can pinpoint when my spirit began to dampen because I wrote it down in a 2011 Tumblr post:

I decided to celebrate with intent this time around. After my dad showed me the suit he wants to be buried in at Forest Lawn, I figured I’d get a tree just in case this is the last Christmas my family has together. (It turns out my dad is fine but who can say how long any one of us will live?) It was an hours-long ordeal using duct tape and rocks to get the noble fir to stand upright in the too-small tree stand, but we found ourselves enthralled by the symbol, adorned with lights and meaningful ornaments that had been in storage for over a decade.

Finding an ornament of an angel awkwardly holding a violin, I offhandedly mentioned that angels only play the harp. My sister chimed in over FaceTime to correct me, saying angels play all kinds of instruments. I disagreed but seeing more angel ornaments, I was reminded that biblical angels play the trumpet. I hope the angels are amused to know that as they intercede for us, there’s an Angela in our realm speaking out on their behalf, letting humans like me know that angels can play any instrument.

No song for this month as I did not wake up with a new song spontaneously downloaded to my brain after having made zero effort to write anything. Not that I expected as much but a formed song actually has surfaced in my mind before. I was on a bus across Rio de Janeiro to smooth things over after spurning a booty call when I heard the lyrics/melody in my head and fleshed it out on piano back home, with memories of singing Fred Hammond’s songs in gospel choir as a touchpoint.

Wishing you happy holidays whether you spend it with family, friends, or alone (you may have violin-playing angels in the vicinity)!

🔊 Currently listening to songs from “Ella Wishes You A Swinging Christmas.”