When Valdy sang about coming up to Winnipeg and sleeping out in the Zoo, it wasn’t in December. And when Burton Cummings told us to “stand tall,” he didn’t mean we should stand on the corner of Portage and Main in the dead of winter. But here we are in the bleak mid-winter when the sun rises late in the morning and sets early in the afternoon; when the wind howls down Portage and the mercury continues to drop. It is good that we celebrate Advent and Christmas at this time of year to help take our minds off the cold and the dark. For now, we wait, we prepare, and we look forward to the coming of light, warmth, and a baby King who takes away the sins of the world. Enjoy the words of this old carol, once again.

In the bleak midwinter

Frosty wind may moan

Earth stood hard as iron

Water like a stone

Snow had fallen

Snow on snow on snow

In the bleak midwinter

Long, long ago

Angels and Arc Angels

May have traveled there

Cherubim and Seraphim

Thronged the air

But only his Mother

In her maiden bliss

Worshiped the beloved

With a kiss

What can I give him?

Poor as I am

If I were a shepherd

I would give a lamb

If I were a wise man

I would do my part

But what I can I give him

Give him my heart

Give him my heart

Songwriters: Christina Rossetti and H. Darke

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