Author: Margaret Ashworth

I HAVE always thought that Good King Wenceslas was about a benevolent old gent trying to spread a little happiness. Wrong. According to the Guardian ‘it glorifies a patriarchal definition … Continue readingGood King Wenceslas

AMONG TCW’s well-informed, thoughtful and witty readers are some in America. Take a bow, Audre Myers, and the rest of you. I have chosen today’s carol in your honour as … Continue readingJoy to the World

I AM writing this overlooking the sparkling blue Atlantic in Fuerteventura, in the Canary Islands. The sky is cloudless and the temperature is a perfect 23C (73F). So it is … Continue readingIn the Bleak Mid-winter

FOR many of us, the ultimate Christmas movie is Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life from 1946. Its affirmation of the triumph of good over evil must have been a … Continue readingHark! The Herald Angels Sing

THE first carol that most of us learned must be Away in a Manger, a staple of school nativity plays. With that in mind I set out to find a … Continue readingAway in a Manger

I WAS pleased to see that commenters like the idea of a daily carol. I also enjoyed paul parmenter’s account of a chaotic carol service – I imagine many of … Continue readingSilent Night

AS Laura Perrins reminded us in TCW yesterday, we are now in Advent, the church’s run-up to Christmas. With this in mind we are planning to feature a daily traditional … Continue readingOnce in Royal David’s City