The Boar's Head in Hand Bear I

It has been a time honored Christmas tradition now for several years for our family to go up to Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Cleveland for their annual Boar's Head and Yule Log performance. This has been a tradition now at Trinity for 47 years and mulitple generations of families have performed in it for at least that long. It is a kind of Mediaeval Christmas pageant complete with beautifully costumed performers, a brass choir, the magnificent organ of the cathedral and a vocal choir. The audience gets to perform along and sing various songs as well, so it's not just a spectacle but an audience participation event. Trinity Episcopal looks like an English Gothic cathedral and is situated on Euclid Avenue in Cleveland, once upon a time known as "Millionaire's Row" and populated by many an ostentatious mansion, now gone, so this church was doubtless the worship place of many of Cleveland's now gone monied families. So having a Mediaeval Christmas pageant in such a glorious atmosphere is quite appropriate, and it opens with the lights dimmed and monks solemnly walking up and down the nave and transept of the church to Gregorian chant, lighting candles. As you look up at the stained glass windows and soaring architecture all around you, it's quite easy to be transported back in time. And then the whole thing begins with the carol "Good King Wenceslas", complete with an actor dressed as that character, and another as his page, as the song is sung with a bit of audience participation. Ladies of the Court sing a lovely lullaby carol, Waits wish you a Merry Christmas, children pull a Yule Log wildly through the church ringing a bell as we sing, and then come Mary and Joseph, complete with her on a real mule. The shepherds arrive with a real sheep to find out what it was they heard about from the angels, and the Three Kings come to worship the baby as well, bearing their gifts. A lot of preparation goes into this whole production and it's well worth witnessing the entire pageant, as it's a spectacle of sound, smell and sight. The whole thing is both fun and solemn at various moments. We really love going to it each year, and we've told various friends of ours about it to where we get a pretty big group of us who now go each year and wouldn't dare miss it. Afterward, it's also become a tradition to go to a Vietnamese restaurant on the near east side of Cleveland called "#1 Pho". The building has a downright Edward Hopper painting quality to it and the food is really good, too. It's a bit lighter than standard Chinese food and not quite as salty. I tried an interesting drink tonight called "Hot Milk Coffee" and it was delicious, almost a dessert sort of drink that you can have either hot or iced. It being a chilly night and my feeling cold the better part of the entire day, I craved a hot drink for dinner, so this was my choice over a glass of wine. I also had to drive home, so caffeine instead of alcohol was a wise choice! All in all, it was a great fun day and evening, and we are all home now and everyone has retired to bed except me, and I am not far behind them all.