Heavenly Guardians

Once more, we have come to the end of this year’s public events in the Castle, but I hope that everyone who visited us really enjoyed themselves. Our theme this year was very traditional Victorian with lots of sumptuous reds and golds and, with a nod to Prince Albert who introduced the concept to the UK, even more Christmas trees than usual. We decorated 61 trees!  Inspired by “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens, little books decorated one of the trees in the library, whilst Mrs Beeton made an appearance in the dining room with lots of old-fashioned jelly moulds. 

My husband was particularly happy because he remembers that in the time of his grandfather, the same box of Christmas decorations was brought down from the castle attics every year and they were all red and gold. Over the years he has quite understood that we should revisit our themes for our decorations in the castle each year for our visitors, but he was  very comfortable when on  such familiar ground as this year. Luckily, next year, whilst it will be very different, it will also be traditional in the sense in that it will centre around a very white and snowy theme. 

This is also the time of year when all the Carol services take place in the various local churches. In them we both listen to and sing about the birth of Christ - the Prince of Peace. As with today, it was a challenging world in those ancient times with unaccountable acts of anger and brutality so the promise of light and hope for the future, in this case foretold by the wise men, was particularly welcome. Many of us today would love to find a few wise men with a similar message… plus ça change.

Singing the familiar tunes, angels play a prominent part: “the angel of the Lord came down, and glory shone around”. We are encouraged to “hear the angel voices”, “the angelic host proclaim his birth,” and “In the Bleak Midwinter” “Angels and Archangels May have gathered there, Cherubim and seraphim Thronged the air”. The original church here at Highclere was named St Michael and all Angels and most years in our Christmas decorations, angels quietly make their way through many of the Castle rooms.

In my imagination, angels have rather shifted in shape and space as I have got older but have always been a bridge between God and humanity, able to show God’s message even if they cannot give instructions. I’m quite sure previous civilizations also looked for “angels” or similar beings to travel alongside us 

Statues of angels are everywhere and not only in historic art. Here in the UK, they have a well-known contemporary presence in the work of Anthony Gormley who created one of the largest art works in Britain: “The Angel of the North”. With a wingspan of 177ft, it dominates the landscape around Gateshead in the north of England where it is seen by an estimated 33 million people every year due to its proximity to the A1 and A167 roads and the East Coast main line railway service. When asked about it, Anthony Gormley said “People are always asking, why an angel? The only response I can give is that no-one has ever seen one and we need to keep imagining them.” 

Guardian angels are an even more comforting thought - there to protect us as we travel through life both metaphorically and on our actual journey. The 13th century Christian scholar Thomas Aquinas wrote, "On this road man is threatened by many dangers both from within and without, and therefore as guardians are appointed for men who have to pass by an unsafe road, so an angel is assigned to each man as long as he is a wayfarer." 

It is an immensely comforting thought that there may be someone who is always looking out for you. To quote the clergyman Phillip Brooks “The earth has grown old with its burden of care, but at Christmas it always is young... when the song of angels is sung." 

 Happy Christmas.