We gather together to ask the Lord’s blessing;
He chastens and hastens his will to make known;
The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing.
Sing praises to his name; he forgets not his own. (We Gather Together/ Adrianus Valerius)
This hymn was originally a Dutch patriotic song, written around 1600 to celebrate the freedom of the Netherlands from Spanish rule, it is popularly associated with Thanksgiving Day and is often sung at family meals and at religious services on that day.
Linden Elementary School circa mid 1950’s, Miss Cypher’s music class (yep back in the day we had Art Class, Library Class, Band, French, PE, and Music classes, and oh yeah, received our Polio Vaccines in Public School). Thanksgiving was almost as important as Christmas, and Miss Cypher’s made certain her School Choir, (of which I was a soprano, even though I could not read music, but somehow could memorize the song) was prepared with a plethora of appropriate AMERICAN TRADITIONAL SONGS, even if those songs were not necessarily demonstrating a divide between CHURCH and STATE. To this day, I still hum the words to “We Gather Together,” right after Halloween and Thanksgiving having my hands placed in a triangle across the middle of my chest, look straight ahead (it was a Miss Cyphers strict rule that a GOOD member of a CHOIR, never look around or lost, but know that the words being sung, are the only direction a person needs). Back in the day, there was no Black Friday sales, no stores open on Thanksgiving, and kids were treated to a four-day weekend. Back in the day we actually felt safe and sound from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day because WHO IN THE WORLD WOULD DO ANYTHING TO SCREW THE WORLD, when so much joy and happiness was supposed to take place.
So, thank you Miss Marie Cyphers for enriching my life with music, music I still remember, recall, and embrace and for the memories of moments in time, which had meaning and magic. I know nostalgia neglects to often times include the awful and insidious, and almost as a drug of relief nostalgia eases the stress of today. Thanksgiving 2021, and I want to remember this DAY, for GIVING THANKS to the people in the world who ACTUALLY do good, want good, and make life GOOD. Happy Holidays!
