R is for Bells

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There’s some method in this series of ‘anacrostic’ discussions, have you discovered what it is yet? Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s poem ‘In Memoriam’ is more associated with the New Year (and the death of the old and birth of the new) than with Christmas. I think that it is one of Tennyson’s finer poems. Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky, The flying cloud, the frosty light: The year is dying in the night; Ring out, wild bells, and let him die. Ring out the old, ring in the new, Ring, happy bells, across the snow: The year is going, let him go; Ring out the false, ring in the true. … Ring in the valiant man and free, The larger heart, the kindlier hand; Ring out the darkness of the land, Ring in the Christ that is to be. Bells were first introduced to Christian churches in about 400 AD but they weren’t officially sanctioned for another 200 years. They have held a very special place in churches for a long time, very often being named and baptised as if they were people. During the ceremony, the bishop prays that “these sacramentals of the Church may, at the sound of the bell, put the demons to flight, protect from storms, and call the faithful to prayer.” This gives a clue to the real and most ancient significance of bells and other loud noises - they were originally used to frighten away evil spirits and (probably by sympathetic magic) to keep storms at bay. Only later did they come to be used as a means of signalling - calling people to worship and as a way of telling the time. What do bells mean to you? Are they mostly a symbol of joy and happiness or of death and danger? How are they used - both big and small ones - in your culture?