Bells

Cino

Cino

Big Love! (Atheist mystic)
Veteran Member
Messages
4,228
Reaction score
2,741
Points
108
Location
Germany
In my country, church bells are ubiquitous. They ring the hours, the half hours, and for religious services. In some regions on certain holy days, they seemingly ring without pause.

There is no tradition of playing tunes on church bells here, however.

I grew up in countries where church bells were not a thing, so to me, they sound strange and exotic, even after having lived here for decades. I also associate some unpleasant childhood experiences with the ringing of church bells - angry relatives, family arguments -, so it's not a sound I enjoy innocently. Overall, I don't mind it.

What are your thoughts and experiences?
 
Grew up in a city without much bellringing roundabout ...

Of course, we native Londoners have the nursery rhyme:
Oranges and lemons
Say the bells of St. Clement's

You owe me five farthings
Say the bells of St. Martin's

When will you pay me?
Say the bells of Old Bailey

When I grow rich
Say the bells of Shoreditch

And when will that be?
Say the bells of Stepney

Oh, I do not know
Say the great bells of Bow

(And then, double-time and with relish:)
Here comes a candle
To light you to bed
And here comes a chopper
To chop off your head

LOL, never understood why that last bit was there.

On another note, both parents, especially my dad, had recollections of home (rural Ireland), of the bells ringing the Angelus (6am, 6pm) and the farmers in the fields making the sign of the cross and going down on one knee.
"The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary ... "
 
I see from Wikipedia that there are at least two alternative versions.

Gay go up, and gay go down,
To ring the bells of London town.

Bull's eyes and targets,
Say the bells of St. Margaret's.

Brickbats and tiles,
Say the bells of St. Giles'.

Halfpence and farthings,
Say the bells of St. Martin's.

Oranges and lemons,
Say the bells of St. Clement's.

Pancakes and fritters,
Say the bells of St. Peter's.

Two sticks and an apple,
Say the bells at Whitechapel.

Pokers and tongs,
Say the bells at St. John's.

Kettles and pans,
Say the bells at St. Ann's.

Old Father Baldpate,
Say the slow bells at Aldgate.

Maids in white Aprons
Say the bells of St Catherine's.

You owe me ten shillings,
Say the bells of St. Helen's.

When will you pay me?
Say the bells at Old Bailey.

When I grow rich,
Say the bells at Shoreditch.

Pray when will that be?
Say the bells of Stepney.

I'm sure I don't know,
Says the great bell at Bow.

Here comes a candle to light you to bed,
And here comes a chopper to chop off your head

or

Two Sticks and Apple,
Ring ye Bells at Whitechapple,
Old Father Bald Pate,
Ring ye Bells Aldgate,
Maids in White Aprons,
Ring ye Bells a St. Catherines,
Oranges and Lemons,
Ring ye bells at St. Clements,
When will you pay me,
Ring ye Bells at ye Old Bailey,
When I am Rich,
Ring ye Bells at Fleetditch,
When will that be,
Ring ye Bells at Stepney,
When I am Old,
Ring ye Bells at Pauls
 
There was once a time in England, and possibly elsewhere,when the tolling of a church bell at a time of death was believed to drive away evil spirits. This was called the 'passing bell'. A passing bell was tolled nine times for a man, six for a woman and three times for a child. It was a signal for people to pray for the deceased. The following verse is a reference to this.

When the bell begins to toll,
Lord have mercy upon the soul.

When thou dost hear a toll or knell,
Then think upon thy passing bell.
 
I have not lived in an area of bells for decades, but recently returned to carson city nevada for a month and was regaled by the various churches on the quarter hour, it depended on what area of town you were in, but each had a method so if you lived around you could learn their system for telling time.

And then there was the noon fire whistle, telling the Indians they were no longer allowed on the streets downtown. The law is no longer in place, but the elders still feel the reminder of the oppression and it is definitely a trigger for some
 
For a brief period growing up, we lived near 4 churches. I still have fond memories of the bells ringing out every Sunday. Interesting thing about that, none of the churches had a bell! They broadcast the sound over loudspeakers. ⛪
 
I have lived in areas with churches with bells - bells that ring on the hour and at quarter hour intervals, bells that sound out Christmas carols or other religious melodies and ring out in advance of religious services. There comes a point though when, for one who is not a member of a particular religious community, the ringing becomes little more than background sound that is easy to ignore.

Synagogues do not do bells.
 
Some of my childhood seaside holidays were taken at Canvey Island in the Thames estuary. There was a bell bouy moored nearby. The nights could be pitch black. To lie in bed with the only sound coming from the wind and the bell, had a haunting, magical quality for me.
It must mean something to others too, as I found this on youtube.
 
When I was school-age, many of the kids would put jingle bells on their shoelaces in December. This seems like a good year to revive this tradition. Maybe I'll stop by the craft store and pick up some jingle bells and elastic cords and give them to my coworkers for their kids.
 
"Every time a bell rings an angel gets its wings"
A great piece of cinema.
 
Cino said:
What are your thoughts and experiences?
Click to expand...
My thoughts are that bells should ring but not literally but in mentality and spiritual conditioning. Its important to be focused on gaining something and going somewhere in the spiritual journey. The word should reach deep within the soul and also be something which helps a person connect to God.
 
Prycejosh1987 said:
My thoughts are that bells should ring but not literally but in mentality and spiritual conditioning. Its important to be focused on gaining something and going somewhere in the spiritual journey. The word should reach deep within the soul and also be something which helps a person connect to God.
Click to expand...
So you have a bell choir in your head playing hymns?
 
Bells are important in Hinduism to wake up Gods and Goddesses and to announce the arrival of a devotee, whether in a temple or at home, the first thing to be done is to ring the bell. In many temples, there is a tradition of putting up a new bell for a wish.

a8cc9ee9171f00473a8533f96699095f.jpg
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top