Holly, lichen and fungus

Sunday
A grey and foggy start to the day, but fortunately, while we were in church, celebrating the first Sunday in Advent, the fog cleared, and we even had some weak sunshine in the afternoon. Our afternoon walk was in the Mont Ussy area of the forest, and provided me with several photographic opportunities, so once again I have put them in a collage.

The season of Advent begins four Sundays before Christmas Day, and is a period of preparation for the celebration of our Lord's birth. In church this morning we sang the well-known advent hymn O come, O come Emmanuel, which was originally written in Latin in the 12th century. It was originally used in the medieval church liturgy as a series of antiphons - short musical statements that were sung for the week of vesper services just before Christmas Eve. Each of these antiphons greets the anticipated Messiah with one of the titles ascribed him throughout the Old Testament.

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
and ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.

Refrain
Rejoice! rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O Come O come thou Lord of might
Who to thy tribes on Sinai's height
In ancient times didn't give the law
in cloud and majesty and awe.
Refrain

O come, thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan's tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save
And give them victory o'er the grave.
Refrain

O come, thou Day-Spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death's dark shadows put to flight
Refrain

O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Refrain