A Season to be Grateful

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Over the years, two harvest hymns gradually became my favorites. In the Baptist church I was compelled to attend every Sunday for my first eighteen years, these hymns and a few others came up in the rotation every November. When golden autumn leaves began to fall and corn turned tan and dry, these hymns would ring out across the hard pews from our ancient organist on the big Allen organ. There were hymn characteristics that I came to associate with certain times of the year. Harvest and Thanksgiving hymns were in minor keys, reminding me of the approaching winter, corn in shocks, and pumpkins. Christmas hymns were sad, too, reminding us of poor people traveling to be taxed, towns so full of people that it was necessary to sleep in stables, and harsh Roman rule. In the springtime, hymns written in major keys celebrated the crucifixion and resurrection in sync with the glories of spring. There were even patriotic hymns for Memorial Day and the Fourth of July.