änglaspel

Seasonal Mischief

Last year I came across an änglaspel — or Angel Chime — at World Market. As I stood there gaping with delight, another shopper picked up the box and turned it over to read the back. I took this as an invitation to excited explain how my mother purchased this exact brand and model back in the early 80s and I hadn’t seen one for literal decades.

This the exact make & model Mother bought in 1981.

A stranger full of seasonal cheer, gushing with childhood memories is a welcome change during holiday shopping, right? Whether this is true or not, the kind lady listened to me talk about my fond memories of the ting - ting - ting of the bells as the angels spun around.

I purchased one and carried it triumphantly home. Hoping to join my own Christmas memories with a new ones as the years roll along.

But that’s not the whole story. Let’s wind back that historical footage, shall we?

Christmas of 1981 was a busy year, everyone was home, a new baby was on display, and for a change money was the opposite of tight. Mother had returned from a shopping expedition with this trendy Christmas item called an Angel Chime which was something from Sweden. She’d paid $9.99 for hers, which today would be $35 adjusted for inflation.¹

It was handed over to my Dad with instructions to put it together.

Angel Chimes are generally made of brass with a decorative base with candleholders, a centerpiece which supports the bells and the a turbine which powers the angels in their flight. Dad tinkered with these pieces for about 5 minutes before I took up the instructions and started “helping” him. Together we worked out the mechanics² and soon were lighting the candles.

Ting — ting — ting, went the bells.

We sat in silence for a few minutes, before I made a comment about how the rings almost sounded like a song. Dad was surprised. He didn’t hear any ringing.

That moment, Dad with his head cocked expectantly towards the Angel Chime, his expression puzzled, remains fresh in my Christmas memories. This is when we first understood my father was experiencing hearing loss.³

Equally clear is my experience of a year ago when I had set up my own Angel Chime and after listening to it pleasantly ting — ting — tinging, I removed my hearing aids and experienced what happened to Dad almost 50 years ago.

1. I also paid $9.99 for mine in 2023, which speaks to the low cost of manufacturing these.

2. Simple, but tricky.

3. Hereditary hearing loss known as “mid-range deafness.”