This poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson was composed in 1850. I first read it one hundred years later when studying at the age of seventeen for university entrance. Since then, its resonance and clarity of purpose in ringing out “the false, the civic slander and the spite, the narrowing lust of gold, the feud of rich and poor, the faithless coldness of the times” has stayed in my memory to be read at every year´s end when it is hoped to ring in “redress to all mankind, the love of truth and light which may lead to a thousand years of peace”.

These words formed Canto 104 of a much larger work “In Memoriam” which was written by Tennyson following the death, at the early age of twenty-two, of his prospective brother-in-law Henry Hallam. As they are now in the public domain, they have been used by many authors, poets and musicians for inspiration in their work.

In England, it is customary to ring church bells to call the faithful to worship, to peal joyfully for weddings and to toll at time of death. However, New Year´s Eve, by tradition, presents a unique opportunity to cause communities to pause, ponder and resolve to begin again.

The bells are muffled before midnight by placing a strip of leather over the clapper. This restricts the sound to a sombre tone as the year draws to its close. As midnight is struck, the muffle is removed so that bells can ring out joyfully to presage hopes for change to the betterment of society.

The church towers of Lincolnshire, where the lines were written, may be very different to those of Portugal but the purpose of the bells remains the same: an opportunity to admit our failings and resolve to make the New Year one of Peace and a Prosperity to all.

by Roberto Cavaleiro - Tomar 19 December 2025