The Hokey Pokey *IS* what it's all about!
It's is the old English bastardization of the words "Hoc est Corpus" or "This is my Body" which are the words of the priest in the pre-Vatican II Tridentine Mass at the moment of transubstantiation. Given that Christ said "Unless you eat my body and blood, there is no life within you," we can see that according to ancient Christian teaching the promise of eternal life is impossible for those who fail to follow Christ's explicit commandment here, and the fulfillment of which can only be experienced within the discipline of the Holy Roman Catholic Church's Masses.Here is a short explanation which I found at http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/read/OLD-ENGLISH/2001-03/0985552472Just when we thought that the dust had settled, my London-born wife,
unwilling to accept my version of the truth, went to
;
and found the following:Why do we sing the Hokey-Cokey? Hmm...... well ....back in 17th century Puritan England anything 'popish' or Roman Catholic was viewed with great suspicion and open to, at best, ridicule. The Hokey-Cokey, with its song and actions, is a mimicry of the Roman Catholic Mass. In those days the priest faced the altar (not the people) and performed several actions as he consecrated the bread and wine at Holy Communion. The words of the service were in Latin. You put your left arm in ......etc was ridiculing the priest as he lifted his arms heavenward during the rite. You do the Hokey- Cokey and you turn
around............ was when the priest turned to face the congregation with the host (consecrated bread) to offer it to them. Ooooh, the Hokey-Cokey......... hokey-cokey is a corruption of the Latin words of consecration - Hoc est corpus: 'This is my body' (Note: many of the strange words and phrases of our language are corruptions of other languages introduced to our country over the years and few were educated enough to speak or understand Latin). Knees bend, arm stretch, ra-ra-ra....... knees bend is a ridicule of the genuflection (a kind of religious curtsey to the altar) of the priest, arm stretch is when he holds up his hands at the point of consecration in the service, and ra-ra-ra is just a mimicry of the Latin words and prayers they didn't understand. Today, many people do not know the origin of the song/dance and just do it for fun, especially to teach children co-ordination (and their right from their left). Today, in England, the Roman Catholic Mass is said in English and is so similar to the Holy Communion of the Church of England that, sometimes, if you didn't know what church you were in.........Rock
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The Hokey Pokey *IS* what it's all about!  ·  Nimbo  ·  11/4/2004, 9:49 AM
Re: Hokey Cokey  ·  Anon.  ·  11/8/2004, 5:03 AM