The English magician John Constantine has always been brazenly irreverent, but in the Hellblazer story "Lord of the Dance," he found a unique way to combine the sacred with the profane by saving a forgotten god with Christmas music. Over the years, the British occultist has made enemies of both Heaven and Hell, and found some way to upset just about everyone in between, yet some of Constantine's best stories involve those rare moments when he is able to find a tender bit of joy to share with others.
Constantine was created by Alan Moore, Stephen Bissette, John Tolteben, and Rick Veitch, first appearing in Saga of the Swamp Thing #37. He eventually starred in his own series, Hellblazer, and the particular story in question takes place in Hellblazer #49 by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon.
At the start of the story, John is out on Christmas Eve, trying to find the perfect gift for Kit Ryan, an old friend he has developed feelings for. As he goes from place to place, shopping for Kit, he realizes he is being followed by a shabby, miserable-looking spirit. Constantine confronts his follower, who agrees to explain himself over a cup of tea.
The spirit asks if Constantine knows the song "Lord of the Dance," a folk hymn supposedly created by Sydney Carter in 1963. The spirit insists the song is much older, and that before Carter changed it to make it about Jesus, the original lyrics were written to honor the spirit: the Lord of the Dance. He explains how before the Christianization of Britain, people would spend the night of the winter solstice celebrating with drunken feasts, lovemaking, song, and dance. During such nights of jubilation, he would join the people, dancing and singing with them.
But then the island was forcibly converted away from their old traditions. As the Lord describes it, "the old ways were soon lost, or hijacked beyond recognition. Where once people went to an orgy, now they went to mass." With the change in religious practices, he was eventually forgotten.
Constantine rejects the notion that the holidays have become completely somber, and so drags the Lord off to a pub. They down one pint after another, becoming insensate with the delight of getting drunk with friends. At midnight, the pub erupts into cheers of "Merry bloody Christmas," and soon, Constantine and the Lord are standing on a table singing "The Ball of Kerrymuir," a particularly ribald folk song.
After they leave the pub in a stumbling stupor and deposit Constantine's friend Chas in an unconscious slump on his doorstep, the Lord thanks John for a night that reminded him of all he had thought gone from the world. Then, the Lord of the Dance walks off into the night, and as he turns to look back one more time, he transforms from a disheveled-looking bum into the regal solstice god of old, his cape flowing and horns crowning his head.
Heading back home, Constantine finds Kit waiting for him, at which point he realizes he never got her the present he intended to. He apologizes for leaving her alone on Christmas Eve and forgetting to get her a gift. She expresses anger at being abandoned, but admits she also forgot to procure him a present. Then, she thinks of a suitable gift, and kisses him on the mouth. They head to bed, while outside the window, a couple of drunkards sing "Lord of the Dance."