Tidings of comfort and joy

The celebration of Christ’s birth and the secular celebrations have probably generated more music than just about any other event in history.  Many of the traditional carols seem to have a timeless value, yet are centuries old. As a result their meaning has become obscured. I’m happy to share with you my discoveries into certain phrases that we often recite without a thought…

Some lyrics may sound archaic to our modern ears, such as “God rest ye merry, gentlemen…”  If translated into contemporary language, it could read “God make you strong, gentlemen.”  That seems to make more sense since the following lines pertain to not being dismayed, that Christ was born to save us from Satan’s power.

How about The First Noel?   Can you say what it means with you doing a Google search?  A Wikipedia article indicates that “…Noel comes from the French word Noël meaning Christmas, from the Latin word natalis which translates as birthday.”

Then there’s Jingle Bells, first published in 1857. I wonder how much fun it really was to ride in a one-horse open sleigh on a blustery winter morning?  I can’t speak from personal experience about how much fun it is and I don’t know many who can. How about you?

Ever wonder about “visions of sugar plums” that danced in the head of the dreaming children in “’Twas the night before Christmas?”  You’ve probably had them in some form or another but not realized it. Once source indicates that a sugar plum is “… a sweet made of sugar hardened around a central seed or kernel in successive layers using a process called "panning." The glossy sugar shells on candies like jelly beans or M&Ms are produced through a similar process…” (http://bit.ly/1ccrbzP).

Joy to the World was first published in 1719 by Issac Watts and was based on Psalm 98, a passage that never mentions a baby or shepherds, for it speaks to Christ’s second coming, not his first. The first and last verses of Psalm 98:  “Sing a new song to the Lord, for he has done wonderful deeds. His right hand has won a mighty victory;…For the Lord is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with justice, and the nations with fairness.”

Joy to the world! The Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare him room,
And heaven and nature sing…

One more question, have you prepared room in your heart for Him?

 

.... Tidings [news] of comfort and joy to you!

Deborah Phillips

Christmas 2013