Adeste Fideles, is a Latin hymn which is translated O Come, All Ye Faithful. The official authorship has been given to John Francis Wade (1711-1786), whose name is included on most if not all of the earliest manuscripts. Even so, the lyrics and tune appear to be the result of a collaboration of several people over hundreds of years, although what we sing today is a 19th century version of an 18th century compilation.
Some believe that Adeste Fideles is not actually about Christ, but is instead about Bonnie Prince Charlie, grandson of James II, England’s last Catholic king. In 1745, Bonnie Prince Charlie led a rebellion to restore the Catholic House of Stuart to the English throne. Fideles is believed to mean Faithful Catholic Jacobites. Bethlehem is also believed to be a term for England. If this is true, the song is actually a war cry shouting out, “Come and Behold Him, Born the King of the English.”
More recently, others believe that the 1980’s rock band Twisted Sister sampled the melody of their biggest hit, We’re Not Gonna Take It from O Come, All Ye Faithful. The melodies of the songs are very similar, but it’s purely coincidental. Jay Jay French, lead guitarist of Twisted Sister stated in a radio interview that the band discovered the similarities and recorded a version of O Come, All Ye Faithful for their Christmas album A Twisted Christmas.
I suppose I can ignore the possibility of O Come, All Ye Faithful having its origins with Bonnie Prince Charlie if it results in a song that God can use to get a rock group like Twisted Sister to sing “O Come, Let Us Adore Him, Christ the Lord!”
Click hereto hear Adeste Fideles by Andrea Bocelli
Click here to hear O Come, All Ye Faithful by Tasha Cobbs
Click here to hear O Come, All Ye Faithful by Twisted Sister
*Image courtesy of Tim Mossholder **This post and others like it can be found at www.johnjfrady.com
In The Bleak Midwinter is one of my favorite Christmas carols. It’s name may be the reason it isn’t included in many of today’s “happy and jolly” Christmas collections. However this carol has one of the best sentiments regarding Christmas. It always moves me.
In the Bleak Midwinter was written by Christina Georgiana Rossetti. Christina grew up in an artistic home and with representatives from the world of art and literature frequenting her family home. Unfortunately, Christina became ill at the age of sixteen and lived with poor health for much of the rest of her life. She faced the solitude of her sickness with a deep faith which can be seen in her writings. Not willing to let illness stop her literary contributions, Christina published three books of poetry, four devotional collections, and many Christian songs, including In the Bleak Midwinter.
Ironically, In The Bleak Midwinter was first published as a poem in Scribner’s Notes in 1872. Its title at the time was simply A Christmas Carol. The song was later given its tune by the English composer Gustav Holst. It was first published as the Christmas hymn, or carol, with the title and roughly the same form we sing today, in 1906. If the song had kept Rossetti’s original title, it’s possible that people for the last 100 years or so would be confusing it A Christmas Carol, the famous novella by Charles Dickens.
Frankly, I’m glad the song has the dreadful name.
With great skill, Christina Georgiana Rossetti has written about a hopeless, desolate world, filled with bleakness and despair. Into this world, Jesus, our Immanuel, God With Us, the Incarnate One, the long awaited Messiah, the Light of the World, was born. The Lord Jesus miraculously transformed the world. Surprising so many, He brought and is still bringing warmth and light into the most desperate of situations. He lowered Himself to be born among us. In fact, the glories of Heaven couldn’t hold this Savior of ours back from bursting into our world. Even the humble circumstances of his birth couldn’t dissuade Him from His mission of redemption. Praise the Lord!
My favorite line of In The Bleak Midwinter, of course, comes in its final verse, Rossetti is forced to deal with her own response and worship of Jesus Christ. It’s a question we must all answer at one point or another in our lives.
What can I give Him, Poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb.
If I were a wise man, I would do my part;
Yet what I can I give him;
Give my heart.
Click here to hear In The Bleak Midwinter performed by Keith and Kristyn Getty or Click here for a more liberal performance by Rend Collective
One of the sweetest Christmas carols, loved by people of all generations, is Away In A Manger. It has often been considered the Jesus Loves Me of Christmas Carols.Because the author of the song was anonymous and because it was first published in a German hymnal in the mid-1800’s, people assumed the carol must have been written by Martin Luther. In fact, around the world, people began to call the song Luther’s Cradle Hymn.. However, there is no real proof of Luther’s authorship so the original source of the carol remains anonymous.
The beauty of Away In A Manger lies in its sweetness and simplicity. In a few verses, the carol shares about how God lowered Himself to be born among us in humble, crude circumstances. No wonder the lyrics basically pray: “Be near Me, Lord Jesus, I ask Thee to stay close by me forever and love me I pray.”
I remember praying those words many years ago when my wife and I experienced a significant loss. In the midst of my grief, I attempted a personal planning session for the musical worship for an early December worship service. One of the songs we were to sing was Away In A Manger. As I sang the words, sadness overwhelmed me and I broke down in tears. I prayed then sat for a long while, contemplating the lyrics of the song and the love of God the Father who sent God the Son to be our God with us. I remembered the words of C.S. Lewis, “Once in our world, a stable had something in it that was bigger than our whole world.” Before my preparation session was over, I had written these two new verses for Away In A Manger:
No Longer A Baby, He grew to a man
Sent to us from Heaven to fulfill God’s plan.
He died on a cross to atone for our sin
Then rose from the dead to be alive again.
This Precious Lord Jesus Is All That We Need,
If We Make Him Our Savior and Our Lord Indeed,
O Please, Wondrous Jesus, Be With Us Today,
Fill Us With Your Spirit, We Now Humbly Pray.
Click here for an worshipful medley of Away In A Manger and Worthy Is Your Name by the Maverick City Gospel Choir featuring Kim Walker Smith and Chandler Moore
*Image Courtesy of Walter Chavez **This post and others like it can be found at www.johnjfrady.com
The 12 Days of Christmas is a fun song that people of all ages sing at Christmastime. Until recently, I thought it was simply about a lucky guy whose true love gave him lots of presents. However, there was a time when The 12 Days of Christmas was used as an undercover teaching tool for children in the Catholic Church.
In the 16th century, the Church of England was the only legal church in England. If Catholics were going to raise their children in their faith and practice, they had to do so in secret. Even their lessons of doctrine and faith had to be reproduced by secret code. Even though The 12 Days of Christmas appears to be without purpose, it actually taught important doctrinal lessons. The 12 days marked the time between Christmas Day and Epiphany, when it is celebrated that the wise men visited Jesus in Bethlehem. The “true love” mentioned in the song is not speaking of a romantic love interest, but of the Lord’s love for each of us. Each day also has an undercover spiritual meaning. I’ll list them below as succinctly as possible:
1st Day of Christmas – The partridge in a pear tree represents Jesus, who gave his life for us, much as a mother partridge would do for her chicks. The pear tree also symbolizes the cross.
2nd Day of Christmas – The two turtle doves represent the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. Doves are symbols of peace and truth as the Bible conveys.
3rd Day of Christmas – The three French hens represent the gold, frankincense, and myrrh presented to Jesus by the wise men. In the olden days, if a meal served three French hens, it was fit for a king.
4th Day of Christmas – The four calling birds represent the four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) which cry out the story of Jesus for all to hear.
5th Day of Christmas – The five golden rings represent the five Old Testament books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy which showed not only the fall of man but gave hope that a Savior would come and offer a pathway to salvation.
6th Day of Christmas – The six geese a-laying stand for the six days of Creation. The eggs are a symbol of new life.
7th Day of Christmas – The Seven swans a-swimming represent the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit listed in Romans 12:6-8 (Prophecy, Service, Teaching, Encouragement, Giving, Leadership, and Mercy). Children were often taught that when you follow the ways of the Lord, the gifts of the spirit moved in your life as easily as a swan swam on the water.
8th Day of Christmas – The Eight maids a-milking represent the common folk Jesus came to save who are follow the eight beatitudes (the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, the hungry, the merciful, the pure of heart, the peacemaker, and the righteous.)
9th Day of Christmas – The Nine ladies dancing represent the nine fruits of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Dancing represented the joy of serving Christ.
10th Day of Christmas – The ten lords a-leaping represent the 10 Commandments because a lord was supposed to be just and noble.
11th Day of Christmas – The eleven pipers piping represent the 12 Disciples of Jesus minus Judas who fell away. They led the way in taking the Gospel to the ends of the earth.
12th Day of Christmas – The twelve drummers drumming represent the dozen elements found in the Apostles’ Creed (You can read it here.) The drum symbolized the daily practice and rhythm of spiritual disciplines.
Fortunately, the time finally came in history when Catholicism was no longer a crime in England. However, by the time that happened, most people didn’t understand the undercover meanings behind the days and the gifts. Therefore, the song is most often thought of as a whimsical and fun Christmas song.
Click here to hear one of my favorite renditions of the 12 Days of Christmas by John Denver and the Muppets.
*Image courtesy of Stephanie Klepacki. **This post and others like it can be found at www.johnjfrady.com
Traditionally, bells are rung at Christmas to announce the advent of the season. More so, they are rung to proclaim the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This is certainly understood in the Christmas song Come On Ring Those Bells. It is considered by many to be contemporary Christian music’s first major contribution to well known Christmas classics. Even though the song has a country feel, it was actually written and composed by an Englishman and made popular by the daughter of Norwegian immigrants.
The song was written by Andrew Culverwell. He was originally from Somerset, England. He studied acting for a while before realizing he had a talent for writing and composing music. Culverwell wanted to make a difference for Christ, so he joined a contemporary Christian music group in England. He later moved to the United States to begin a solo recording career.
Culverwell wrote the song in 1976. The very next year, Come On Ring Those Bells was recorded and released on an album by the same name by Evelyn Tornquist Karlsson, better known to the world as “Evie.” The song was nominated for a Grammy award that same year. In this author’s opinion, it paved the way for future Christian artists to record the modern Christian songs we now all enjoy.
Click here to listen to Come On, Ring Those Bells by Evie.
My younger sister used to love the Christmas Carol Joy To The World. When she was little, she would sing out, “Let every heart repair His room!” I can still hear my mother crying out, “Prepare! Sing it right. Prepare Him room.”
I’ve often wondered if my sister would have enjoyed the Christmas Carol so much if she would have realized that it actually isn’t about Christmas. The lyrics were originally written as a poem in 1719 by the English hymn-writer Isaac Watts in His collection The Psalms of David. The poem was based on Psalm 98 which is actually more reflective of Christ’s second coming than of His birth. In 1836, a Boston music teacher set Joy To The World to music and published it in December which is why it became associated with Christmas.
I’ve heard it said that ignorance is bliss. When I first learned the truth about Joy To the World, I couldn’t sing it during the Christmas season. It bothered me to no end that the entire world was wrong about the meaning of the song. But, as I matured, I thought, “Who cares?” It’s a great song of worship that brings joy to millions of people every year. Isaac Watts would be thrilled with the success of his poem.
If the Lord is honored by it, that’s enough for me. Besides, I love the memory of my sister singing it. She’ll have to tell me if she still likes it when she reads this.
Click Here to listen to one of my favorite renditions of Joy to the World by Whitney Houston and the Georgia Mass Choir.
Charles Wesley, the brother of John Wesley, was an early leader in the Methodist Church. It has been reported that in his lifetime, he wrote over 6,000 hymns in order to teach the poor and illiterate sound doctrine. One Christmas day, as he walked to church, he was inspired by the sounds of the London church bells to write a new Christmas Carol. It was then that he quickly penned the lyrics to “Hark, How All the Welkin Rings.”
Charles Wesley’s new carol first appeared in 1739 in Hymns and Sacred Songs. It was intended to be sung to the tune of Christ the Lord is Risen Today.
Here are the first two verses of the original song:
Hark, how all the welkin rings, Glory to the King of kings;
Peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled!”
Joyful, all ye nations rise, Join the triumph of the skies;
Universal nature say, “Christ the Lord is born today!”
Yeah, kind of different, huh?
A few years later, George Whitefield, a student turned colleague turned rival of John and Charles Wesley, adapted the lyrics into those we now sing (Well, mostly). He did publish the new revision and title it Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.
Whitefield rarely gets credit for this change because of further developments to the carol. In 1840, Felix Mendelssohn composed Festgesang, a cantata celebrating the 400th anniversary of Johannes Gutenberg’s moveable type. English musician William H. Cummings partnered a melody from one of the choruses with a revised version of White’s revised version of Wesley’s original text. The new tune was titled MENDELSSOHN. The new revision combined two shorter verses into one verse. The new version also repeated the first two lines of the first verse (Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, Glory to the newborn King) to match the new tune.
Listen to both versions below and judge for yourself.
Click here to hear Hark! The Herald Angels Sing performed by Nat King Cole Click here to hear Hark, How All the Welkin Rings performed by the Boys of Worcester Cathedral Choir.
Josiah Holland was a photographer who left his craft to study medicine. After becoming a doctor, he once again left his vocation to pursue his love of literature and writing. Holland wrote articles for publications, then became a novelist and wrote poetry on the side. Being a strong and well known Christian, in 1874 Holland was asked to compose a poem for an annual Sunday School Journal. As a result, he penned a poem based on the first Christmas titled There’s A Song In The Air:
There’s a song in the air! There’s a star in the sky!
There’s a mother’s deep prayer and a baby’s low cry.
And the star rains its fire while the beautiful sing,
For the manger of Bethlehem cradles a King.
The poem probably would have been forgotten had Holland not decided to include it in a collection of his poetry originally titled Complete Poetical Writings.
Thirty years later, in the summer of 1904, Karl Harrington was hot. Out of all of the music directors and composers in Methodist Churches everywhere, he had been selected to compile the songs for a new Methodist Hymnal. Even though he had been educated at multiple schools in both the United States and Europe and was a music professor at Wesley University, he felt overwhelmed by the task. Whenever the task of hymnal compilation became overwhelming, Harrington would often escape from his work by reading a book of poetry by one of his favorite authors, Josiah Holland. The second poem he read was titled There’s A Song In The Air.
The poem partnered the sweetness of a mother and her newborn child with the grandeur of the life mission of Jesus Christ, the King of kings. Holland sat down at an organ with the poetry book. He read the poem aloud and composed a simple, yet beautiful melody to accompany the “lyrics.” In its completed version, There’s A Song In The Air was published in 1905 in the new Methodist Hymnal.
Click Here to hear There’s A Song In The Air by New Hope Christian Fellowship in Honolulu
In 1865, William Chatterton Dix, a businessman in Bristol, England, became ill. He grew so sick that he had a near death experience which left him with severe depression. During his recovery, however, Dix became an avid reader of the Bible and experienced a personal revival of sorts. His reading led to his writing of several poems, songs, and hymns, including the beloved Christmas carol What Child Is This? For the tune of his new song, Dix chose the tune from the well known English folk song Greensleeves.
Greensleeves was a popular English folk song probably written in the 16th century. The lyrics of the song contain numerous references to a lady in green sleeves who cheated on her beloved. Popular legends claim that King Henry VIII composed the song for his mistress then wife Anne Boleyn, but there doesn’t seem to be much historical evidence for that theory. A more likely possibility is that the song was written about a loose young woman, possibly a prostitute, whose dress developed green sleeves because she frequently engaged in sexual activities in the great outdoors. Greensleeves could just as well have been called Grass Stains.
Ewwww!
Can you imagine the looks they gave each other in church when What Child Is This? was sung for the first time in church? It would be like a modern composer setting Christian lyrics to Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On. However, it’s my guess that in 1865 no one really thought much about the meaning behind Greensleeves and were simply happy to know the tune to the new Christmas carol.
The truth is, the tune itself is amoral. It’s neither bad or good. It’s simply music. And I, for one, am happy that the tune Greensleeves was redeemed in a way and now helps us worship Jesus.
Merry Christmas.
Click here to hear What Child is This? performed by Peter Hollens. Click Here to hear a version of Greensleeves performed by Tim Foust.
The original author of O Come, O Come Emmanuel is unknown, but it was most likely an 8th or 9th century monk or nun. Roughly 1000 years later, an Anglican priest named John Mason Neale discovered the song while reading Psalterium Cationum Catholicorum, an ancient book of Latin poetry and music.
Neale lived in the Madeira Islands near the continent of Africa, where he had started an orphanage, a school for girls, and a ministry to reclaim prostitutes. He spoke many languages, including Latin, and was able to translate O Come, O Come Emmanuel into English. He first played and sang it for the people he served, who were considered the lowest of society. It was so well received that Neale included the song in his 1851 collection titled Mediaeval Hymns and Sequences.
The song is written as if you are in the first century and you are awaiting the actual birth of the Messiah. An anticipation is there for what Jesus would bring. The original Latin text contains seven antiphons (verses) which work together to help the reader or singer focus on the coming Christmas. Most modern versions do not include all seven and rarely in the same order as the original. Here are those verses in order and their related meanings:
O Sapentia (Wisdom)
O Adonai (Hebrew for God)
O Radix Jesse (Root of Jesse)
O Clavis David (Key of David)
O Oriens (Dayspring)
O Rex genitium (King of the Gentiles)
O Emmanuel (God with Us)
You can see from the order above that the 8th and 9th century Christians who declared these verses sang them in the opposite order than most people today. Back then, they wouldn’t sing the “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” verse until Christmas Eve. They did this because it was the fulfillment of the song and of the expectation of the Messiah.
The original Latin text creates a reverse acrostic which is not fulfilled or seen until the last verse is sung. When the ancient worshipers finally sang this verse on Christmas Eve, the reverse acrostic was solved for all the see. The message it proclaimed was “I shall be with you tomorrow.”
Click here to hear For King and Country’s version of O Come, O Come Emmanuel
Click here for Anna Hawkins version in English and Hebrew filmed in Israel
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