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What Star Is This, With Beams So Bright The Gospel of Matthew 2:9-11 9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it … Continue readingWhat Star Is This, With Beams So Bright
This Endris Night The earliest manuscript containing this traditional carol is from 1475 in the period of the later reign of Henry VI and the beginning of the reign of Henry VII. “This endris night” is a term from the … Continue readingThis Endris Night
Wonder Tidings A 15th Century poem describing the splendor of the Incarnation was set to music by composer Stephen Paulus and titled Wonder Tidings. What tidings bringest thou, messenger, Of Christ’s birth this jolly day? A babe is born of … Continue readingWonder Tidings
The Holly and the Ivy Appearing in print in the early 19th Century, this traditional British carol uses foliage as symbols for Christ and the Virgin Mary. The holly resembles the Crown of Thorns that Jesus was forced to wear … Continue readingThe Holly and the Ivy
I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm The snow is snowing and the wind it is blowing But I can weather the storm What do I care how much it may storm I’ve got my love to keep me … Continue readingI’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm
Pork and Sauerkraut Happy New Year! I can’t think of anything more traditional for New Year’s Day than good ol’ Pork and Sauerkraut! Where I grew up was on the border between the outskirts of Philadelphia and the eastern reaches … Continue readingPork and Sauerkraut
Ring Out, Wild Bells Alfred, Lord Tennyson, wrote an elegy to Arthur Henry Hallam in 1850. His sister’s fiance, Arthur, had died young and he was mourning his passing with the publication of In Memoriam. As with many of his … Continue readingRing Out, Wild Bells
Gloucestershire Wassail In the English countryside, each village and region would have their own traditions regarding wassailing. This version is noted as early as 1813 in the Times Telescope. As described in the song, a band of wassailers would take … Continue readingGloucestershire Wassail
In The Bleak Midwinter In 1872, Scribner’s Monthly published a Christmas poem by Christina Rossetti placing the Nativity in a snowy landscape familiar to most American readers. The poem was set to the music of Gustav Holst in the 1906 … Continue readingIn The Bleak Midwinter
Gaudete The title of this song is from the Latin word for “rejoice”. It is thought to have been composed in the 16th Century. Gaudete, gaudete! Christus est natus Ex Maria virgine, gaudete! Tempus adest gratiæ Hoc quod optabamus, Carmina … Continue readingGaudete