Any Similar Revival

Silent night, holy night,

All is calm, all is bright

'Round yon virgin,

Mother and child.

Holy infant, so tender and mild.

Sleep in heavenly peace

Sleep in heavenly peace.

Silent Night, holy night,

Shepherds quake at the sight,

Glories stream from heaven afar,

Heav'nly hosts sing alleluia–

Christ the savior is born,

Christ the savior is born.

Silent night, holy night!

Son of God, love's pure light.

Radiant beans from Thy holy face

With the dawn of redeeming grace–

Jesus, Lord at Thy birth,

Jesus, Lord at Thy birth.

By Franz Gruber.

This is probably the most Christmasy song ever. I've saved it for Christmas Eve, because that's my favorite part of Christmas, the night before. I love this song for so many reasons. I learned to sing it in German in high school. It was my grandma's favorite Christmas carol. It has the loveliest harmony. It creates a place of quiet and stillness around it, even in the midst of crazy last-minute shopping. It's all about those first moments of the Incarnation, those tired, tender moments.

Happy Christmas Eve, my friends! Celebrate the dawn of redeeming grace!

Oh holy night! The stars are brightly shining,

It is the night of our dear Saviour's birth.

Long lay the world in sin and error pining,

Till He appear'd and the soul felt its worth.

A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angels' voices!

Oh night divine, Oh night when Christ was born;

Oh night divine, Oh night, Oh night Divine.

Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming,

With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.

So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,

Here come the wise men from Orient land.

The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger;

In all our trials born to be our friend.

He knows our need, to our weakness is no stranger,

Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend!

Behold your King, Behold your King.

Truly He taught us to love one another;

His law is love and His gospel is peace.

Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother;

And in His name all oppression shall cease.

Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,

Let all within us praise His holy name.

Christ is the Lord! O praise His Name forever,

His power and glory evermore proclaim.

His power and glory evermore proclaim.

Edited to add: Last year, all I had up were the words! That's ok, they're pretty good words. Recordings of this song seem to go one of two ways. Either they are completely shrill and overblown and make me cringe, or they melt my heart. I don't have a favorite version, though. It's always on the radio, and we sing it every year. This is definitely a harmony song for me–no way can I hit those high notes! That first verse gets me. Here we are, "in sin and error pining," waiting and weary, hopelessly longing for something. And then he appeared, and "the soul felt its worth." Wow. Worth God becoming a man, a baby. Worth the manger, the flight to Egypt, the temptation in the desert, the crowds, the mocking of Pharisees, the crucifixion. Worth that, can you imagine? If that doesn't bring a thrill of hope, what else possibly could? Fall on your knees! It is the only proper response to such love, to such sacrifice. He knows our need–he was born to be our friend. It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Let all within us praise His holy name.

In the bleak midwinter,
frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron,
water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter, long ago.

Our God, heaven cannot hold Him,
nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away
when He comes to reign.
In the bleak midwinter
a stable place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.

Angels and archangels
may have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim
thronged the air;
But His mother only,
in her maiden bliss,
Worshipped the beloved with a kiss.

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 give Him: give my heart.

Words by Christina Rosetti

I chose this carol today because today is the shortest day of the year, truly a "bleak midwinter" sort of day. I don't pay much attention to the astronomical calendar which asserts that winter began only yesterday. In a favorite version of this song, on the CD Noel, the words are a bit different. At the end of the third verse, it is "worshipped the beloved with a seemly kiss." I love that word, seemly. It is a seemly choice there–nothing else is so appropriate. I love the melody of this song, and the sense of quiet that surrounds it.  Don't you love the metaphors in this carol? Water like a stone. And the immensity of the situation, wrapped up in a single verse, the second one: In the bleak midwinter, a stable place sufficed. Snow had fallen, snow on snow. That line reminds me of Wallace Stevens Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird:  It was snowing and it was going to snow.

The last verse: have you ever had this happen, when you're at a party, and suddenly you realize that you were supposed to bring a gift, and you didn't? So you're looking through your pockets and purse, mentally tallying up the contents of your car, toying with the idea of a "promise" kind of gift, like "I'll take you out to lunch this week," –and nothing is working? That is the feeling I get from the last verse. What on EARTH can I give him? Oh wait. I know. I'll give him my heart.

Edited to add: This year, I have two new favorites for this song. Sarah McLachlan's song is gorgeous, and I love hearing James Taylor sing this song as well. Snow had fallen, snow on snow on snow.

Ding dong! merrily on high in heav'n the bells are ringing:
Ding dong! verily the sky is riv'n with Angel singing.
Gloria, Hosanna in excelsis!
Gloria, Hosanna in excelsis!

E'en so here below, below, let steeple bells be swungen,
And "Io, io, io!" by priest and people sungen.
Gloria, Hosanna in excelsis!
Gloria, Hosanna in excelsis!

Pray you, dutifully prime your Matin chime, ye ringers;
May you beautifully rime your Evetime Song, ye singers.
Gloria, Hosanna in excelsis!
Gloria, Hosanna in excelsis!

Yes, any song where the steeple bells be swungen is a good song in my book! This is a rollicking little tune, a call to celebration and rejoicing. Bells are ringing, people are singing, the ringers are chiming, angels are singing–it's a party. I love the image of the dual celebration. The angels are in the heavens, verily so, and here below on earth, we ring the church bells, we sing, and we rejoice. Gloria, gloria. I like two versions particularly: the Chieftains on The Bells of Dublin, and the Tavener Consort, Choir, and Players. It's an old carol, as one can surmise from the language, and these two versions do justice to the history.

Angels we have heard on high

Sweetly singing o'er the plains

And the mountains in reply

Echoing their joyous strains.

CHORUS:

Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

Shepherds, why this jubilee?

Why your joyous strains prolong?

What the gladsome tidings be

Which inspire your heavenly song?

Come to Bethlehem and see

Him Whose birth the angels sing;

Come, adore on bended knee,

Christ the Lord, the newborn King.

This is a triumphant, marching sort of song that waxes poetic in the gloria chorus. I have always loved the images of the mountains rejoicing, the rocks crying out, the trees clapping their hands that abound in the Bible. The third line of the first verse thrills me: the mountains echoing back the angels' glory. When I was in New Zealand, I learned a thing or two about mountains. They are immense and awe-inspiring. They look like they will last forever, but we learned that even while they are being pushed higher by the plates of the earth, the wind is constantly wearing them back down. Mountains will not last forever, but the Word of the Lord will. The message that the angels gave to the shepherds will. Come adore on bended knee, Christ the Lord, the newborn King.

Mountains, Arthur's Pass, New Zealand