The Sounds of Christmas

I’m dreaming of a white Christmas. Just kidding, we have so much snow on the ground and more on the way! I do love that song though. Joy to the World,  Go tell it on the Mountain, The first Noel, It came upon the midnight clear, Silent Night…..I decided to do a little digging and find out some  more information about these songs of christmas that we love and listen to year after year.

Joy to the world! This is my favorite Christmas song.  What greater Joy has ever come to earth greater than the Lord Jesus? However, as I began to do some research I found that Joy to the World isn’t even a Christmas song! It was written about the second coming of Christ, not His birth. It makes sense now when I read the words, let every heart prepare him room or he rules the world with truth and grace, and makes the nation’s prove…..It is a hymn glorifying the triumphant return of Christ, not a celebration of his birth. It was written by Isaac Watts.

Next, I looked up Go tell it on the mountain. This song was penned by African slaves that came from the fertile ground of their suffering. The lifestyle they possessed did not permit writing down of songs or music. Their music tended to rely on rhythmic songs, easy to sing while working and containing messages powerful enough to get them to the end of the day. Go tell it on the mountain is a simple recounting of the nativity story that includes the star, shepherds, the Manger and baby. It brings the assurance of salvation.

God rest ye merry gentlemen. I have never understood this song. It made absolutely no sense to me. Who in the world are merry gentlemen? This is what I found. The “merry gentlemen” were homeowners in the city. They hired watchmen to watch over their homes and the city while they slept. These watchmen walked up and down the streets with lanterns calling out “All’s well”. They were reassuring the gentlemen of the city that they were watching over everything and Satan couldn’t attack them, so they could rest in peace. Now, the song makes perfect sense to me. These watchmen were possibly the world’s first Christmas carolers!

Oh how I love these songs of the Christmas season. I play them continuously in the house as well as my car. Yesterday, my daughter and I spent a very enjoyable and memorable day. She was baking cookies and I was sewing for my grand daughter. The fire was crackling and there was a literal blizzard outside. The Christmas carols played all day. It was such a peaceful  and lovely day.

We decided we love those old songs the best, the ones written so long ago. These songs bring such feelings of nostalgia this time of year. Some of the new and contemporary songs just fail to move me. Grandma got run over by a reindeer? Seriously?