What's In A Song?

It is that time of year - Christmas - and as such the radios are alive with Christmas music, in fact Christmas music crept in far too soon for my liking, but that is neither here nor there. As Christmas music pervades our auditory senses, it has been asked on various blogs "what is your favorite Christmas song/carol?"

When I was younger my favorite was "Away in Manger." I am not entirely sure why, but it may have had something to do with the fact that my Nan would sing it to me at bedtime, or just that it was a sweet melody. It was 12 years ago!!!

1995 was our first Christmas stateside, and our first Christmas to experience Christmas Eve services, and not just Christmas Eve services at one church, but at two different churches. All that I remember is that we sang Christmas Songs continuously, and in that one night they lost their appeal, they lost their mystery of the Christmas of centuries ago. I actually remember sitting in Herman Middle School gym (where one of the churches my dad worked at met at the time), and thinking what a hoax. (It probably didn't help matters that it was our second service of the night, and considering our track record of leaving church, I knew it would be some time before we could return to our home and celebrate Christmas). The people were crowded in, dressed up for Christmas, and singing songs - singing songs about the birth of a saviour, how a baby was laid in a manger, how the night was silent, and that all came to adore him and give him praise; yet what did it mean beyond that night, beyond Christmas morning. We sang "Away in a Manger" that night, and it didn't help that it was sang slightly different to how I had grown up singing it, but I do know that in the midst of my rebellion of all that was perceived American, I vowed to not sing those songs at Christmas time.

Thankfully I've come a long way since that Christmas of '95, and while I do still share some hesitancy over the Christmas season - call me a cynic, that's fine, and some reluctance to sing the carols and songs, when I remove the hustle and bustle from the moment and really listen to the words, I treasure the story that they relate.

Now I have two songs that would be in my fave list, "Breath of Heaven" is number one, and "O Holy Night" is second. In a later post I will expand on "Breath of Heaven," but for "O Holy Night" what I enjoy about it is how it crescends, and reaches the point where the lyrics go "...fall on your knees" - what else but that action can you do when you are truly cognizant of what was laying in the manger. Today we have no excuse to know who the baby was, and what he became, and what he did and continues to do, and therefore, what choice do we have but to fall on our knees and cry that he is holy.

Have you ever read the final verse of the song:

Truly He taught us to love one another,
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother.
And in his name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
With all our hearts we praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord!
Then ever, ever praise we, His power and glory ever more proclaim!
His power and glory ever more proclaim!

I really do wonder if those that sing these songs know what they are singing!!

Christmas Countdown: 4 days!!!