ofIt’s that time of year where the “Year in Review”s are gathering speed. This year is going to be a blinder, isn’t it? Print media, social media, television . . . all are having their take on the best and the worst of just about everything. And if you are like me, you could certainly use a bit of reminding about the good, because there were some tough times this past year, both on the world stage and personally.




I am beginning to appreciate the Old Testament more these days, because of all the hidden gems buried within what can sometimes be, for lack of a better term, boring recitations. I had just finished reading about the Jews rebuilding of the walls in Jerusalem under Nehemiah’s leadership (which really wasn’t boring because they had a lot of people who wanted to kill them, so they had to lay brick with one hand and hold onto a weapon with the other). Try doing that! That was tough sledding. Anyway, they persevered and completed the wall and then came together to celebrate and thank God for His protection during this tough time.

However, they didn’t just look at the 52 days of hardship they encountered while rebuilding the walls. They went all the way back to creation—then through the exodus. They admitted the sins and rebelliousness of their ancestors which had led to their captivity—and then God’s subsequent great mercy by saving this “remnant.” (That’s the Reader’s Digest version.)

But I like that strategy. So often at the end of the year, I just look back at that year. But some years it’s a bit tougher to see (or admit) God’s faithfulness. Some years He feels a bit (or a lot) more distant. This year I followed the lead of that faithful remnant of Jews. I took pencil and paper and went back to the beginning. I reminded myself, first and foremost, that He is the God of creation and that He created me. That He brought me to a certain family in a certain land. I remembered some of God’s faithfulness, His protection, His guidance, and His goodness throughout my life. I also remembered those times of rebellion and His subsequent grace and mercy.

I didn’t write everything He has ever done because I couldn’t remember everything, but I did write down those that He brought to mind this year. Then as the year progresses, I am sure He will bring other things to mind, and I will add those to my story. Then next December 31, I will read it again, and be reminded of His faithfulness and mercy. Not a bad way to end a year. Not a bad way at all.

Okay, so I said I didn’t have a favorite among the three, BUT . . .

“Mary Did You Know” is the most modern of my three song choices. It was written in 1984 by Mark Lowry (a Christian comedian, singer, and songwriter) when he was asked by Jerry Falwell to “write the program for their next Living Christmas tree.”

He agreed and as he began writing the speaking parts he thought a lot about Mary and as he says:

“As my mind went back to the manger scene, I began to think about the power, authority and majesty she cradled in her arms. Those little lips were the same lips that had spoken worlds into existence. All of those things were contained in the young child lying quietly on her bosom.”



He then started to think about all the questions he would like to ask her if he could sit down with her, and those questions became his song.

It is a beautiful song, with lyrics that I think all of us have pondered at one time or another. But as Lowry’s mother said,”If anyone on earth knew for sure that Jesus was virgin born - Mary knew!”

The entire interview with Mark Lowry is fascinating to read, and I have included the link below should you wish to visit and read more.

I have also attached the Pentatonix version which I believe to be the most beautiful rendition of the song.

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“Story behind the song: ‘Mary did you know?’ The St. Augustine Record:staugustine.com. 28 Nov. 2014. web.

https://www.staugustine.com/article/20141128/lifestyle/311289974
(Copy and paste into a browser.)

I am sure I am not alone in thinking “O Holy Night” is one of the most beautiful Christmas carols ever. It is one of those songs where less is more. One of the most beautiful renditions I ever heard was by a music pastor who sang a solo and with minimal instrumentation. The chorus “Fall on your knees” is so dynamic that it is impossible not to do so.

But this song’s story has a very interesting history.

In 1847, Placide Cappeau de Roquemaure, a full time wine seller and a part time church attender and poet was asked by his parish priest to write a poem for the upcoming Christmas mass.



Using the gospel of Luke as his reference, he worked on it while traveling to Paris and by the time he arrived “Cantique de Noel” had been written. He liked it so much that he thought it should be a song, so he asked his friend Adolphe Charles Adams to help. Adams was well known world-wide for his orchestral compositions and his ballets, but reports say “the lyrics that his friend Cappeau gave him . . . challenged the composer in a fashion unlike anything he received from London, Berlin, or St. Petersburg.”

The irony is that Adams was a Jew, and while he didn’t believe in Jesus as the Messiah nor did he celebrate Christmas, he was so moved that he worked hard to “marry an original score to Cappeau’s beautiful words.”

The song was immediately accepted and its use spread throughout France until, eventually, it was discovered that Cappeau had left the church and joined the socialist movement. From then on the song was deemed “unfit for church services” and banned from the Catholic church in France. However, popular appeal kept it alive, and after a decade American writer John Sullivan Dwight introduced it to America, for two reasons: first, because of the beauty of the song itself, and second, because the third verse talks about loving one another and the chains of oppression ceasing. Dwight was a ardent abolitionist.

Some historical accounts say that on Christmas Eve 1871 during the Franco-Prussian War, one weaponless French soldier left the safety of the trenches and started singing the first verse of “Cantique De Noel” and was soon joined by a German soldier who sang a verse from Martin Luther’s "From Heaven Above to Earth I Come.” All fighting then stopped for the next 24 hours.

Finally, “O Holy Night” is believed to be the first song to be played over the radio, for on Christmas Eve in 1906, university professor Reginald Fessenden (who worked with Thomas Edison) was working on what would soon be known as radio waves. On this Christmas Eve, Fessenden, playing with his new “broadcast” equipment, decided to read Luke’s version of the nativity story to whoever might be able to hear him, and then he played “O Holy Night” on his violin.

Below is Josh Groban's versin of the song. I hope you enjoy it.
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“The Amazing Story of ‘O Holy Night.’” Beliefnet. Web.

What is Christmas without Christmas music? Though there are some tunes that can grate on the nerves (such as one about an elderly relative coming to an unfortunate demise via a reindeer), many are uplifting and beautiful.

In the three Saturdays leading up to Christmas, I thought I would share the stories behind three of my favorite Christmas songs. Though I enjoy them all equally, it only seemed appropriate to begin with “Carol of the Bells” because it was never meant to be a Christmas carol.

However, it is probably one of the most recognizable tunes of the season even though most of us couldn’t recite more than a line or two of the lyrics. In fact, many of the most popular versions are strictly instrumental.

Originally, the song was a Ukranian “winter well-wishing” folk song, written in 1916 by Mykola Leontovich.  “The [original] song tells the tale of a swallow flying into a household to proclaim the plentiful year that the family will have. The song’s title is derived from the Ukrainian word ‘shchedryj,’ which means ‘bountiful.’”

The song became part of the Ukrainian National Chorus’s repertoire as they toured Europe and North and South America, performing more than one thousand concerts. Americans first heard the tune on October 5, 1921 at a sold-out performance at Carnegie Hall.

American choir director Peter Wilhousky thought the work sounded like bells, so in 1936 he wrote new lyrics to convey that imagery. Because one of the lines reads, “Merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas,” (this is usually the line most of us can sing) it has become a Christmas staple and one of the most recognizable, loved, and iconic Christmas carols.

In fact, it is so popular that almost every performer or band has recorded their own version, from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir to Metallica. So far I haven’t heard anyone stray so far afield as to make a real mess of it.

I have included the classic Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s instrumental version and then the beautiful a cappella arrangement by Pentatonix.   

Enjoy.

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“‘Carol of the Bells’ wasn’t originally a Christmas song.” Rice University News and Media Relations: Office of Public Affairs. 13 Dec. 2004. Web.