It's the first weekend of Advent. I am going to use the weekends this year to pick out four (or five) well-known Christmas carols, or hymns, to tell their story and how they contribute to the celebration of Advent. I've always loved Christmas carols and hymns. The words within many of them are rich in telling the story of Advent - the Incarnation.
First, the story of the song "The First Noel", which is one of the longest Christmas songs:
The First Noel the angel did say
Was to certain poor shepherds
in fields as they lay;
In fields as they lay, keeping their sheep,
On a cold winter's night that was so deep.
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel,
Born is the King of Israel.
They looked up and saw a star
Shining in the east beyond them far,
And to the earth it gave great light,
And so it continued both day and night.
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel,
Born is the King of Israel.
And by the light of that same star
Three wise men came from country far;
To seek for a king was their intent,
And to follow the star wherever it went.
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel,
Born is the King of Israel.
This star drew nigh to the northwest,
Over Bethlehem it took it rest,
And there it did both stop and stay
Right over the place where Jesus lay.
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel,
Born is the King of Israel.
Then entered in those wise men three
Full reverently upon their knee,
and offered there in his presence
Their gold, and myrrh, and frankincense.
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel,
Born is the King of Israel.
Then let us all with one accord
Sing praises to our heavenly Lord;
That hath made heaven and earth of naught,
And with his blood mankind hath bought.
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel,
Born is the King of Israel.
This song first appeared in print in 1833, but it probably goes back another 300 years before the first printing. In all likelihood, it was a ballad that had its roots in a period of time when the majority of people did not either read or write. Not everyone agrees to where the song came from. The word "Noel" seems to indicate a French derivation, but the earliest appearances were in England where the word appeared as "Nowell". The word, regardless of where it arose, came from the Latin word "Natalis", from which we get the word "natal", which pertains to a shout of praise, or declaration of the joy of a birth.
The song joyfully proclaims the stories in Luke 2 - the Shepherds - and Matthew 2 - the Magi. The first part seems to take the record of Luke 2 and slightly alter what appeared before the shepherds:
Luke 2:8-9
And in the
same region, there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their
flock by night.
And an angel of the Lord
appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were
filled with great fear.
The song opens with the shepherds in the fields, but says "they looked up and saw a star shining in the east, beyond them far." And after the chorus continues with "And by the light of that same star, three wise men came from country far". Obviously, the author confused the two accounts and applied the vision of a star to both the shepherds and the wise men - a mistake in relaying the biblical account of Luke 2 when the Shepherds were surrounded by the heavenly glory of Angelic hosts.
Luke 2:13-14
And suddenly there was with
the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is
pleased!”
This Christmas carol arose from a time when reading and writing were limited, and so for most people, the error of interpreting the shepherds seeing a star would have largely gone unnoticed.
Historically, we know the song was often connected to the practice of burning a Yule log - a sizeable log brought into the house near Christmas to burn the entire 12 days of Christmas. Gradually the song found its way into religious services as the churches became more interested in celebrating Christmas.
It was first published in 1833, by William Sandys, a lawyer who collected old French and English folk songs. By the mid-1800s the Church of England made "The First Noel" a part of their Christmas liturgy. It's clear that the song represents the birth of Christ's coming - the announcement that came from heaven to both the common man - the shepherds - as well as the foreigner - the Magi. It is this proclamation: "Noel (Joy), Noel, Noel, Noel - born is the King of Israel" that we celebrate each year.
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