The simplified explanation of how black spirituals came about goes like this: slaves heard about Christianity after arriving in the US and, especially on the southern plantations, came up with sung versions of those teachings that gave them hope of a better life, expressed their longings for deliverance, and often served as rhythmic work songs. All of this is perfectly true but raises further questions: how did this “hearing about Christianity” come about? And why, if you think about it, would slaves adopt the religion of those who had enslaved them? Wouldn’t they see that religion as massive hypocrisy on the part of the slave owners? There’s also a tendency, which I have unfortunately shared, to think of spirituals as rather primitive. But that tendency is clearly mistaken: these are songs with deep meaning, displaying a breadth of Scriptural knowledge. To quote a modern African-American scholar and preacher, Thabiti Anyabwile, “Contrary to what might be supposed given the prohibition of education, reading and writing among slaves, early black Christians evidenced a rather sophisticated and clear theological corpus of thought.”
What did the angels mean in their words to the shepherds?
Several interesting (to me, anyway) questions to be answered about what the angels said to the shepherds on Christmas night.What one New Testament verse contains the two most common phrases found in Christmas music?
I’d have to be clear that I haven’t done a statistical study on this question, and I have no intention of doing so. But if you’ve done much singing or listening at all during the Christmas season you’ve come across these: “Glory to God in the highest” (also rendered as“In excelsis Deo”). and “Peace on earth, good will to men.” These are words recorded in the Gospel of Luke 2:14: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” Two very short statements with a depth of meaning. Here are some questions and answers to help tease out some of that significance:
So, what are “frankincense and myrrh”?
I think we all have a vague idea that these two items, brought by the Magi as gifts (along with gold) to the Christ child, have something to do with perfume or incense, but that’s probably about it. They’re very interesting, though, both in themselves and in their symbolism. So I do want to talk about all that, but first let me say here that the Magi did not come to the stable. All those manger scenes with them and their camels are just plain wrong. But without them the scene wouldn’t be nearly as colorful, would it? So I guess we won’t insist too loudly on scriptural accuracy in decorations.
Does “Personent Hodie” have anything to do with persons wearing hoodies?
Sorry. Couldn’t resist. And of course the answer is “no,” although hooded monks have probably sung this carol many times through the ages.
So what does the title mean, and (leading question here) are there any interesting facts about the song’s background? “Personent” means to resound or resonate, literally “to sound through.” “Hodie” shows up in many Latin Christmas carols; it simply means “today” or “this day.” So the title means something like “let resounding happen today.” Perhaps before I go any further I should provide the Latin verses and their literal English translation so that you’ll know what I’m talking about as I go through said background:
A Pair of Geographically-Named Carols from Sussex and Wessex
Was the Sussex carol written in Sussex, and the Wexford carol in Wexford?
With this question we are plunged back in to the delightful, charming, and sometimes weird world of traditional Christmas carols, and indeed of folk music in general. Since true folk music, and not someone’s attempt to write something that sounds like folk music, is passed down orally before being written, it’s always pretty much impossible to find the original version, if indeed there is such a thing.
What is distinctive about Ron Jeffers, composer of “Hanukkah Blessings”?
What’s distinctive about Ron Jeffers is that he’s a living composer who has produced a significant amount of original music and arrangements, all for sale as sheet music from various outlets including his own company, Earthsongs, and whose music is performed quite frequently if YouTube is anything to go by, and yet . . . he has no online presence whatsoever. No personal website. No blog, No (worst of all) Wikipedia entry! How is this possible? In fact, if I hadn’t looked under “Ronald Jeffers” instead of either “Ron Jeffers” or “Ronald Harrison Jeffers,” I wouldn’t have gotten much information beyond his date and place of birth and a list of his publications.
Parts of “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” seem awfully dark. Why is that?
In order to answer this question, we have to look at what was going on in the life of the lyrics’ author and in his times. Unlike many Christmas carols, we have a known author and date for the words. The words are from a poem of the same name by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow written in December of 1863, when the Civil War was still raging and the outcome anything but clear.
How Does “Ave Maria” Fit into the Christmas Story?
It fits in as the precipitating incident of the story as a whole, since Christmas revolves around the birth of Christ. “Hail, Mary!” is the greeting that the angel Gabriel gives to Mary when he appears to her and tells her that she will be the mother of the Messiah. This event is typically called the “annnunciation,” or announcement. Note that this event happens nine months before the birth of Christ, not at Christmas itself. A version of the angel’s words has been incorporated into the worship services of both the Roman Catholic and the Orthodox churches. Let me begin with a literal word-for-word translation from both languages involved, Latin and Russian.
Why Are Latkes–Fried Potato Pancakes–Especially Tied to Hanukkah?
Answer: It’s all about the oil. You may think that candles and their light are the quintessential symbols of this holiday, but the origin story of this Jewish holiday centers on an oil-fueled lamp with multiple branches, not a candle holder. And the number of lights on the Temple menorah vs. the number on a Hannukah one don’t match. You may want to read my post about the menorah vs. the Hanukkah lampstand to find out more on this subject.
It’s not surprising that the oil in the Hanukkah lamp led to the use of oil in other ways to celebrate the holiday. While latkes are a very popular Hanukkah food, in reality it’s fried foods in general that carry out one of the themes of this holiday. (There are several varieties of doughnuts that are also popular during Hanukkah, the most common being jelly-filled doughnuts called sufganiyot. As we know, doughnuts—real doughnuts, not those baked things—require a whole lotta oil.) Let me give you a brief overview of the historical roots of this holiday and then tell you more than you ever wanted to know about the origins of the humble latke.
How could three ships sail into Bethlehem when it’s located in the desert?
Like many other Christmas carols, the words to “I Saw Three Ships” don’t make much sense when you look closely at them. Had you ever asked yourself the question in the title? Probably not. Most of us don’t carry around a map of Palestine in our heads, so the absurdities of the lyrics aren’t obvious. I’m therefore including such a map below this post, which will serve to prove that indeed it would be impossible for the words of this carol to have any connection to reality at all. So what on earth are the words talking about?