Founded by Bryant Wright, Right from the Heart is a
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O Holy Night Dec 24 2009
"And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." - Luke 2:10-11
Every Christmas Eve service, the members of our church are blessed to hear our Worship Pastor sing “O Holy Night.” This has become such a tradition at our church that the thought of a Christmas Eve service without it is, well, hard to imagine!
Here are some interesting tidbits:
• On Christmas Eve in 1906, Reginald Fessenden, broadcast the first radio program, where he played "O Holy Night" on the violin. Therefore, the carol is the first piece of music to be broadcast on radio.
• "O Holy Night" ("Cantique de Noël") was set to music by Adolphe Adam in 1847 to the lyrics of a French poem written by Placide Cappeau, a wine merchant and poet. Cappeau had been asked to write a Christmas poem by a parish priest.
• And here is something I’ve never been able to figure out. Since “O Holy Night” was composed in French, why does the English translation rhyme?
The music is so overpowering in its beauty that we sometimes fail to notice the perfection of the lyrics. Read these lyrics, a magnificent poem, and contemplate the wonder and blessing of Jesus’s birth.
Oh holy night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of our dear Savior’s birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
Till He appear'd and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees!
Oh, hear the angels' voices!
Oh night divine, Oh night when Christ was born;
Oh night divine, Oh night, Oh night Divine.
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4 Comments
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Yes, report it NevermindA Christmas poem. My gift to you.
Christ Climbed Down
CHRIST climbed down
from His bare Tree
this year
and ran away to where
there were no rootless Christmas trees
hung with candycanes and breakable stars
Christ climbed down
from His bare Tree
this year
and ran away to where
there were no gilded Christmas trees
and no tinsel Christmas trees
and no tinfoil Christmas trees
and no pink plastic Christmas trees
and no gold Christmas trees
and no black Christmas trees
and no powderblue Christmas trees
hung with electric candles
and encircled by tin electric trains
and clever cornball relatives
Christ climbed down
from His bare Tree
this year
and ran away to where
no intrepid Bible salesmen
covered the territory
in two-tone cadillacs
and where no Sears Roebuck creches
complete with plastic babe in manger
arrived by parcel post
the babe by special delivery
and where no televised Wise Men
praised the Lord Calvert Whiskey
Christ climbed down
from His bare Tree
this year
and ran away to where
no fat handshaking stranger
in a red flannel suit
and a fake white beard
went around passing himself off
as some sort of North Pole saint
crossing the desert to Bethlehem
Pennsylvania
in a Volkswagon sled
drawn by rollicking Adirondack reindeer
with German names
and bearing sacks of Humble Gifts
from Saks Fifth Avenue
for everybody's imagined Christ child
Christ climbed down
from His bare Tree
this year
and ran away to where
no Bing Crosby carollers
groaned of a tight Christmas
and where no Radio City angels
iceskated wingless
thru a winter wonderland
into a jinglebell heaven
daily at 8:30
with Midnight Mass matinees
Christ climbed down
from His bare Tree
this year
and softly stole away into
some anonymous Mary's womb again
where in the darkest night
of everybody's anonymous soul
He awaits again
an unimaginable and impossibly
Immaculate Reconception
the very craziest
of Second Comings
If you think this comment should be removed because it is mean spirited, compromises someone's privacy, or is SPAM, then let us know.
Yes, report it NevermindOur family went to the children's service at our church this afternoon, because we had our two year old grandson with us. The service was arranged around a live recreation of the Nativity scene, and had the congregation involved by singing from different hymnns as the story of the firt Christmas unfolded. Our 2 year old had been playing with the Nativiy set in our home all week, and he immediately became entranced by the "live" story unfolding before him. When we got home he immediately ran to the set and began playing with the figures with a new excitement and understanding of the story. I was both warmed and amazed at his "comprehension of it all". Although I know that the real meaning was lost on him, the joy and beauty of the service was not.
I hope you all have a blessed and restful Christmas surrounded by loved ones.
If you think this comment should be removed because it is mean spirited, compromises someone's privacy, or is SPAM, then let us know.
Yes, report it NevermindIt has been a lovely evening going first to my husband's church and then to my church with our grown son to sing carols at both and to take communion and to hold candles in each sanctuary to light the darkness of the evening to symbolize how Jesus is the light of the world. We did not hear "O Holy Night" but we felt it.
Merry Christmas RFTH! Your devotions are like getting a Christmas gift every day of the year.
Merry Christmas to Grant and all the other regulars on this site! Be blessed with a peaceful Christmas Day with your loved ones.
If you think this comment should be removed because it is mean spirited, compromises someone's privacy, or is SPAM, then let us know.
Yes, report it NevermindMerry Christmas everyone. I know there are some who will not have a blessed Christmas and my heart and prayers go out to them. It has been a wonderful year in the Lord.