Noel: Happy Birthday!

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Christmas is quickly approaching, Noel!

This Christmas carol, The First Noel, is definitely one of the older ones. Some say it goes back to the 15th century, others to the 17th. It was published in 1823 by William B. Sandys and Davies Gilbert added the lyrics to the beloved carol we still sing today. There are several different stories as to its origin so its beginning is a little uncertain. Nowell is the English word and Noel is the French meaning Christmas, taken from the Latin word natalis, meaning birth.

The First Noel
Refrain:
Noel! Noel! Noel! Noel!
Born is the King of Israel!

The first ‘Noel!’ the angels did say
Was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay;
In fields where they lay keeping their sheep,
On a cold winter’s night that was so deep.

For all to see there was 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.

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.

This star drew nigh to the northwest:
O’er Bethlehem it took its rest;
And there it did both stop and stay,
Right over the place where Jesus lay.

Then did they know assuredly
Within that house the King did lie;
One entered in then for to see,
And found the Babe in poverty.

Then entered in those wise men three,
Full rev’rently upon their knee,
And offered there, in his presence,
Both gold and myrrh, and frankincense.

Between an ox-stall and an ass
This Child there truly borned was;
For want of clothing they did him lay
All in the manger, among the hay.

Then let us all with one accord
Sing praises to our heavenly Lord
That hath made heaven and earth of nought,
And with His blood mankind hath bought.

If we in our time shall do well
We shall be free from death and hell,
For God hath prepared for us all
A resting-place in general.

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Believing to have risen in France during the 15th century, some say the French word actually means birthday. Carried across the channel to England by traveling troubadours, it arrived in 1823 and quickly became a favorite on Christmas Eve. Entire villages gathered for singing and would celebrate the bringing in of the Yule log. Then it was thought that carols were not to be sung inside the church house but outside since they were considered just popular religious songs.

Repeating “Noel, Noel” in the original refrain is comparable to the way we sing Happy Birthday today.

The First Noel tells the story of the birth of Christ. Beginning with the angels declaring His entrance into the world, it ends encouraging us to give praise to God for His creation and salvation. Declaring this Holy Child has come for everyone, there is no respect of persons in the Christmas story! “Let us all with one accord sing praises to our heavenly Lord!”

The ultimate promise is in the very last stanza as it sounds the hope of the place Jesus has gone to prepare for us if we live for Him.

Noel, Noel! Born is the King of Israel! Be sure and include Jesus Christ in your Christmas celebrations. There are many ways you can do that at your family gatherings. One way is to actually read from the Word the Christmas story. Luke 2 is a good place to read and a wonderful way to invite the Savior in to your home as you gather with your families. Put Jesus first!

Nannette Christmas

January is fast approaching! The Daniel Fast Devotional is available on AMAZON! This is a great devotional for ANY FAST. 21 days of devotions and three days of preparation plus recipes for every day! The holidays will soon be over and the first of the year is a great time to reflect, renew and restore your relationship with the Lord. Hurry on over to Amazon and check it out!

 

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The Sad Story behind “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”

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Surely this Christmas carol from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is one of our most beloved. It is a beautiful medley with even more hauntingly poetic lyrics. Longfellow also penned the words to such classics as Paul Revere’s Ride and The Song of Hiawatha.

When he wrote this Christmas treasure in 1864, the Civil War was still going strong, although Abraham Lincoln had just been reelected and there was hope that it would soon come to an end.

Henry and his wife Fanny were blessed with five children, Charles, Ernest, Alice, Edith and Allegra, and they made their home in Massachusetts.  In the summer of 1861, they were suffering a terrible heat wave and Fanny had decided to trim some of the heavy curls of their seven year old daughter, Edith. After she was finished, she wanted to preserve them and seal the locks in wax.

As she heated the wax to seal the envelope, some of it fell onto her thin dress and she did not notice it right away. The warm summer breeze blowing through the window set the dress on fire. Fanny went running into Henry’s study and he tried to put it out with a small rug. When that did not work, he threw his arms around her to put out the flames and sustained terrible burns on his hands, arms and face.

Fanny Longfellow died the next morning.

A merry Christmas, say the children, but that is no more for me.   ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Between his grief and the severe injuries, Henry was not even able to attend her funeral. Fanny was the love of his life. She was the Sweet Hesperus he wrote about in The Evening Star.  “O my beloved, my sweet Hesperus! My morning and my evening star of love!”

Tragedy wasn’t over for the Longfellow family. In late 1863, his eldest son Charles, now a Lieutenant, had been severely wounded and crippled in battle. Longfellow, who kept a journal, didn’t post anything for Christmas that year. Heartache was taking a toll on his family.

The following year, on Christmas Day, 1864, Longfellow penned the words to the familiar carol we all love. You can sense his despair turning to hope as he writes, “God is not dead nor does He sleep; The wrong shall fail, the right prevail!”

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till, ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime
A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;
“There is no peace on earth,” I said;
“For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead; nor doth he sleep!
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men!”

Because of Christmas, we have an eternal Hope that will overcome the heartbreak we suffer here!

Hope prevails! Longfellow heard the bells on that Christmas Day so long ago in spite of the grief and misfortunes that had plagued his family for several years.

Hope was born one Christmas morning! “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2.

This song is so precious to me; the words seem to leap off the page when you get to the last stanza! Aren’t you glad to know your God is not dead; He does not sleep! He has everything under control and we can rest in His peace.

Do not let this Christmas season pass without stopping to pause and give thanks for that Hope. Take time to talk to the Savior who came so that we might be blessed with peace, joy and righteousness in our lives today. Even if our world is crumbling around us, we take comfort in knowing that all is well with our soul. He is our Hope!

Nannette Christmas

When the holiday gathering goes horribly wrong

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It happens.

The anticipation of the approaching holiday puts a desire for perfection inside even the most reluctant host or hostess.

You dream about all of the sights and smells and the family around the table.

You clean. Everything. From the salad bowl to the toilet bowl and even the fish bowl, all things must be presentation ready.

You pour over Pinterest recipes. Pinterest decoration suggestions. Pinterest DIY table favors. Pinterest wreaths. Pinning, pinning, pinning.

The menu planning begins. The grocery list grows and grows and grows…

Finally the day arrives and family and friends begin to trickle in. Everything is going great, the compliments are flowing and you can literally feel the love.

Then it happens. Disaster.

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(This beautiful pie was made by my favorite missionary in Tallinn, Estonia, Ingunn Bakke Turner! This was taken at my first Thanksgiving overseas and her very first made-from-scratch apple pie. Isn’t it gorgeous!)

What is your worst Thanksgiving faux pas, catastrophe or embarrassment?

Did you burn the bird? I admit to overcooking the turkey on more than one occasion. Everyone has family stories of drama and can’t get-alongs in their family gatherings. Let  me share one of our family favorites:

This was The Sweetheart’s first Thanksgiving with my family and we were gathered at my paternal grandmother’s house. Cousins were oozing out the woodwork, my aunts were busy being ordered around by my grandmother and everyone else was just trying to stay out of the way.

The Sweetheart found a spot in the living room that he considered safe alongside my Uncle Joe, a quiet man of few words. When he did speak you wanted to listen to this wonderful man of God, who has since gone on to be with the Lord.

Dinner wasn’t far from being served and my grandmother wanted everything to go just so. All of a sudden we heard a tremendous crashing from the kitchen as dishes came tumbling out of the cabinet when someone reached up to get some plates. Along with the crash we heard a blood-curdling “JESUS!!!!!” as my grandmother, God rest her beautiful soul, reacted to the unfolding tragedy. But it wasn’t just one “JESUS!” it was a whole lot of “JESUS!” and the ensuing chaos that goes along with such a mess.

My poor Aunt, (she is free to correct me if I get the details incorrect), was just trying to clean up but Mamaw couldn’t calm down. It sounded much worse than it was and The Sweetheart was terrified. Everyone had jumped up from their coveted spots and hurried to see what all the excitement was about.

Except Uncle Joe. He never moved, never got excited, never even looked up from his reading material. He was cool like that.

The memory didn’t die there though. Every year, Mamaw made sure she had a cassette tape recorder documenting our entire get-together.  After we all left she would then send that tape to my Aunt Judy in Texas who didn’t get to be with us very often.

So yes, you are way ahead of me. All of the drama was recorded for our listening pleasure. For the rest of our natural lives.

I could tell you about the church Thanksgiving dinner where I walked up the steps of the church carrying my Mother’s prized pineapple upside-down cake. As I crossed the threshold, I tripped and the cake went flying and was no longer a pineapple upside down cake but a pineapple right side up!

I was mortified but I had provided plenty of laughs for all of the men just sitting on their behinds with nothing to do. I’m cool like that.

How about YOUR family gatherings?

Tell us about your ruined meals, your family fights or what you left in or out of the turkey. We want to know! (Seriously, it makes us all feel better about our own mistakes!)

This year? We are gathered in Tennessee and my daughter-in-law, Rachel, is the hostess with the mostest. Korey and Alicia have been cooking at my house and Kristopher is helping to entertain Norah Jayne. Little Lark is busy keeping away from Eisley Quinn. Rachel’s mother, Tonya, a chef herself, is in charge of the turkey and the stuffing. It is going to be amazing. Oh, and Kyle and The Sweetheart are somewhere supervising…

Blessings to you all on this family holiday. I pray you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and may your drama be subdued.

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