humbly bent the knee and gave of their most precious possessions, so still should we.
The carol ends with a plea to “keep us in the narrow way” until we reach the place where Christ outshines the brightest star and we can sing our alleluias to Him in person.
Almost nineteen hundred years after the birth of Christ, Dix reminded his contemporaries that the gift of a Messiah was no less wondrous than when it happened. It was a gift that shone through the centuries, shone through Dix’s illness, and continues to shine today.
More than a century after William Dix’s death, we have no less reason to be glad than did those “men of old”—and they were very glad indeed!
When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy
.
M ATTHEW 2:9–10
Carol of the Bells
Hark how the bells,
sweet silver bells,
all seem to say,
throw cares away
.
Christmas is here,
bringing good cheer,
to young and old,
meek and the bold
.
Bountiful
C arol of the Bells” is proof that it isn’t only people who can be born again. Starting as a pagan chant, it has now become synonymous with Christmas, going through several transformations on the way.
Ukrainian music teacher and composer Mykola Leontovich took the original chant—the structure of which may have dated from prehistoric times—and used it to create the choral piece
Shchedryk
, or “Bountiful.”
The lyrics initially had nothing to do with Christmas.
Shchedryk
was a New Year song in a country where the New Year was traditionally celebrated in April. It told of a swallow flying into a home and darting from room to room, excitedly telling the family of bountiful times to come.
This promise of a brighter future may have struck a popular nationalist note for Ukrainians during a short-lived period of independence from the USSR.
Premiered in 1916,
Shchedryk
was first heard in the United States in 1921 when the Ukrainian National Chorus performed at Carnegie Hall. One listener, for whom the song must have had a special resonance, was Peter Wilhousky, a Ukrainian-American choral director.
Inspired by the “pealing” tones of the vocals, Wilhousky wrote new lyrics for the tune. Focusing on images of bells and carolers, Wilhousky turned
Shchedryk
into “Carol of the Bells,” a full-fledged Christmas carol.
That might seem an unusual journey for a musical piece, but it would be a familiar experience for many individuals and even cultures. For a long time, it was pagan—until a messenger came with news of freedom and the promise of better times to come. With just a little more tweaking—the sparrow with its happy news became Jesus’ birth at Christmastime—it came into the fold, becoming Christian through and through.
What could be more Christmas-like than a carol redeemed and reborn?
And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem
.
L UKE 2:38
Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella
Bring a torch, Jeanette, Isabella!
Bring a torch, to Bethlehem come!
Christ is born. Tell the folk of the village
Mary has laid him in a manger
.
Ah! Ah! beautiful is the mother!
Ah! Ah! beautiful is her Son!
“Come See the Christ Child!”
B ring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella,” is a whimsy! It is wishful thinking—but the wish behind it has to be one of the best ever. “Ah, that we had realized on that first night who had come among us!”
Jeanette and Isabella, according to the carol, were milkmaids who found an amazing sight in their master’s stables: a newborn child they knew immediately to be Jesus, the Christ. They ran out to spread the word to the rest of the village and came back bearing torches so everyone could see.
Even amid the excitement they shushed everyone, lest they disturb the child’s blessed
The carol ends with a plea to “keep us in the narrow way” until we reach the place where Christ outshines the brightest star and we can sing our alleluias to Him in person.
Almost nineteen hundred years after the birth of Christ, Dix reminded his contemporaries that the gift of a Messiah was no less wondrous than when it happened. It was a gift that shone through the centuries, shone through Dix’s illness, and continues to shine today.
More than a century after William Dix’s death, we have no less reason to be glad than did those “men of old”—and they were very glad indeed!
When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy
.
M ATTHEW 2:9–10
Carol of the Bells
Hark how the bells,
sweet silver bells,
all seem to say,
throw cares away
.
Christmas is here,
bringing good cheer,
to young and old,
meek and the bold
.
Bountiful
C arol of the Bells” is proof that it isn’t only people who can be born again. Starting as a pagan chant, it has now become synonymous with Christmas, going through several transformations on the way.
Ukrainian music teacher and composer Mykola Leontovich took the original chant—the structure of which may have dated from prehistoric times—and used it to create the choral piece
Shchedryk
, or “Bountiful.”
The lyrics initially had nothing to do with Christmas.
Shchedryk
was a New Year song in a country where the New Year was traditionally celebrated in April. It told of a swallow flying into a home and darting from room to room, excitedly telling the family of bountiful times to come.
This promise of a brighter future may have struck a popular nationalist note for Ukrainians during a short-lived period of independence from the USSR.
Premiered in 1916,
Shchedryk
was first heard in the United States in 1921 when the Ukrainian National Chorus performed at Carnegie Hall. One listener, for whom the song must have had a special resonance, was Peter Wilhousky, a Ukrainian-American choral director.
Inspired by the “pealing” tones of the vocals, Wilhousky wrote new lyrics for the tune. Focusing on images of bells and carolers, Wilhousky turned
Shchedryk
into “Carol of the Bells,” a full-fledged Christmas carol.
That might seem an unusual journey for a musical piece, but it would be a familiar experience for many individuals and even cultures. For a long time, it was pagan—until a messenger came with news of freedom and the promise of better times to come. With just a little more tweaking—the sparrow with its happy news became Jesus’ birth at Christmastime—it came into the fold, becoming Christian through and through.
What could be more Christmas-like than a carol redeemed and reborn?
And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem
.
L UKE 2:38
Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella
Bring a torch, Jeanette, Isabella!
Bring a torch, to Bethlehem come!
Christ is born. Tell the folk of the village
Mary has laid him in a manger
.
Ah! Ah! beautiful is the mother!
Ah! Ah! beautiful is her Son!
“Come See the Christ Child!”
B ring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella,” is a whimsy! It is wishful thinking—but the wish behind it has to be one of the best ever. “Ah, that we had realized on that first night who had come among us!”
Jeanette and Isabella, according to the carol, were milkmaids who found an amazing sight in their master’s stables: a newborn child they knew immediately to be Jesus, the Christ. They ran out to spread the word to the rest of the village and came back bearing torches so everyone could see.
Even amid the excitement they shushed everyone, lest they disturb the child’s blessed
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