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| A ghetto Nativity Scene from theclj.posterous |
I'm no Bible scholar, but I do know something about the Christian calendar. I've actually learned these things since working at a church as a
-Good Christian Men rejoice with heart and soul and voice! Give ye heed to what we say! News! News! Jesus Christ is BORN TODAY
-JOY TO THE WORLD, THE LORD IS COME let Earth receive her king
-Noel Noel BORN is the king of Israel
As you can see [because I bolded them] these lyrics are appropriate for the moment [or shortly thereafter] after Christ is born! It's just that simple! Here's something I BET you didn't know. The time before Christmas, when the stores start having their crazy holiday sales and people start putting up trees and lights? That's called ADVENT [and we're not talking about Final Fantasy VII Advent Children]. It's a four week period in which Christians WAIT for Christ to come. Advent has its own set of songs, but nobody sings those because they're not as fun :(
Anyway, there are a couple more things I want to say before I log off for the night. Did you know that there are 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS!? Well sure you did, because EVERYONE has heard this song:
Bet you didn't even realize that, did you!?
But what comes after the 12 Days of Christmas???
I'll tell you what: EPIPHANY!
And this is where you get to sing all of the songs about the Star of Bethlehem, the 3 Wise Men, and all of that wonderful stuff. You could sing We Three Kings
Or maybe William Dawson's Behold the Star...
or maybe even Marques L.A. Garrett's "The Savior's Birth"
Either way, you get to sing "Christmas" songs all the way into January!
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2 comments:
The funny thing is that I was JUST discussing some of these things with my family on Sunday. I never did think about the fact that those songs make sense AFTER Christmas. I do understand why most people sing them before Christmas. I mean, we already know he was born (and, therefore, came). Why not sing them as an appreciation for the holiday to come?
Appreciation for the holiday to come is what Advent is for. Advent has its own set of songs and liturgy.
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