Our family tradition revolved around the music of the Christmas. We sang it at church, at school in the special Christmas program, and all around the house.
I took piano lessons so I learned to play all the Christmas carols. I was in chorus in school so I learned to sing all the Christmas carols, at least the alto part. Of course, to learn the alto you have to hear and learn the melody of the song.
The songs made up of sounds and words are the songs of the birth of Christ. They were written by men, empowered by the Holy Spirit, for people to sing.
We sing, “Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright, ….Christ the Savior is born, Christ the Savior is born.” What a proclamation of the birth of the Savior, Jesus Christ.
We sing, “Gloria in excelsis Deo,” meaning Glory to God in the highest, and we are, in fact, giving God the highest praise.
We sing, “Joy to the world, the Lord is come, let earth receive her King,” and we are joining with the angels who sang to the shepherds on the hillside that night.
“O come, all ye faithful, Joyful and triumphant, O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem. Come and behold Him, Born the King of Angels! O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.”
Let me translate that into Okie English from Old English.
O come, all ye faithful. That means “Everyone who is full of faith in Christ Jesus, you come to Bethlehem. Come and see Him, the one who was born as the King of angels.”
O come, let us adore Him, let us love Him, let us sing give the glory and honor and praise to Christ the Lord, Savior, King of kings and Lord of lords, the majestic God of all creation.
O come, let us adore Him, let us praise Him, let us magnify His Holy Name, Jesus Christ the Lord.