The Top 40 Traditions of Christmas: The Story Behind the Nativity, Candy Canes, Caroling, and All Things Christmas by David McLaughlan Read Free Book Online Page A
Authors: David McLaughlan
theologian and writer, lived in a time when songs sung in church were nearly always based on the psalms or other Bible verses. His song “Joy to the World” was part of a collection of songs based on biblical writings. It was titled
The Psalms of David: Imitated in the Language of the New Testament and Applied to the Christian State and Worship.
Lowell Mason’s music “Antioch” is believed to have been based on a piece by classical composer George Frideric Handel.
At the end of the twentieth century, “Joy to the World” held the record for being the most-published Christmas hymn in the United States.
Where?
Isaac Watts was friendly with Sir Thomas Abney and his wife, Lady Mary. Their manor house in Stoke Newington, in England, had extensive gardens, which Watts used to enjoy.
After Sir Thomas’s death, Watts moved into Abney House. He lived there with Sir Thomas’s widow and daughter until his death later that year. But there had been many years for sitting in the grounds of Abney House, wandering by the river, watching wildlife, and writing. The Abney House gardens were the place of inspiration for many of his works, including “Joy to the World.”
Lowell Mason did his composing in Boston, where he was a banker and a choirmaster.
When?
The Psalms of David: Imitated in the Language of the New Testament and Applied to the Christian State and Worship
,
including “Joy to the World,” was published in 1719.
Lowell Mason took the original tune and adapted it, borrowing heavily from Handel, into the tune we are familiar with 120 years later.
At the age of forty-five, Watts’s ill health led him to cut back on his preaching duties. Not wishing that his increased free time should be wasted, he set himself the daunting task of setting the psalms to verse. “Joy to the World” was probably written during this period.
Why?
Despite being one of the world’s most popular Christmas hymns, “Joy to the World” is not, in fact, about Christmas or the birth of Christ. The “joy” that Isaac Watts had in mind was to be when Jesus
returned
to the world—in other words, the Second Coming!
Watts, the son of a nonconformist English preacher, went on to become a nonconformist preacher himself. The return of his Savior to this world would surely have been the greatest joy he could have conceived.
Watts’s prolific writing output probably stemmed from a childhood habit of rhyming nearly continually. When he was once punished for it, he apologized—in rhyme.
22
“Merry Christmas”
Who?
Despite its being a Christian tradition, people of faith, no faith, and other faiths all recognize wishing others a Merry Christmas as an established fact. And while some may object to being wished a Merry Christmas because it is seen as not being of their tradition, most people recognize and share in the warmth and good feeling that is conveyed in the greeting. Friends can share it with a hug, children with an excited squeal, and strangers with a handshake or a happy wave.
We might add “and a Happy New Year” to the end of the greeting, but only Santa Claus is allowed to add the “Ho, ho, ho!” at the beginning!
What?
In the festive season you might be wished a Merry Christmas or a Happy Christmas. Why the difference?
Well,
merry
was an Old English word for “pleasant.” But this changed during the reign of Queen Victoria. Strong drink was playing a disruptive role in the newly industrialized society. People who were drunk enough to be troublesome were referred to as being “merry.”
Queen Victoria disliked sending Christmas greetings tainted with such a disreputable image. She started sending “Happy Christmas” cards, and others followed her example.
Another explanation suggests that the greeting is a mispronunciation of “Mary Christmas,” encouraging us to celebrate the event as Mary did—by presenting Jesus to the
The Psalms of David: Imitated in the Language of the New Testament and Applied to the Christian State and Worship.
Lowell Mason’s music “Antioch” is believed to have been based on a piece by classical composer George Frideric Handel.
At the end of the twentieth century, “Joy to the World” held the record for being the most-published Christmas hymn in the United States.
Where?
Isaac Watts was friendly with Sir Thomas Abney and his wife, Lady Mary. Their manor house in Stoke Newington, in England, had extensive gardens, which Watts used to enjoy.
After Sir Thomas’s death, Watts moved into Abney House. He lived there with Sir Thomas’s widow and daughter until his death later that year. But there had been many years for sitting in the grounds of Abney House, wandering by the river, watching wildlife, and writing. The Abney House gardens were the place of inspiration for many of his works, including “Joy to the World.”
Lowell Mason did his composing in Boston, where he was a banker and a choirmaster.
When?
The Psalms of David: Imitated in the Language of the New Testament and Applied to the Christian State and Worship
,
including “Joy to the World,” was published in 1719.
Lowell Mason took the original tune and adapted it, borrowing heavily from Handel, into the tune we are familiar with 120 years later.
At the age of forty-five, Watts’s ill health led him to cut back on his preaching duties. Not wishing that his increased free time should be wasted, he set himself the daunting task of setting the psalms to verse. “Joy to the World” was probably written during this period.
Why?
Despite being one of the world’s most popular Christmas hymns, “Joy to the World” is not, in fact, about Christmas or the birth of Christ. The “joy” that Isaac Watts had in mind was to be when Jesus
returned
to the world—in other words, the Second Coming!
Watts, the son of a nonconformist English preacher, went on to become a nonconformist preacher himself. The return of his Savior to this world would surely have been the greatest joy he could have conceived.
Watts’s prolific writing output probably stemmed from a childhood habit of rhyming nearly continually. When he was once punished for it, he apologized—in rhyme.
22
“Merry Christmas”
Who?
Despite its being a Christian tradition, people of faith, no faith, and other faiths all recognize wishing others a Merry Christmas as an established fact. And while some may object to being wished a Merry Christmas because it is seen as not being of their tradition, most people recognize and share in the warmth and good feeling that is conveyed in the greeting. Friends can share it with a hug, children with an excited squeal, and strangers with a handshake or a happy wave.
We might add “and a Happy New Year” to the end of the greeting, but only Santa Claus is allowed to add the “Ho, ho, ho!” at the beginning!
What?
In the festive season you might be wished a Merry Christmas or a Happy Christmas. Why the difference?
Well,
merry
was an Old English word for “pleasant.” But this changed during the reign of Queen Victoria. Strong drink was playing a disruptive role in the newly industrialized society. People who were drunk enough to be troublesome were referred to as being “merry.”
Queen Victoria disliked sending Christmas greetings tainted with such a disreputable image. She started sending “Happy Christmas” cards, and others followed her example.
Another explanation suggests that the greeting is a mispronunciation of “Mary Christmas,” encouraging us to celebrate the event as Mary did—by presenting Jesus to the
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