Making sense of hallowed hymn not necessarily easy
The Reverend Thomas C. Willadsen
It's that time of year when people are weighing in on their least favorite Christmas songs. "The Little Drummer Boy" is often at the top of the list. How many "rum-pa-pum-pum's" does a person need to hear in December? Or a lifetime?
"Feliz Navidad" also makes the list. In the true spirit of unity, this song manages to be irritating in two languages.
At First Presbyterian Church we have a tradition with Christmas hymns. We always sing "The First Noel" the Sunday after Christmas. This is because I am always on vacation the first Sunday after Christmas, and I cannot stand this song. How do I despise it? Let me count the ways.
First, in our hymnal its title is "The First Nowell." This alone is insulting. It's as though Presbyterians do not know that the two little dots over the "e" in "Noel," a trema, indicate that each vowel is pronounced. Someone familiar with this convention reads the title as it appears in our hymnal as though we are about to announce a severe water shortage, rather than the birth of baby Jesus, in French.
Second, this is an English carol. What is the French word for Christmas doing here? It cannot be here to make the syllables work out, "Christmas" and "Noel" each have two syllables. Do the French sing "Le Christmas premier...?" I doubt it.
Third, the lyrics are not true to Scripture. The shepherds did not look up and see a star; they looked up and saw an angel [Luke 2:9]. The magi saw a star [Matthew 2:2]. The star was not shining in the East; the magi were in the East when they saw the star. There is no mention in either Luke's or Matthew's accounts of Jesus' birth that the light "continued both day and night," though we will sing exactly that. The song says there were three wise men. Scripture only mentions that the wise men were plural. There could have been two or twenty. I know, everyone knows there were three of these guys, and one of them was black. Scripture describes them only as "wise men from the East" [Matthew 2:1]. They brought three different gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh. I can imagine the sages gathering to plan their junket to Bethlehem and saying,
"Put me down for myrrh."
"I'll pop for the frankincense; my brother-in-law can get it for me wholesale."
"Fine, I'll bring the gold, but next time let's do Rock, Paper, Scissors to decide! Have you seen the price of gold these days?" (This exchange appears in the yet-to-be-published "Book of Tom").
Fourth, the lyrics are inscrutable. "Was to certain poor shepherds in fields where they lay." Huh? "On a cold winter's night that was so deep." How does one measure the depth of a night? "Deep" rhymes with "sheep" nicely, but what does this mean?
Fifth, the inscrutable, un-Biblical lyrics are mind-numbingly repetitive. When the Presbyterians have finished singing this tune, they will have sung "Noel," excuse me, "Now-ell," 25 times. This song alone will make us want to pack up the holly, douse the candles by the window and shriek "Humbug!"
Oh, wait! Perhaps you like to sing this song. Perhaps it simply will not be Christmas in your heart if you do not sing this particular carol at least once. Perhaps you like inscrutable, un-Biblical, repetitive lyrics. Perhaps you are not a snob about French orthography, comme moi. You're in luck! Our guest preacher, Certified Lay Pastor Warren Kraft, has been graciously commanded to select this hymn. Join us at 9:30 a.m. at 110 Church Avenue on Sunday, December 28. Sing well. Sing loudly. Sing with passion and energy!
I will be in Illinois.
Merry Christmas.
This column first appeared in the Oshkosh Northwestern, December 23, 2008.