Sweet Sunday

Back in December, we were treated again by 

our kids to the annual Foote Family Christmas Show. 

Here's Ethan (age 6) "singing" for us:

Merriest Christmas Eve!

We read the story behind this beautiful carol tonight before the kids headed to bed.

Silent Night

The origin of the Christmas carol we know as "Silent Night" was a poem that was written in 1816 by an Austrian priest called Joseph Mohr. On Christmas Eve in 1818 in the small alpine village called Oberndorf it is reputed that the organ at St. Nicholas Church had broken. Joseph Mohr gave the poem of "Silent Night" ("Stille Nacht") to his friend Franz Xavier Gruber and the melody for "Silent Night" was composed with this in mind. The music to "Silent Night" was therefore intended for a guitar and the simple score was finished in time for Midnight Mass.

"Silent Night" is the most famous Christmas carol of all time!

Silent Night

Silent night, holy night
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon Virgin Mother and Child
Holy Infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace

Silent night, holy night!
Shepherds quake at the sight
Glories stream from heaven afar
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!
Christ, the Saviour is born
Christ, the Saviour is born

Silent night, holy night
Son of God, love's pure light
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth

Friday Funnies

On Angel Voices and Babies

I felt like I heard the voice of a little (slightly off-key) angel tonight when my 14-month-old started to sing "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" with Frank Sinatra.

Priceless.

Holy Night

O Holy Night!
The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of the dear Saviour's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining.
Till He appeared and the Spirit felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees!
Oh, hear the angel voices!
O night divine, the night when Christ was born;
O night, O Holy Night, O night divine!
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!

Here We Come A-Caroling!

Wassailing on Wednesday

As a teen, I used to go carolling in my neighborhood with my friends. It was lots of fun for us and seemed to bring Christmas cheer to our neighbors.

Since I couldn't decide which song to use today, I'm making this post like a carolling session...time for a bit of wassailing, eh? *grin*

I hope you enjoy them, and don't forget to pause the sidebar video player.

A classic Christmas carol sung by Bing Crosby and David Bowie in 1982:


Another classic from one of my all-time favorite movies: Meet Me in St. Louis.


This is a fun and talented group of men, singing some of the classics in a new way:


And finally, a beautiful song sung by Josh Groban: