Few areas of song emphasise the international nature of Christian praise than carols. Infant Holy, Infant Lowly is Edith Reed’s English paraphrase of Polish lyrics. While those who think every song needs to say everything may be disappointed, the celebration of the birth of the promised Lord contained here is simply expressed accompanied by W …

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Another ‘lullaby’ style carol is Still, Still, Still, an Austrian carol from the Salzburg region which has been translated into English settings. Nathan Clark George recorded a German language version on Still, his second Christmas album. There are a number of variations in the English versions. This set of lyrics is associated with a setting …

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Lo, How A Rose E’er Blooming is on a few of my Christmas albums. It’s an English language translation of German lyrics, accompanied by the tune Es Ist Ein’ Ros’ Entsprungen, as arranged by Michael Praetorius. I think I’ll spend a few days looking at a some of these lesser known ‘nursery’ sort of carols. …

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Remember folk, Jesus and the apostles are not recorded as wishing anyone a ‘Merry Christmas’. It’s not an essential according to the Bible. So if someone greets you with one of the seasonal variations, don’t feel constrained to correct their sin of omission or commission. They’ve taken the time to greet you, so cheerily greet …

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