The Joy of the Good News at Christmas {deeper dive}

A different kind of Christmas carol.

This piece is AI-free. These words are my creation minus the mechanics of artificial intelligence. You are welcome here…

Do you have a favorite Christmas carol? If I had to name only one, mine would be O Come, O Come Emmanuel.

But then, I also love Angels We Have Heard on High…The First Noel…O Holy Night…What Child Is This… It is hard to choose just one.

The carols mentioned above make my list because I love to sing them. This may be due to the harmony line or the swell of the orchestration at a certain point in the song. Listening takes me back to being in the church choir at Christmas time.

Often, Christmas carols stir an emotional response in us. When I was growing up in the 1960s (my 5-year-old grandson calls it the ancient times) Dad would blast his favorite Christmas album to wake us up during the holidays.

Today, if I hear a Christmas song off Dad’s album, I immediately think of those days (ancient as they may have been) and the fond memories of childhood.

Certain Christmas carols hold a value far beyond sentimentalism, though. This is especially true of holiday carols sung in the church across the years. Most share the Christmas story, or certain aspects of it—angels, shepherds, Wisemen, the virgin birth, a babe in a manger—all things we associate with Christmas.

The Joy of the Good News at Christmas!

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” Luke 2.10

During the holiday season, ‘Joy to the World’ is sung everywhere. It is most famous and beloved and has been published in over 1,800 hymnals!¹