Hymn Story: Blaenwern
Blaenwern is a Welsh hymn. The song was composed by William Penfro Rowlands during the 1904-1905 Welsh revival. Rowlands was born on April 19, 1860. He was a Welsh schoolteacher, composer, and conductor of the Morriston…
Hymn Story: My soul, there is a country
My Soul, There is a Country was written by Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry. He was the 1st Baronet and an English composer, teacher and historian of music. He was born February 27, 1848. He…
Song Story: Auld Lang Syne
Every year we sing Auld Lang Syne on New Year’s Day, but where did it come from? Auld Lang Syne is a Scots poem that was written by Robert Burns in 1788. His poem was…
Christmas Song: The Hallelujah Chorus
The Hallelujah Chorus is the most well-known portion of Geroge Frideric Handel’s “Messiah”. Handel used the King James Bible and the Coverdale Psalter to compose his text. The “Messiah” was first performed in Dublin on…
The Nativity by Dianne Marie Andre
Mary, mother of Jesus. My heart can barely grasp what an extraordinary woman she must have been to be chosen the mother of the world’s Savior. I imagine her perfect, without sin. Though this is…
Embracing Christmas Traditions by Julie Arduini
Thank you so much for hosting me today! As a child, each Sunday we could count on roast beef for dinner. If we’d lost all calendars and had no idea what day it was, seeing…
Christmas Hymn: Sussex Carol
The “Sussex Carol” is a popular Christmas Carol in Britain. Luke Wadding, a 17th Century Irish Bishop, first published the song in 1684. It is unknown whether he wrote the song himself or had recorded…
A Common Girl An Uncommon Time Journey II by Jane Baker
Thanks to Caesar Augustus’s demand for a census, which Mary didn’t mind, since it rescued her from Nazareth, Mary and Joseph trod the same crowded road Mary had six months ago. The donkey plodded along,…
Far From Home Christmas by E.V. Sparrow
In 1975, I accepted Jesus Christ’s work on the cross for my salvation, and a few months later, my parents sold my childhood home. We moved into a new community for people over 55. Because…
Christmas Season Must Watch List by Karin Beery
I love the holiday season. It’s not just Christmas—it’s the love, anticipation, grace, and thankfulness that fills our house every November, December, and January. I start decorating the first weekend of November, and I have…
Christmas Song: The Virgin Mary Had a Baby Boy
I have found two different stories for this hymn. The first states it is believed “The Virgin Mary Had a Baby Boy” was written Jamaican singer-songwriter Oswald Dunbar sometime in the early 1960s. Legend states…
A Common Girl, An Uncommon Time Journey I by Jane Baker
After a long walk from Nazareth with Daniel’s family, finally Elizabeth’s shaky soprano drifted over her wall, her words from a psalm of David Mary recognized. “You have made known to me the path of…
Christmas in Northern Hearts by Laurie Wood
Northern Hearts (Heroes of the Tundra Book 2) is my Christmas novella set in the real-life town of Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. It’s called the Polar Bear Capitol of the World. I set my entire series…
Christmas Hymn Story: In Dulci Jubilo
“In dulci jubilo” means in sweet rejoicing in Latin. The original text is believed to have been written around 1328 by Heinrich Seuse, a German mystic. According to folklore, “Seuse heard angels sing these words…
Ten Ways to Display Kindness During the Holidays by Jennifer Hallmark
“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” –Aesop The holidays have arrived, dressed in glitter, bearing the aroma of pumpkin, cinnamon, and pine. Traffic has jammed around malls and supercenters. And…
Christmas Hymn Story: In the Bleak Mid-Winter
English poet Christina Rosetti published a poem under the title “A Christmas Carol” in January 1872 issue of Scribner’s Monthly. Composer Gustav Holst composed a setting to her words in 1906. The new hymn appeared…
Hymn Story: Now We Thank We All Our God
At the beginning of the Thirty Years’ War, the walled city of Eilenburg, Saxony struggled with overcrowding, deadly pestilence, and famine. This area is part of Germany today. Lutheran minister Martin Rinkart, and his family,…
Patriotic song: This Land Is Your Land
I thought we’d look at a popular Patriotic song, This Land is Your Land. The American folk song was written in 1940 by Woody Guthrie. During this time he hitchhiked from Los Angeles to New…
Hymn Story: Christ is made the sure foundation
Christ is Made the Sure Foundation was a Latin hymn written sometime in the late 6th or 7th Century under the title Urbs beata Jerusalem. The original hymn was sung as an unaccompanied plainsong melody.…
Hymn Story: God Be With You Till We Meet Again
God Be with You till We meet Again was written by Jeremiah E. Rankin around 1880. It is undated but he gave a copy to Sankey in 1882. Rankin was born on January 2, 1828…