Tag: Names of God

Christmas Song Story: Mary’s Boy Child

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“Mary’s Boy Child” is a Christmas song written by Jester Hariston in 1956. According to Wikipedia, a friend asked Hairston to write a song for a birthday party.  Hairston wrote the song with a calypson rhythm “because the people at the party would be mainly West Indians. The song’s original title was “He Pone and Chocolate Tea”, pone being a […]

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Christmas Song Story: Gabriel’s Message

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“Gabriel’s Message” is a Christmas folk carol that tells of Gabriel’s announcement to the Virgin Mary that she would become the mother of the Christ. The song is also known as “The angel Gabriel from heaven came” from the first line and based on the passage from Luke 1:46-55. For this reason the text is known as “The Magnificat.” The […]

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Christmas song Story: The Holly and the Ivy

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The Holly and the Ivy is a traditional British folk Christmas carol. The song was published during the early 19th Century. William Hone mentioned the work in his 1823  Ancient Mysteries Described. Holly is found throughout Europe and commonly referenced at Christmastime, often as Christ’s thorn. Since medieval times the plant has been a symbol for the Christian faith. Holy […]

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Hymn Story: Praise to the Lord the Almighty

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“Praise to the Lord! the Almighty, the King of Creation!” was written by Joachim Neander in 1680.  He was the first important hymn-writer of the German Reformed Church. He primarily wrote after he went to Düsseldorf, where he’d taken a vow of silence to anything except official work. He died in 1680 at the age of thirty. Catherine Winkworth translated […]

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