Well, I suppose I should say that I sang "ass" in church. Yes, it's that time of year when we all get to sing "What Child is this?" including the line "Why lies He in such mean estate, where ox
and ass are feeding?" I remember as a kid being consumed with fits of laughter when we sang this song. Yeah, that's right, I haven't always been this mature (please note the sarcasm).Don't you love this "stained glass ass" (come on, it rhymes, I had to say it) that has been immortalized even though he isn't even in the bible?
When you take a good look at Christmas Carols you just might notice that many of them are a great source of inaccurate information, bad theology and simply ridiculous statements. They definitely help reinforce some of the traditions that I have attempted to debunk in the last few posts.
Anyway, I do enjoy some carols. My personal favourite is "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel". It's theologically sound and it's in a minor key... what's not to like?
The "carols" that I really can't handle are the secular ones. Any songs that have Reindeer, Santa, elves, or the like just make me want to scream!
What is your favourite carol and why?
Which carol just drives you nuts and you're going to scream if you have to sing it one more time?
What silly statements, inaccuracies, or theological errors do you see in carols?
10 comments:
My favorite Christmas Carol is "Your a mean one, Mr. Grinch" by Sixpence None the Richer. How the Grinch stole Christmas is such a great story, oh, except for the ending, they totally ruined it in the ending. A dog with antlers, Ha, that gets me every time. Please tell me you bought that stained glass ass. What a conversation starter. I tried for a while to wright my own Christmas carols but strangely they all turned out pretty dark and I don't think people would sing them. Oh, well. Well, happy holiday's, or X-mas or whatever your supposed to say. Oh yah, Bah Humbug, that's it, Bah Humbug.
Tim S.
Brother Tim, it would be write, not wright. Ha ha!
Well, its not a "carol", per se... but there is one recent Christmas song I've had to turn off multiple times while listening to KLOVE Audio stream. It's a 6 year old kid "singing" (or rather massacring) a drawn out version of "Happy Birthday Jesus". I cannot speak to it's theological soundness, because I've never gotten through the whole song. The sound of the first note sends shivers down my spine like fingernails on a chalkboard and compels me to either turn it off or stick hot needles in my ears...
O Holy Night is my favourite.
If I have to hear ANY more Christmas music in a mall or grocery store or anywhere they play music I think I am going to scream. I hate the barrage every Nov-Dec. It's the same 15 Christmas songs sung by the same 15 artists. YUCK!
I've got a Christmas cd called One Silent Night that has several songs on it that I really like: When the time is right by Ginny Owens, I choose you sung by Rachel Lampa, Child of God by Amy Grant, Rose of Bethlehem sung by Maire Brennan, and of course Mary, did you know has become a classic. I find them all thought-provoking and encouraging.
I find that, this year, I've not heard many Christmas songs at all and all the ones I am hearing are new. My favorite Christmas tune at this time is called, "Kung Pao Buckaroo Holiday" by Brad Paisley. It's about old cowboys sitting around a campfire wanting to sing "holiday songs" but they are trying to make them politically correct so every time they say "Christmas" it's bleeped out. There are a few other words they can't say either but my favorite part is when one of them says "Ho Ho Ho" and it's bleeped out because "you can't say 'ho' you might offend some women!" I laughed so hard. Alright, there's no theology but it's a great song!
"I saw mommy kissing santa claus..." Kidding of course... truly I don't like too many but the new Bebo Norman Christmas cd is nice.... and you know Tim that even though we have turned much of the christmas story into traditions you have to admit that the main point is still there... if they started to say that Mary had twins or something then I might get worried!
I have to agree with you Tim, 'O Come, O Come Emmanuel' is one of my top 3 favorite Christmas songs...who doesn't love a good song in a minor key!
O Little Town of Bethlehem is great. I love the depth to some of the lines--"The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight."
I also love In the Bleak Midwinter.
Musically, it's gorgeous, and as far as the lyrics...it's as though you'd need to have a council together to debate whether some of the lines are 'theologically sound' or not. But they're very poetic, nonetheless.
Yes, I'm making this comment in early January...I hadn't checked here in a while...
---mikul
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