A Favorite Christmas Carol

O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,

It is the night of the dear Saviour's birth.

Long lay the world in sin and error pining.

Till He appeared and the Spirit felt its worth.

A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!

O night divine, the night when Christ was born;

O night, O holy night, O night divine!

O night, O holy night, O night divine!

Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,

With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.

O'er the world a star is sweetly gleaming,

Now come the wisemen from out of the Orient land.

The King of kings lay thus lowly manger;

In all our trials born to be our friends.

He knows our need, our weakness is no stranger,

Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!

Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!

Truly He taught us to love one another,

His law is love and His gospel is peace.

Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother.

And in his name all oppression shall cease.

Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,

With all our hearts we praise His holy name.

Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we,

His power and glory ever more proclaim!

His power and glory ever more proclaim!

I heard a rumour (I won't say where, that would just be BAD) that Canadian officials were going to change the lyrics to "O Holy Night" after this performance of the song by Celine Dion...

Apparently it was going to be "Canadianized" but so far, I think the rumours are BUNK because I haven't heard any of the following changes yet this year:

* Eh, Holy Night

* Nevermind, I'm not even going to tell you the lame-o OTHER stuff I heard.

Obviously - and THANKFULLY - it was all just a bunch of nasty rumours, anyway...

Okay, so I set up my Amazon module for GIFTS, I swear...but I am LEAVING the module below "AS IS" just to show the AWESOME match-up that occurred...

As you can see, and to my chagrin (hope this won't absolutely KILL my hubscores and reputation), apparently, SWISS ARMY KNIVES are EXACTLY what you should buy as gifts this holiday season? Ohyeah - and note the groovy Phil Specter item to go with those sharp little necessary Christmas funstuffs!

Wow, what will people do with all that great stuff if they purchase from my hub? Hmmmmm well maybe they can open the Specter item with the really far out Swiss Army One-Hand Trekker Lockblade!

Whoa.

Excellent.

Wait - no - open it with the PINK Classic Pocket Knife! Excellent - a female-friendly Swiss Army Knife just in time for the Christmas season.

Nevermind again...I'll go rest up and come back later this week to fix this hub...

This may be the ONLY time I say this on Hubpages...

Please DO NOT buy the Amazon items off my hub for Christmas gifts.

I don't wanna be hearing on TV news on December 24th...

..."Domestic violence issues plague young couple. Woman says "He forgot my Christmas present, he doesn't CARE about me at all so I let him have it" and he says "I bought the Pink knife off HubPages - what MORE can she ask of me? It's practical - it's pretty - sheesh - she didn't have to THROW it at me." Follow up story at 11, and at that time, we'll tell you how firefighters dislodged the pink army knife from the man's left foot without ruining his snowboots - amazing story, really - back at 11 - Sonny, over to you."

"Cantique Noel" or, "O Holy Night" is derived from the French Poem, "Minuit chretiens," which was written by Placide Cappeau (1808-1877). This Christmas Carol has been in our repertoire of Holiday Songs for well over a hundred years.

In 1847, composer Adolphe Adam arranged the poem into song/carol form for a Christmas tune that had wonderful features to allow soloists to highlight their talents and so that the song would end with a dramatic, operatic finale.

The words were translated into English by John Sullivan Dwight, an Unitarian minister in 1855. Dwight was head editor of Dwight's Journal of Music, and so was a fitting man for the job.

This piece also holds the distinction (has not otherwise been proven yet, at least) of being the first piece of music to have been broadcast on radio.

Canadian Violinist and Inventor, Reginald Fessenden, broadcast the first AM radio broadcast on December 24, 1906. During the broadcast, Reginald played "O Holy Night" on the violin.

Minuits, chrétiens / Cantique de Noël:

Minuit, chrétiens, c'est l'heure solennelle,

Où l'Homme-Dieu descendit jusqu'à nous

Pour effacer la tache originelle

Et de Son Père arrêter le courroux.

Le monde entier tressaille d'espérance

En cette nuit qui lui donne un Sauveur.

Peuple à genoux, attends ta délivrance.

Noël, Noël, voici le Rédempteur,

Noël, Noël, voici le Rédempteur!

De notre foi que la lumière ardente

Nous guide tous au berceau de l'Enfant,

Comme autrefois une étoile brillante

Y conduisit les chefs de l'Orient.

Le Roi des rois naît dans une humble crèche:

Puissants du jour, fiers de votre grandeur,

A votre orgueil, c'est de là que Dieu prêche.

Courbez vos fronts devant le Rédempteur.

Courbez vos fronts devant le Rédempteur.

Le Rédempteur a brisé toute entrave:

La terre est libre, et le ciel est ouvert.

Il voit un frère où n'était qu'un esclave,

L'amour unit ceux qu'enchaînait le fer.

Qui Lui dira notre reconnaissance,

C'est pour nous tous qu'Il naît,

Qu'Il souffre et meurt.

Peuple debout! Chante ta délivrance,

Noël, Noël, chantons le Rédempteur,

Noël, Noël, chantons le Rédempteur!