In an 1883 collection of Christmas carols, Away in a Manger was called “Luther’s Cradle Hymn.” This note followed: “Composed by Martin Luther for his children and still sung by German mothers to their little ones.” Nice try. Today we know that James Murray of Cincinnati composed the tune in the late 1800s. No one has positively identified the author of the lullaby… Read more »
As recently as 125 years ago, some of the world’s brightest thinkers solemnly declared human beings would never fly. They were wrong. About the same time, engineers confidently predicted that the long-distance transmission of pictures was contrary to the laws of physics. They were wrong, too. These days science fiction fans are desperately hoping that the world’s most eminent physicists… Read more »
People from all walks of life and every kind of circumstance end up writing Christmas carols. Even burned-out preachers. In 1849, a Massachusetts pastor named Edmund Sears suffered an emotional breakdown. He wasn’t just bone-weary from laboring for seven years to lead a pair of Unitarian congregations. His heart was heavy because of the social upheaval that had turned Europe… Read more »
The 19th century French composer Adolphe Charles Adam wrote more than fifty ballets and operas. Most are unremembered. But no one looks past Adam’s O Holy Night, the single most cherished solo number of the season. In France it’s known simply as Cantique de Noel, or the Christmas Song. An American pastor, John S. Dwight, wrote the English words that… Read more »
The typical nativity scene includes Mary, Joseph, Jesus, shepherds, and Magi – not to mention a cow, a few sheep, and perhaps a humble-looking donkey. One prominent character in the original Christmas accounts, however, never makes the cut. That would be King Herod. Or as he liked to call himself, Herod the Great. The man who ruled Israel for almost… Read more »
When you think about, I Saw Three Ships Come Sailing In is a rather unusual Christmas carol. There are no boats in the accounts of Jesus’ birth. The Jews of Bible times, in fact, were generally terrified of open water. Only fishermen routinely set sail, and that was on the comparatively placid lake called the Sea of Galilee. One… Read more »
Which Christmas carol has the distinction of being written in its entirety on Christmas Eve? That would be Silent Night, which sprang from a musical 911 call at St. Nicholas’ Church in Oberndorf, Austria, in 1818. On December 22 assistant priest Josef Mohr learned that the organ made no noise at all. It was indeed going to be a silent night. … Read more »
As 2020 draws to a close, people everywhere are hungry for good news. Here are some happy news stories that have managed to stay under the radar this year: Giant pandas and manatees were taken off the endangered species list in 2020, and tigers are rebounding in the wild for the first time in more than a century.Some 800,000 volunteers in India… Read more »
Father Gregory Boyle directs Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles, arguably the world’s most successful ministry to the members of inner city gangs. He is inundated by opportunities to speak around the country. It’s no surprise that he sometimes falls back on the same compelling stories. A few summers ago, Boyle was asked to present the keynote for a gathering of… Read more »
