Barry's Blog

A few years ago at Christmastime, James Taylor released a Christmas CD through Hallmark Gift Stores which has some of the most well known classic carols of Christmas. I wrote about one of those carols a few years ago, and it continues to evoke a strong sense of worship, especially at Christmas season. The song is titled, In the Bleak Mid-Winter, a well-known hymn from the British Christmas tradition, and is based on a traditional Celtic folk song. 

What many people may not realize is that the melody to the hymn was composed by Gustav Holst (1874-1934), perhaps best know for his orchestral masterpiece, The Planets. Holst's melody, Cranham (named after the town in which it was written), was set to a poem written by English poet Christina Rossetti (1830-1894), In the Bleak Mid-Winter was first published in The English Hymnal in 1906, and has always been one of Holst's most popular compositions. The beauty and simplicity of the folk song greatly inspired Holst. May the hymn's lyrics serve as a personal meditation for each of us at this Christmastime.

"In the bleak mid-winter, the frosty wind did moan. The earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone. Snow on snow had fallen, snow on snow on snow. In the bleak mid-winter, oh, so long ago.

Angels and archangels, they have gathered there. Cherubim and seraphim, rising in the air. But only his mother, in her maiden bliss, worshipped the Beloved, with a mother's kiss.

Heaven cannot hold Him, or can earth sustain, heaven and earth shall fall away, when He comes to reign.

What then can I give Him, empty as I am. If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb. If I were a wise man, oh, I would do my part. What then can I give Him, I must give my heart." 

"With what shall I come to the Lord, and bow myself before the God on high? Shall I come to Him with burnt offerings, with yearling calves? Does the Lord take delight in thousands of rams, in ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I present my firstborn for my rebellious acts, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness,  and to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6: 6-8) 

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