On the 4th Day of Christmas: The Holy Innocents

December 28 marks the commemoration of the Holy Innocents.  Who are the "Holy Innocents?"  These are the children who were killed by Herod after the visit of the Magi.

Curiously enough, the church celebrates the Magi on January 6, so it would seem our celebration of the Holy Innocents is a bit early. 

The Holy Innocents, like the Feast of Stephen, falls on the day the saint(s) or martyr(s) entered into eternal glory.  Church tradition holds that the date of the slaughter of the Innocents is December 28.

The Feast of Epiphany was placed into the church calendar to help us celebrate the life of Christ during the church year, so it comes at the end of the 12 Days of Christmas.

An excellent carol that celebrates the Holy Innocents is the Coventry Carol.

Lully, lullay, Thou little tiny Child,

By, by, lully, lullay.

Lully, lullay, Thou little tiny Child,

By, by, lully, lullay.

O sisters too, how may we do,

For to preserve this day

This poor Youngling for Whom we sing

By, by, lully, lullay?

Herod the king, in his raging,

Charged he hath this day

His men of might, in his own sight,

All young children to slay.

That woe is me, poor Child for Thee!

And ever morn and day

For Thy parting neither say nor sing,

By, by, lully, lullay.

Lully, lullay, Thou little tiny Child,

By, by, lully, lullay.

On the 3rd Day of Christmas: More on John 3:16

In honor of the Feast of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist, here is John 3:16 in as many languages as I could find on-line.

English (ESV)
For God so loved the world,
that he gave his only Son,
that whoever believes in him 
should not perish but have eternal life.

Chinese Union Version (Simplified)

「 神 爱 世 人 ，

甚 至 将 他 的 独 生 子 赐 给 他 们 ，

叫 一 切 信 他 的 ，

不 至 灭 亡 ，

反 得 永 生 。

Chinese Union Version (Traditional)

「 神 愛 世 人 ，

甚 至 將 他 的 獨 生 子 賜 給 他 們 ，

叫 一 切 信 他 的 ，

不 至 滅 亡 ，

反 得 永 生 。

Vietnamese (1934 Translation)
Vì Đức Chúa Trời yêu thương thế gian,

đến nỗi đã ban Con một của Ngài,

hầu cho hễ ai tin Con ấy không

bị hư mất mà được sự sống đời đời.

Uspanteco

Kakaj Dios jwiˈl subˈlaj tijlokˈaj juntir cristian xtakch

Kakaj Jesús wich ulew ri xike jun chi Jcˈajol wiˈ.

Y juntir ri tijcubˈaˈ jchˈolak chirij taˈ tisaach jwichak,

tijtaˈtakaˈ jun tzilaj cˈaslemal riqˈui

Kakaj Dios lecj ri taˈ jqˈuisic.

Ukrainian

Так бо Бог полюбив світ,

що дав Сина Свого Однородженого,

щоб кожен, хто вірує в Нього,

не згинув, але мав життя вічне.

Tagalog

Ito ay sapagkat sa ganitong paraan inibig

ng Diyos ang sanlibutan kaya ipinagkaloob

niya ang kaniyang bugtong na Anak

upang ang sinumang sumampalataya sa kaniya

ay hindi mapahamak kundi magkaroon

ng buhay na walang hanggan.

Swahili

Kwa maana Mungu aliupenda

ulimwengu kiasi cha kumtoa Mwanae pekee,

ili kila mtu amwaminiye asipotee,

bali awe na uzima wa milele.

Swedish (1917)

Ty så älskade Gud världen,

att han utgav sin enfödde Son,

på det att var och en som tror

på honom skall icke förgås,

utan hava evigt liv.

Albanian

Sepse Perëndia e deshi aq botën,

sa dha Birin e tij të vetëmlindurin,

që, kushdo që beson në të, të mos humbasë,

por të ketë jetë të përjetshme.

Slovak

Lebo tak Boh miloval svet,

že dal svojho jediného Syna,

aby nik, kto v neho verí,

nezahynul, ale mal večný život.

Russian

Ибо так возлюбил Бог мир,

что отдал Сына Своего Единородного,

дабы всякий верующий в Него,

не погиб, но имел жизнь вечную.

Romanian

Fiindcă atît de mult a iubit Dumnezeu lumea,

că a dat pe singurul Lui Fiu,

pentruca oricine crede în El,

să nu piară, ci să aibă viaţa vecinică.

Portugese

Deus amou tanto o mundo

que deu o seu único Filho

para que todo aquele

que nele crê não se perca espiritualmente,

mas tenha a vida eterna.

Norwegian (1930)

For så har Gud elsket verden

at han gav sin Sønn,

den enbårne,

forat hver den som tror på ham,

ikke skal fortapes, men ha evig liv.

Dutch

Want God heeft zoveel liefde voor de wereld,

dat Hij Zijn enige Zoon heeft gegeven;

zodat ieder die in Hem gelooft,

niet verloren gaat maar eeuwig leven heeft.

Náhuatl de Guerrero (spoken in Guerrero, Mexico)

Tej, Dios sanoyej oquintlajsojtlac

on tlalticpactlacamej hasta oquitemacac isenteConetzin

para nochi on aquin quineltocas xpolihuis,

yej quipias yencuic nemilistli para nochipa.

Plautdietsch (Mennonite Low German)
Dan Gott haft dise Welt so Leef jehaut,

daut hee sien eentsje Saen jeef,

daut aula, dee aun am jleewe,

nich feloare gone,

oba daut eewje Laewe habe.

Mam de Todos Santos Chuchumatán (Mayan Dialect)

Nimxsen oc cyakˈ cykil xjal te Dios

bix juˈ tzunj e tzaj tkˈoˈnxin jaj junx Tcwalxin cye xjal.

Juˈ tzunj, alcyej xjal ma tzˈocslan tiˈj Tcwalxin,

ckˈojeltzen tchunkˈlal te junx maj,

bix miˈn txiˈ tuj cyamecy te junx maj.

Central Mam (Mayan Dialect)

Quˈn nimxix tqˈaqˈbˈil tkˈuˈj Dios

kyiˈjxjal tzaluˈn twutz txˈotxˈ,

ma chin tzaj tchqˈoˈn,

a ayiˈn Tkˈwal junchˈin,

tuˈntzin kykyaqiljo a kchi nimil wiˈja nlay chi naj,

qalaˈ ktenbˈil kychwinqil te jun majx.

Macedonian

(Macedonia was one of the seven churches of John's Revelation)

Зашто Бог толку ги засака луѓето од овој свет,

што Го даде Својот Единороден Син,

за да не загине ниту еден што верува во Него,

туку да има вечен живот.

Maori (Polynesian - New Zeeland)

Koia ano te aroha o te Atua ki te ao,

homai ana e ia tana Tama kotahi,

kia kahore ai e ngaro te tangata e whakapono ana ki a ia,

engari kia whiwhi ai ki te ora tonu.

Korean

하나님이 세상을 이처럼

사랑하사 독생자를 주셨으니

이는 저를 믿는

자마다 멸망치

않고 영생을 얻게

하려 하심이니라 

Kekchi (more from the Mayans)

Li Dios cˈajoˈ nak quixraheb

li cuanqueb saˈ ruchichˈochˈ nak quixqˈue

li Ralal junaj chi ribil re nak chixjunileb

li ani teˈpa̱ba̱nk re incˈaˈ teˈsachk.

Ta̱cua̱nk ban xyuˈameb chi junelic.

Jacalteco (the Mayans have many dialects)

Wal xin, caw xahancano ay anma

ay yul sat yiban̈kˈinal tiˈ yu Comam Dios,

yuto yati Comam hunpilan Iscˈahol coxol,

yuxinto macn̈eticˈa chichahni yul yanma,

mach chicˈaytoj,

to caw chischah huneˈ iskˈinal mach istan̈bal.

Italian

Perché Dio ha tanto amato il mondo

da dare il suo unico Figlio,

affinché chiunque crede in lui non perisca,

ma abbia vita eterna.

Icelandic

Því svo elskaði Guð heiminn,

að hann gaf son sinn eingetinn,

til þess að hver sem á hann trúir glatist ekki,

heldur hafi eilíft líf.

 Magyar (Hungarian)

Mert úgy szerette Isten e világot,

hogy az õ egyszülött Fiát adta,

hogy valaki hiszen õ benne,

el ne vesszen, hanem örök élete legyen.

Croatian

Bog je toliko volio svijet

da je dao svojega jedinorođenog Sina

da nijedan koji u njega vjeruje ne pogine,

nego da ima vječni život.

Hiligaynon (from the Philippines)

Kay ginahigugma gid sang Dios

ang kalibutan sa bagay nga ginhatag niya

ang iya bugtong nga Anak,

agod nga ang bisan sin-o nga magtuo

sa iya indi mawala kundi hatagan sing kabuhi

nga wala sing katapusan.

Koine Greek (1550)

ουτως γαρ ηγαπησεν ο θεος

τον κοσμον ωστε τον υιον αυτου

τον μονογενη εδωκεν ινα πας ο πιστευων εις

αυτον μη αποληται αλλ εχη ζωην αιωνιον

French (Louis II)

Car Dieu a tant aimé le monde

qu'il a donné son Fils unique,

afin que quiconque croit en lui ne périsse point,

mais qu'il ait la vie éternelle.

Spanish (Reina-Valera Antigua)

Porque de tal manera amó Dios al mundo,

que ha dado á su Hijo unigénito,

para que todo aquel que en él cree,

no se pierda, mas tenga vida eterna.

Luther's German Bible

Also hat Gott die Welt geliebt,

daß er seinen eingeborenen Sohn gab,

auf daß alle, die an ihn glauben,

nicht verloren werden,

sondern das ewige Leben haben.

Danish

Thi således elskede Gud Verden,

at han gav sin Søn den enbårne,

for at hver den, som tror på ham,

ikke skal fortabes, men have et evigt Liv.

Czech

Vždyť Bůh tak miloval svět,

že dal svého jediného Syna,

aby každý, kdo v něho uvěří,

unikl záhubě a získal věčný život.

Haitian-Creole

Paske, Bondye sitèlman renmen lèzòm

li bay sèl Pitit li a pou yo.

Tout moun ki va mete konfyans yo

nan li p'ap pedi lavi yo.

Okontrè y'a gen lavi ki p'ap janm fini an.

Cakchiquel Occidental (Mayan)

Ri Dios can sibilaj yerajoˈ

ri winek ri yecˈo chuwech re ruwachˈulef,

y rumariˈ xutek cˈa pe ri Rucˈajol waweˈ chuwech re ruwachˈulef.

Riyaˈ xaxu (xaxe wi) cˈa jun Rucˈajol cˈo,

pero xutek pe riche (rixin) chi xabachique

cˈa winek ri xtiniman riche (rixin),

ma xtibe ta pa tijoj pokonal, xa can xticˈojeˈ

cˈa rucˈaslen riche (rixin) xtibe kˈij xtibe sek.

Chinanteco de  Comaltepec (Southern Mexico "Mist Forests)

’Jo̱ co̱ˈ eáamˊ ˈneáangˋ Fidiéeˇ jaléngˈˋ dseaˋ jmɨgüíˋ,

jo̱baˈ cacuǿøiñˋ i̱ Jó̱o̱rˊ camɨ́ɨngˈ˜

do e laco̱ˈ cajúngˉ dseaˋ

do cuaiñ˜ quiáˈˉ jaléngˈˋ dseaˋ jmɨgüíˋ;

jo̱ lajo̱baˈ jaléngˈˋ dseaˋ i̱ jángˈˋ yaang˜ fɨˊ jaguóˋ dseaˋ

do jaˋ quɨ́ˈˉ jmɨɨ˜ faˈ e niˈnáiñˋ quiáˈˉ Fidiéeˇ,

co̱ˈ cøømˋ nilɨseeiñˋ có̱o̱ˈ˜ dseaˋ do lata˜.

Bulgarian (1940)

Защото Бог толкова възлюби света,

че даде Своя Единороден Син,

за да не погине ни един,

който вярва в Него, но да има вечен живот:

Arabic (SVD)

لِكَيْ لاَ يَهْلِكَ كُلُّ مَنْ يُؤْمِنُ بِهِ بَلْ تَكُونُ لَهُ الْحَيَاةُ الأَبَدِيَّةُ.

Amuzgo de Guerrero (Mexico)

’Ncˈe Tyˈo̱o̱tsˈom tˈmaⁿ waa

na mˈaaⁿ na candyaˈ tsˈoom nnˈaⁿ tsjoomnancue,

joˈ chii Ja na ñennco̱ na cwiluiindyo̱ Jnaaⁿ tquiaaⁿ

na tuiindyo̱ cha ticwii cwii tsˈaⁿ

na nntseiyuˈ ñˈeⁿndyo̱ tixocatsuuñe.

Mˈaaⁿ na ticantycwii na wandoˈ. 

 

If you listen carefully, you'll find a little John 1
in the verses of this song about John 3:16.

Know of a translation of John 3:16 that is not listed? Drop it in the comment box along with the language it is in.

On the 3rd Day of Christmas: Feast of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist

It was St. John and Mary, Mother of our Lord, at the foot of the cross, to whom Jesus spoke, "Woman, behold your Son ...  Behold your Mother."

In his Gospel John refers to himself as the "beloved disciple" and never speaks of himself by name.

Where Luke's Christmas Story focuses on the virgin birth, John's Christmas Story digs into the Incarnation.  He summarizes the Incarnation in just one sentence:

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

I really like Egil Hovland's setting of this text.

Any mention of John should include the Gospel in a nutshell (John 3:16).

                   For God so loved the world

      that He gave his Only

              begotten Son that who so believeth in Him

            should not Perish

              but have Everlasting

                       Life

Here it is, sung by and English choir.

Here is a different setting to the same text.

And here it is sung in Mandarin!

The text is set to few other Asian languages as well.

My ear tells me they are different languages.

I could be wrong, though.

And now for Cantonese.

Auf Deutsch von Heinrich Schütz

Folk music en Español

Parlez vous Francais? Oui! Oui!

On the 2nd Day of Christmas: The Feast of Stephen

It seems odd that the commemoration of the first martyr falls the day after the birth of the Savior!

Dec. 25: The Savior Comes; Dec. 26: Stephen is martyred!

Lets take the easy road and talk about Stephen. Saints and martyrs are always commemorated on the day they leave this veil of tears and not on the day they enter it. So if Stephen was martyred on Dec. 26, we then commemorate him on that day.

Now, how did we get Christmas on Dec. 25? For that we turn to Dr. Gene Edward Veith's excerpt from Biblical Archaeology Review.

First, some mythbusting. Christians do NOT celebrate Christmas because they christianized a pagan festival.  They had no interest in pagan ritual and were quite content to not participate.

So, why Dec. 25?  The ancient tradition dated the crucifixion on March 25, which in turn, was used to commemorate the Feast of the Annunciation (when Gabriel told Mary she was with child).  Tack on 9 months to Jesus' conception and you get to celebrate His birth on Dec. 25.

Now for some trivia: What Christmas carol doesn't mention the birth of Christ but does mention the Feast of Stephen?

That's right, Good King Wenceslas!

For more about the 12 days of Christmas and the famous king of Bohemia, check out this post from Past Elder.

Christmas: Day 2: In the First Light

Where the Gospel reading for Christmas Eve is Luke 2, the Gospel reading for Christmas Eve is John 1.

In the beginning was the Word,

and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God.

In Him was life,

and the life was the light of men.

The light shines in the darkness

and the darkness has not overcome it.

He was in the world,

and the world was made through Him,

yet the world did not know Him.

He came to his own,

and His own people did not receive him.

But to all who did receive him,

who believed in his name,

he gave the right to become children of God,

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us,

and we have seen His glory,

glory as of the only Son from the Father,

full of grace and truth.

And from His fullness

we have all received grace upon grace.

For the law was given through Moses;

grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

John 1, selected verses (ESV)

All for Hymn Celebrates the 12 Days of Christmas

The secular Christmas begins the day after Thanksgiving and runs through Dec. 25. The Western Church's Christmas begins at sundown on Dec. 24 and runs through sundown on Jan. 5, just before the Magi arrive for the Epiphany season.

All for Hymn will have new posts each morning at 8:00 am EST to celebrate each of the 12 Days of Christmas.

For now, everyone light some candles and dim the lights one last time!

Christmas Day: Gustav Holst