CHRISTMAS CAROL NIGHT
HELD AT THE APOSTOLIC CHURCH NIGERIA, JOS DISTRICT, JOS AREA, FCT FIELD
TOPIC: ESSENCE OF THE CAROL NIGHT
DATE: SUNDAY, 22ND DECEMBER, 2024
BY DCN. BRYNE S.E. EKARA
TEXTS: Mt. 1:21
INTRODUCTION
The birth of Jesus has long been celebrated in song, and Christmas carols are so well loved now that they’re at the very heart of seasonal tradition.
WHAT IS CAROL NIGHT?
Carol Night is a festive occasion that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ through the singing of Christmas Carols.
THE MEANING & HISTORY OF CHRISTMAS CAROL
Carol were first sung in Europe thousands of years ago, but these were not Christmas Carols. They were pre- Christian/ pagan songs, sung at Winter Solstice celebrations.
The Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year, usually taking place around 22nd December.
The word Carol actually means a dance or a sung of praise and joy!
Carols used to be written and sung during all four seasons, but only the tradition of singing them at Christmas has really survived.
Celebrating Christmas
Christmas, remembering the birth of Jesus, then started to be celebrated at the same time as the solstice, so the early Christians started singing Christian songs instead of pre-Christian/ pagan ones.
In 129 AD, a Roman Bishop said that a song called “Angel’s Hymn” should be sung at a Christmas service in Rome.
Another famous early Christmas Hymn was written in 760, by Cosmas of Jerusalem, for the Greek Orthodox Church.
Soon after this many composers all over Europe started to write “Christmas carols”. However, not many people liked them as they were all written and sung in Latin, a Language that the normal people couldn’t understand.
This was changed by St. Francis of Assisi when, in 1223, he started his Nativity Plays in Italy.
The new carols spread to France, Spain, Germany and other European countries.
The earliest carol, like this was written in 1410. Sadly only a very small fragment of it still exists. The carol was about Mary and Jesus meeting different people in Bethlehem.
When the Puritans came to power in England in 1640s, the celebration of Christmas and singing carols was stopped. However, the carols survived as people still sang them in secret.
The most famous types of Carol Service might be a Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, where carols and Bible readings tell the Christmas Story.
IMPORTANCE OF CHRISTMAS CAROL
Christmas carol are important for many reasons, including:
- Telling the story of the nativity: Christmas Carols are a way to share the story of Jesus’ birth and the events that surrounded it.
- Expressing joy and devotion: Carols are a way to express joy, awe and devotion that the nativity inspires.
- Meditating on Christ: Carols can be a way to meditate on Christ and his role in saving people from sin.
- Connecting to Scripture: Christmas Carols can be connected to the Scriptures that they portray.
CONCLUSION
Christmas is a day which immortality became mortal so that mortal men can access immortality with God in heaven, where invisibility became visible. The invisible became visible called Emmanuel – God with us. Eternity meet with time. Heaven and earth met. Where the prince of heaven became the savior of the world.
It is a humanoid divinity junction. Christmas is not a moment but a message – a message of God to humanity, not an occasion but a revelation- a revelation of God to humanity.
God of love came to demonstrate the love of God. The Christmas reveals to us the corrective, reparative and restorative nature of God. – Mt. 1:23 – The birth of Christ came to correct, repair and restore the error and travail a man was exposed to as a result of the fall of Adam and Eve.
As we observe the Carol Night and celebrate the Christmas, we should ensure that they are in tandem and in accordance with the heavenly blue print for the season- all about giving and sharing with your love ones even to your enemies- devoid of mayhems, calamities and catastrophes.
HAPPY CHRISTMAS & A PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR IN ADVANCE!
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