Name another time of year so closely associated with specific songs.  Christmas carols ring out in grocery stores, in the malls, on the radio, and every where else that you turn.  These days the songs are both secular and religious.

Half the population can’t wait for the Christmas carols to start. The other half is cringing. Every singer seems to do at least one Christmas song. Many create whole albums.  They vary from classical to rock to hip hop.

The first Christmas song started around the year 125 AD.  Telesphorus, the leader of the church in Rome, declared it acceptable to sing Gloria in Excelsis Deo (Angels Hymn) on Christmas Eve at Midnight mass.  The priests sang the songs. I guess technically the angels sang it 125 years before that, but from the human perspective.

The music stayed the same for the next thousand years.

Now if you are in the group who cringe at the sound of Christmas music blame Francis of Assisi again.
Our dear Francis of Assisi, as part of his Christmas Eve telling of the story of Christ’s birth, used music to tell the story. He wrote Psalmist of Nativitate.  Francis wanted upbeat music people could sing and celebrate with.  Happy, you could dance to it music, to tell the wonderful story of Jesus birth.  He put latin words honoring Jesus birth to familiar cheerful music for people to sing where ever they went.

Psalmist of Nativitate is considered the first Christmas Carol.  Over the years more and more Christmas Carols were written and played.

Psalm 95:1

 O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.

Prayer:  Ask God to accept my offering of songs through this season.

Meditation:Think through all the Christmas songs I know, which express what I feel at Christmas regarding Christ.  (My song that best expresses my feelings at Christmas is not what most people think of as a Christmas song–Lord I lift Your Name on High.  Why?  He came heaven to earth to show the way.  And isn’t that what Christmas is all about)

Action:  Sing all day long.  Make a play list for the rest of the season and sing to God every day.