December 11

"The Huron Carol"

performed by The Elora Festival Singers

'Twas in the moon of wintertime

when all the birds had fled

That mighty Gitchi Manitou

sent angel choirs instead;

Before their light the stars grew dim

and wondering hunters heard the hymn:

"Jesus your King is born, Jesus is born:

In excelsis gloria!"

Within a lodge of broken bark

the tender babe was found;

A ragged robe of rabbit skin

enwrapped his beauty round

But as the hunter braves drew nigh

the angel song rang loud and high:

"Jesus your King is born, Jesus is born:

In excelsis gloria!"

The earliest moon of wintertime

is not so round and fair

As was the ring of glory on

the helpless infant there.

The chiefs from far before him knelt

with gifts of fox and beaver pelt:

"Jesus your King is born, Jesus is born:

In excelsis gloria!"

O children of the forest free,

O seed of Manitou

The holy Child of earth and heaven

is born today for you.

Come kneel before the radiant boy

who brings you beauty peace and joy:

"Jesus your King is born, Jesus is born:

In excelsis gloria!"

The words of this Christmas hymn were written in 1643, by Jean de Brébeuf, who was a Jesuit missionary at Sainte-Marie among the Hurons, near Midland, Ontario, Canada. Brébeuf wanted to tell the Christmas story in a way the Hurons could understand, so he composed this Christmas carol, using the native language of the Huron/Wendat people. The song's original Huron title is "Jesous Ahatonhia" ("Jesus, he is born"). The melody is a traditional French folk song, "Une Jeune Pucelle" ("A Young Maid"). The essential message - of the miracle and promise of new life and new hope in the midst of dark and bitter winter - was very "acceptable" to the Huron people, and is one we can all share today.

Even after Jean de Brebeuf's death in 1649 at the hands of the rival Iroquois, the destruction of the Sainte-Marie settlement, and the dispersal of the remaining Huron people, the survivors of the brutal attack still celebrated the nativity each winter and kept the carol alive through the oral tradition. Almost 100 years later, another Jesuit priest heard the carol and wrote it down. It was translated into French under the title "Jesus est ne." In 1926, poet J.E. Middleton wrote an English interpretation that is widely known today.

I highly recommend the spectacular book, "The Huron Carol", which is beautifully illustrated by Frances Tyrrell. It includes the music for The Huron Carol, the only surviving verse in the old Huron language, and two verses from the eighteenth century French translation.