A Caroling Devotional to Declare Jesus’ Glory!
There is a rabbinic tradition that God didn’t just speak the world into creation but sang it into being. While this can’t be proven, it certainly resonates with the delight God seems to take in giving us the gift of song and music. The Psalmist writes,
Sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Sing to the Lord, praise his name,
proclaim his salvation day after day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous deeds among all peoples.
-Psalm 96:1-3
One of the joyful ways in which we can declare God’s glory among the nations is through the singing of Christmas Carols during the season of Advent. Followers of Jesus have been doing this for 2,000 years as evidenced by the oldest known Christmas Carol from the 2nd century AD, Gloria in Excelsis, which tells of the angels’ announcement to the shepherds of Jesus’ birth.
St. Francis of Assisi is known by some as the “Father of Christmas Carols,” as in the 1200’s he started the tradition of creating “Nativities” and singing “Canticles” in both the vernacular and Latin about Jesus’ birth.
In the 1400’s, the English tradition of caroling began to take root when a priest and poet, John Audelay, composed 25 songs that could be sung from house to house during the Christmas season. By the 1800’s the idea of Christmas Carols took off in the United States and Europe, and many of the traditional carols we sing today come from this era.
This digital Advent Calendar is designed so that you can use it for your daily Advent devotions and take it with you as you go caroling with your friends to share the joyful news of Jesus’ birth with your neighbors. Each daily devotion begins with a Scripture and a Christmas Carol. The Carols for Advent are in alphabetical order. You can also subscribe and have a daily email sent directly to your inbox containing a beloved Christmas Carol, scripture reading, featured artwork and piano accompaniment for each carol.
May God bless you during this Season of Advent as you pursue Jesus through the daily devotionals and as you go caroling with your friends and family. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to fill your neighborhoods with the Carols which declare our Lord Jesus’ glory and marvelous deeds?!
