Good Christian Men Rejoice

[simpleazon-image align=”right” asin=”B000YRNXV2″ locale=”us” height=”350″ src=”http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ikpxDEv7L.jpg” width=”350″]When singing Christmas carols during the holiday season, it is hard to imagine that the songs we sing are sometimes hundreds of years old or were originally in a much different language from our own native tongue. However, one such well-known Christmas carol is the frequently sung “Good Christian Men Rejoice.” This song, first published in 1328 under the name “In Dulci Jubilo,” is thought to have been written by a German mystic and Domincan monk by the name of Heinrich Seuse. In a biography about Seuse, it was said that angels sang this song and led him into a worshipful dance to God.

In the original, Seuse wrote the song using a mixture of languages, with some verses written in Medieval German and others in Latin. Interestingly, “In Dulci Jubilo” more closely translates in English to “In Sweetest Rejoicing,” but this is of course not what we call the song today.

There are several English translations of “In Dulci Jubilo.” In 1837, English composer Robert Lucas de Pearsall translated the German verses to English, but retained the Latin verses. It was English priest and scholar John Mason Neale who produced a complete English translation sixteen years later, in 1853, leading to the version of “Good Christian Men Rejoice” that many of us are familiar with today.

This popular carol has been sung by professionals and amateur carolers alike countless times since it’s release, in many places all over the world. To this day, “Good Christian Men Rejoice” also frequents professional musicians and orchestras’ Christmas-themed album recordings. With such a long history, it is likely that “Good Christian Men Rejoice,” or perhaps a slightly reworded or translated version of it, will still be sung centuries from now.

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

God rest ye merry, gentlemen
Let nothing you dismay
Remember, Christ, our Saviour
Was born on Christmas day
To save us all from Satan’s power
When we were gone astray
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

In Bethlehem, in Israel,
This blessed Babe was born
And laid within a manger
Upon this blessed morn
The which His Mother Mary
Did nothing take in scorn
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

From God our Heavenly Father
A blessed Angel came;
And unto certain Shepherds
Brought tidings of the same:
How that in Bethlehem was born
The Son of God by Name.
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

“Fear not then,” said the Angel,
“Let nothing you affright,
This day is born a Saviour
Of a pure Virgin bright,
To free all those who trust in Him
From Satan’s power and might.”
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

The shepherds at those tidings
Rejoiced much in mind,
And left their flocks a-feeding
In tempest, storm and wind:
And went to Bethlehem straightway
The Son of God to find.
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

And when they came to Bethlehem
Where our dear Saviour lay,
They found Him in a manger,
Where oxen feed on hay;
His Mother Mary kneeling down,
Unto the Lord did pray.
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

Now to the Lord sing praises,
All you within this place,
And with true love and brotherhood
Each other now embrace;
This holy tide of Christmas
All other doth deface.
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy