Music Monday - Advent III (Huron version)

Zoiks! It's Monday again. Where does the time go?

The song for this week is directly inspired by the "Wee Sing" Christmas tape that our family listened to when I was a child. Among all the usual Christmas favorites, there were songs that I had never heard before (and some have not been heard since). As a child, I enjoyed hearing songs from different cultures because they told the Christmas story in ways not always familiar to American ears. The songs were also an introduction to the Christian belief in the universal church. I understood the concept at the time like this: our brothers and sisters in Christ speak many languages, and don't always sing like German Lutherans. (Or, more crudely, not everybody speaks English and sings like WE do!) Some of the songs became favorites of mine - "Fum, Fum, Fum", the Spanish tune, is one.

The Huron Carol (also known as "Twas in the Moon of Wintertime") was a particular favorite. Written for the Huron people in 1643 by a Jesuit priest and using a French folk tune, it is Canada's oldest Christmas song. The original Huron name is  "Jesous Ahatonhia" ("Jesus, he is born"). This version is sung in Huron, French, and English.

Praise be to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who was born for the redemption of all the world!

-BR