Best Loved Christmas Carols, Readings and Poetry

Angels we have heard on high,

Singing sweetly o’er the plains,

And the mountains in reply

Echoing their joyous strains:

Gloria in excelsis Deo!

Shepherds, why this jubilee?

Why these joyous strains prolong?

What the gladsome tidings be

Which inspire your heavenly song?

Gloria in excelsis Deo!

Come to Bethlehem and see

Him whose birth the angels sing;

Come, adore on bended knee

Christ the Lord, the new-born King!

Gloria in excelsis Deo!

See him in a manger laid,

Whom the choirs of angels praise;

Mary, Joseph, lend your aid,

While our hearts in love we raise.

Gloria in excelsis Deo!

H. F. Hémy (1818–88), after James Chadwick (1813–82)

The Annunciation (#ulink_176446ed-15f9-5bef-8229-c246a6a92598)

This passage, from Luke 1:26–38, relates how Mary receives a visit from an angel and hears the news that she is to become the mother of Christ. As part of the background to the story of Christ’s birth, it is recited in churches throughout Christendom as an integral part of carol services.

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God (#ulink_a8eab04c-7ec8-5771-b35c-8662c6e6dccb) to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you.’ But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’ The angel said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.’ Then Mary said, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.’ Then the angel departed from her.

As with gladness men of old (#ulink_f3e2ff4f-c83e-5690-bb88-25e170721abe)

William Chatterton Dix worked in shipping insurance in Bristol, but also wrote hymns in his spare time. He wrote this popular Epiphany hymn (the most successful of his compositions), on 6 January 1860, when he was in his early twenties), after illness prevented him attending his local Anglican church. He was inspired by the Gospel lesson for the day, the Epiphany story as told at Matthew 2:1–12. The tune to which the hymn is sung was composed by the German composer Conrad Kocher and is commonly called ‘Dix’, although Dix himself professed to dislike the tune.

As with gladness men of old

Did the guiding star behold;

As with joy they hailed its light,

Leading onward, beaming bright;

So, most gracious God, may we

Evermore be led to thee.

As with joyful steps they sped

To that lowly manger bed,

There to bend the knee before

Him whom heaven and earth adore;

So may we with willing feet

Ever seek thy mercy seat.

As they offered gifts most rare

At that manger rude and bare;

So may we with holy joy,

Pure and free from sin’s alloy,

All our costliest treasures bring,

Christ, to thee, our heavenly King.

Holy Jesus, every day

Keep us in the narrow way;

And, when earthly things are past,

Bring our ransomed souls at last

Where they need no star to guide,

Where no clouds thy glory hide.