O du fröliche, O du selige,
gnadenbringende Weihnachtszeit!
Welt ging verloren; Christ ist geboren:
Freue, freue dich, O Christenheit!

We arrive at the third Sunday of Advent and it is time for joy! So I give you another old German hymn that anticipates Christmas Eve with rejoicing. The English words of this one express how we wait hopefully, sleep peacefully and awake thankful for the shining light that is about to arrive. And all this done joyfully. It is something to celebrate.

Knowing all this makes the origins of this carol very interesting. The tune was originally a Sicilian Mariners’ song with words that were a prayer for blessings; a request for peace, joy and a sense of being refreshed when travelling in the wilderness. German philosopher and poet, Johann Gottfried von Herder brought the melody back to Germany after travelling in Italy in 1788. Around 1816, Johannes Daniel Falk wrote German lyrics and it became one of the most popular Weinachtslieder (Christmas songs for my English friends!). What is interesting about Falk, is that he was known as the Weimar orphan father. After losing four of his children to typhoid fever, he founded an orphanage for abandoned children. This song was one he dedicated to these children.

Again I am amazed at the resilience of the human spirit. Surely the fishermen who sang this prayer were faced with challenging situations – stormy waters, hard work, time away from family. Not an easy life in the 18th century. Yet they sang out of a desire to be filled with joy and peace. The “orphan father” had lost his children and was still able to rejoice with the orphans he cared for and encouraged. I read the English words of this carol and wonder if Christmas really means all it should to me. Do I value joy in the way that the original singers of this hymn did? I think I’d like to. But it does sometimes feels that our understanding of joy is confused by an insistence that happiness equals having everything we desire. I suspect that misses the mark on this one. Joy isn’t really about possessions, success or the details of our lives. It’s about seeing possibilities. It’s about choosing to be joyful. It’s about grace.

So in its long existence, this tune has been offered as a prayer for safety by fishermen, a children’s song to encourage those orphaned by a plague, and a Christmas carol celebrating the arrival of a Saviour. The common thread is joy. Its importance, its value. Let us look for it and then allow it to fill our lives.

O du fröliche …
Oh, how joyfully…
Riempire i nostri cuori di gioia e pace…
Fill our hearts with joy and peace…