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Christ Was Born On Christmas Day

Representative Text

1 Christ was born on Christmas day:
Wreathe the holly, twine the bay,
Christus natus hodie:
The Babe, the Son, the Holy One of Mary.

2 He is born to set us free,
He is born our Lord to be,
Ex Maria Virgine:
The God, the Lord, by all adored for ever.

3 Let the bright red berries glow
Ev'rywhere in goodly show:
Christus natus hodie:
The Babe, the Son, the Holy One of Mary.

4 Christians all, rejoice and sing,
'Tis the birthday of a King,
Ex Maria Virgine:
The God, the Lord, by all adored for ever.

Source: Journeysongs (3rd ed.) #318

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Translator: J. M. Neale

John M. Neale's life is a study in contrasts: born into an evangelical home, he had sympathies toward Rome; in perpetual ill health, he was incredibly productive; of scholarly tem­perament, he devoted much time to improving social conditions in his area; often ignored or despised by his contemporaries, he is lauded today for his contributions to the church and hymnody. Neale's gifts came to expression early–he won the Seatonian prize for religious poetry eleven times while a student at Trinity College, Cambridge, England. He was ordained in the Church of England in 1842, but ill health and his strong support of the Oxford Movement kept him from ordinary parish ministry. So Neale spent the years between 1846 and 1866 as a warden of Sackvi… Go to person page >

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Text Information

First Line: Christ was born on Christmas day, Wreathe the holly, twine the hay
Title: Christ Was Born On Christmas Day
Latin Title: Resonet in laudibus
Translator: J. M. Neale
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain
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Timeline

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Instances

Instances (1 - 6 of 6)
TextPage Scan

Journeysongs (2nd ed.) #350

Journeysongs (2nd ed.) #350
Text

Journeysongs (3rd ed.) #318

Journeysongs (3rd ed.) #318
TextPage Scan

RitualSong #513

RitualSong #513
TextScoreAudio

The Cyber Hymnal #8395

The Cyber Hymnal #8395
Text

Worship (3rd ed.) #396

Worship (3rd ed.) #396

Worship His Majesty #138

Worship His Majesty #138
Include 20 pre-1979 instances
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