What Are Christmas Carols and Why Do They Feel So Good?
by Beth Parkinson
Presenter, CBN Europe
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This has been a year of a lot of ‘no’s’. No, you can’t work at the office, no, you can’t go to school as normal, no, you can’t hug people, no, you can’t sing in groups. Or can you?
Joy To The World
The other week I heard about the petition some famous singers had started for caroling to be allowed this year, and that it had been passed in government guidelines. In a year of ‘no’ there was so much joy around this victory, of being able to sing in public, and it got me thinking, why does it matter?
For me carols give more than a just a seasonal buzz of warmth, they do something deeper. They draw me closer to the people around me, creating bridges across the space that time and the busy-ness of life have created.
And I think that’s true for many of us.
When you unite with someone in song, it goes further than sharing a melody. A song becomes so much more than the sum of its parts, without wanting to sound too grand… music can open heaven over us.
How can I make such a bold statement?
Well, if we know that we enter the gates of heaven through thanksgiving, and the very courts of our God through praise, we’re getting somewhere towards that idea of open heaven.
But take it further, remember that the head angel, before he fell, Lucifer, was in charge of worship, covering the throne with praise.
So, when we join together in praise and raise our voices to heaven, we’re the closest we will get to the throne–room while still on earth. It’s what we were created for, it’s why a song can move you more than you can explain – and not just for Christians, but for every person under the sky.
When you unite with someone in song, it goes further than sharing a melody. A song becomes so much more than the sum of its parts, without wanting to sound too grand… music can open heaven over us.
Beautiful Christmas
Christmas, beautiful Christmas gives us an opportunity like no other.
Where people of little faith, no faith, lapsed faith, other faiths, can publicly hear the truth of the gospel message sung around them. More powerful than a street preacher, more soul stirring than a Christmas tear-jerker, a song reminds people of who they were made to be… and at Christmas, the story of the gospel tells them the truth of who that is.
Not the world-view of who we should be, that only deals with the outward things, but the inner truth, of the peace that we were designed to have in relationship with God, the reassurance that comes through Jesus.
Carols were designed to follow simple melodies, so that anyone could pick them up, could sing along, regardless of their status or education. Carols were designed for anyone, anywhere, they are an extension of that ripped curtain on the Holy of Holies, reminding us that Jesus came for all.
So, as you go out this year to join in with outdoor carols, in gratitude for a ‘yes’ in a year of ‘no’s’, pray over the people you see, over anyone under the sound of your voice, that as heaven opens above your praises, that their hearts would be touched, and the King of Glory would enter in.
