In Every Language

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He is born, the divine Christ child.
Play on the oboe and bagpipes merrily.
He is born, the divine Christ child.
Sing we all of the Saviour’s birth.
Through long ages of the past,
Prophets have foretold his coming;
Through long ages of the past,
Now the time has come at last.

Some carols are hard to pin down, and that is part of their charm! Once upon a time there was a popular “hunting tune” in the region of Normandy. It was already an old composition when it first appeared in print in 1862. To that tune some unknown wordsmith added the lyrics to “Il Est Ne, Le Divin Enfant,” and the completed carol made its debut in Noêls Anciens fourteen years later.

However, there are many versions of the lyrics, and without an author’s signature, none of them can be proven to be the original.

In one version the birth of Christ is celebrated with oboes and bagpipes. In another the instruments are the oboe and the musette. “Gaily resounding pipe and drum” accompany the Nativity in a third version, and a fourth has the oboe vying with the bagpipes for the honor of proclaiming the birth.

The time we have waited for this momentous event might be “long ages of the past” or “four thousand years.”

Some versions mention the manger, the shepherds, and the star, while others focus more on what His blessed birth means to the world.

The hymn is sung at different tempos and with varying lyrics all across the world. There is even rumored to be a Native American version sung by the Mohawk people.

The heart of the hymn, whether it is “Il Est Ne, Le Divin Enfant,” or “He Is Born, the Divine Christ Child,” or (in Mohawk) “Rotonni Niio Roienha,” remains one of rejoicing that Christ was born for us.

This tremendous variety wrapped around the same essential message reflects well the people who sing it. Human beings come in a variety of shapes and sizes, using many different languages, but the central theme running through all those hearts is one of yearning for God.

So grab your bagpipes, oboes, pipes, drums, or whatever your instrument of choice is, and make a joyous noise because that divine Christ child—He is born for everyone!

Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. EPHESIANS 5:19

(From Silent Night: The Stories Behind 40 Beloved Christmas Carols, published by Barbour Publishing, Inc. Used by permission)

He is born, the divine Christ Child;
play the oboe and bagpipes merrily!
He is born, the divine Christ Child;
sing we all of the Savior mild.

1 Through long ages of the past,
prophets have foretold His coming;
through long ages of the past,
now the time has come at last!

2 O how lovely, oh,O how pure
is this perfect Child of heaven;
O how lovely, O how pure,
gracious gift to human-kind!

3 Jesus, Lord of all the world,
coming as a Child among us;
Jesus, Lord of all the world,
grant to us Thy heavenly peace.

DO YOU KNOW?
23 days in a calendar year equals to:
- 1,987,200 seconds
- 33,120 minutes
- 552 hours
- 3 weeks and 2 days
- 6.30% of 2019