Christmas with Harold

A classic Christmas joke would go something like this:

An adult asks a child, “Can you name everyone in the manger on the first Christmas?”
To which the child replies, matter-of-factly, “Sure. Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, the three wise men and Harold.”
The surprised adult questions, “Harold? Who is that?”
“The singing angel, of course. Don’t you know the song? Hark, Harold the Angel sings!”

Hilarious! I’ve been singing this Christmas hymn a bit in the car getting ready for Christmas. The tempo is quick and the lyrics almost compel louder singing – perfect for the solo drive : )

Last Wednesday was the youth group Christmas party and two of my nephews were with us that night. I was really surprised how well my fourth grade nephew fit in with some of our junior high boys – or perhaps partly worried at the maturity progress at those ages and wondering what I’m going to do with Hugh in seven years! On the way home, after picking up our kids at the nicest-couple-on-the-planet’s house, we started singing Christmas songs and “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” was requested. Luckily I’ve been rehearsing it all week, so we sang it once. And twice. Hugh liked the sound and asked for it again and again as soon as we’d finish. Even Miah was trying to sing along! We probably sang the song ten times on our twenty minute car ride.

Of course, we’d only sing the first verse. If you are ever to write a hymn or song, make sure the first verse or chorus is catchy, because that’s all people will remember. I know bits and pieces of the next two verses, but had to look them up in my old UMC hymnal. As it turns out, the song is even better when you know the words! The hymn captures the birthday parts of Christmas, with lines like “Christ is born in Bethlehem,”  and the oft-repeated refrain “glory to the newborn King,” while some lines capture the essence of Christmas, like “God and sinners reconciled,” or the final lines of verse three:

“Mild he lays his glory by,

Born that man no more may die,

Born to raise the sons of earth,

Born to give them second birth.”

Jesus’ birth is great reason to celebrate, because it is just the beginning! Definitely my favorite Christmas hymn this year, and definitely worth singing alone in the car. Or proclaiming with some angelic hosts . . . Or even with Harold : )