In Excelsis Gloria

When you have children, you rediscover things.

For example: the Wee Sing recordings (the older ones, anyway), some of which can be found on YouTube and Archive.org.

And other things you discover for the first time, like their Christmas recording, which like any good Christmas album contains a mixture of predictable standbys and mildly exotic old folk songs.  Among the latter was one I hadn’t heard before, but which the narration explained had been written by a priest in the 1600s to teach the Indians about Jesus.

I liked the song enough that, a brief internet search later, I had my title: the “Huron Carol,” also known as “’Twas in the Moon of Wintertime.”  It is the oldest Canadian Christmas hymn, having been written by the Jesuit missionary and martyr Jean de Brébeuf.

At some point in my research the cynical thought occurred to me that, were anyone to do what Brébeuf did today, and adopt another culture’s language and forms to convey their culture’s information, it would be deemed both cultural appropriation and colon(ial)ization.  On the other hand, one generally imagines appropriators to be casual users; Brébeuf’s commitment to learning the language and culture of the Indians he sought to convert was anything but lackadaisical.  And however great his temerity in proselytizing, one can hardly come up with a greater penalty than martyrdom …

On the other hand (for it is Christmas), it is interesting to consider that the most universally appropriated culture on earth is Christianity.  Oh, I know the history of forced conversions; I am referring to the main of Christianity’s spread.  From a slaves’ religion two thousand years ago to the courts of the empire by 300 A.D. to wherever we are now …

But Christians have always wanted to share their “culture,” their cultus.

And Christianity has a way of revenging itself upon those who appropriated it merely to mock it.  The story of St. Genesius is instructive.

But this is straying far from Jean de Brébeuf and the Hurons.  Here is a solid recording of the song.  The usual English lyrics are not an especially good translation; the one below the video is supposedly more accurate.

 

 

Have courage, you who are humans, Jesus, he is born
Behold, the spirit who had us as prisoners has fled
Do not listen to it, as it corrupts our minds.
Jesus, he is born, he is born; Jesus, he is born.

They are spirits, coming with a message for us, the sky people
they are coming to say, "Rejoice" (ie., be on top of life)
"Marie, she has just given birth. Rejoice."
Jesus, he is born, he is born; Jesus, he is born.

Three have left for such a place, those who are elders
A star that has just appeared over the horizon leads them there
He will seize the path, he who leads them there
Jesus, he is born, he is born; Jesus, he is born.

As they arrived there, where he was born, Jesus
the star was at the point of stopping, he was not far past it
Having found someone for them, he says, "Come here"
Jesus, he is born, he is born; Jesus, he is born.

Behold, they have arrived there and have seen Jesus
They praised (made a name) many times, saying "Hurray, he is good in nature"
They greeted him with reverence (i.e., greased his scalp many times), saying "Hurray"
Jesus, he is born, he is born; Jesus, he is born.

"We will give to him praise for his name"
"Let us show reverence for him as he comes to be compassionate to us."
"It is providential that you love us and wish, ‘I should adopt them.’"
Jesus, he is born, he is born; Jesus, he is born.