In The Bleak Midwinter-Pierce Pettis

...this poem by Christina Rossetti set to music, has always been one of my favorite Holiday songs...I love the dark, minor chord setting...it hearkens back to the time of Wesley...the piety and reverent nature of the hymns from that time are full of dark beauty that is almost all but lost...that is why i still love "I will Arise and Go to Jesus" aka "Come Ye Sinners"...

...In The Bleak Midwinter, I Will Arise and Go To Jesus and many of the Christmas/holiday songs we sing are really just the Contemporary Christian Music of their time...set to folk tunes like Greensleeves, though even older than Midwinter, with lyrics of great piety and charged with the intention of spreading the Methodist Gospel...

...As a teenager i was loathe to sing many of the hymns in church...wishing we could sing Amy Grant songs...and although Amy, Michael W. Smith, Twila Paris, Petra and others did their part to pave the way for Christian Artists of today and shape what modern worship services have become...i think it would be a shame for the church to completely lose sight of where they came from...the language and sentence structure of these old songs seems stark and rigid compared to today's music, but therein lies the beauty...these songs were written during a time when soulful singing and individual style were frowned upon...but i have a theory...all art is inspired by God...we are given the abilities we have and foster a relationship with our souls when we create...just as Fanny Crosby was inspired to write hymns i believe Trent Reznor was inspired to write Head Like A Hole...and i believe this inspiration was divine...

...so naturally enjoy the gentle rollicking rhythm of Sleigh Ride and the call and response of Silver Bells...pick up the newest Christmas offering by your favorite artist and enjoy the holiday fully...but remember our history this holiday...as a music lover i love to use music as a sort of history book and even though we are writing history daily, it is always useful to look back and thank those who came before us for their contributions to our lives...