Merry Christmas. I was probably 10 or 12 the first time I heard this song. It wasn’t among the usual set one hears. But it became my favorite the very first time and for all my life because it has the truest meaning of the holiday. It makes me cry.
The song goes back to 1853 but the real King Wenceslas, now a saint, lived in the 10th Century. Christmas is a time to be grateful for what we have and to care for those who are in need, cold, sick, poor. So this good king is the example of seeing and caring for others.
And it really must be an English choir to present the song. Here’s the Choir of Westminster Abbey:
“Therefore, Christian men, be sure
Wealth or rank possessing
Ye, who now will bless the poor
Shall yourselves find blessing.”
Right?
Debra Strege 