Storytime, An Unexpected Christmas Gift – Un Dar Neaşteptat de Crăciun

Oldest Christmas Carol. Wise Men and Infant Jesus in Manger

An Unexpected Christmas Gift

It was Christmas Eve and while it was still early afternoon, with the heavy clouds now lying low and everyone’s excitement buzzing like bolts of energy, the twinkling lights had begun to glow in the shops’ windows, on the eaves, hung in trees, tucked around door frames, or even adorning the houses of the village. As the wait for Christmas was nearly over and winter still had a long time ahead, mostly feasts and holidays, the cheer was barely contained.

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The Oldest Christmas Carol, Jesus Refulsit Omnium

Oldest Christmas Carol. Wise Men and Infant Jesus in Manger

The oldest Christmas Carol historians have knowledge of is a 4th century motet or Epiphany: ‘Jesus Refulsit Omnium’ – Jesus, Light of All the Nations – exactly translating Jesus, the brilliance of all. It depicts the sudden realization that enlightened the Magi, the Wise Men, when they finally arrived to the stable where infant Jesus had been born and it was created by St. Hilary of Poitiers between 310 – 367 (most probably without any instrumental backing).

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