Faith Family Friends

Celebrating the Joy of Living & Home Making ~

Baking, Cooking, Decorating, Tea Time, and taking Inspiration from those I love and the world around me...

A sharing of my heart and my home from a Christian perspective

...with a wee bit of whimsy added.

Saturday 1 December 2018

The ABC's of Christmas - J

Christmas is that moment in time when God, in His unconditional love, stepped out of heaven and onto earth, in order that we might one day step out of earth into heaven. - Charles F Stanley

J - The ABC's of Christmas


Hello friends~ Today we are doing the letter J.

is for...
Jesus, Jingle Bells, Joy To The World.




Jesus is the Reason for the Season.
Eight hundred years before the birth of Jesus Christ, the prophet Isaiah prophesied the coming of the Messiah.

"And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. 
And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of his father David." - Luke 1:30-32

"Jingle Bells" is one of the best-known and commonly sung winter songs in the world. It was written by James Lord Pierpont (1822–1893) and published under the title "One Horse Open Sleigh" in the autumn of 1857. Even though it is commonly thought of as a Christmas song, it was actually written and sung for Thanksgiving.

"Joy to the World"  
The words are by English hymn writer Isaac Watts, based on Psalm 98 in the Bible. The song was first published in 1719 in Watts' collection; The Psalms of David: Imitated in the language of the New Testament, and applied to the Christian state and worship. Watts wrote the words of "Joy to the World" as a hymn glorifying Christ's triumphant return at the end of the age, rather than a Christmas song celebrating his first coming as a babe born in a stable. Only the second half of Watts' lyrics are still used today.
The music was adapted and arranged to Watts' lyrics by Lowell Mason in 1839 from an older melody which was then believed to have originated from Handel, not least because the theme of the refrain (And heaven and nature sing...) appears in the orchestra opening and accompaniment of the recitative Comfort ye from Handel's Messiah, and the first four notes match the beginning of the choruses Lift up your heads and Glory to God from the same oratorio. However, Handel did not compose the entire tune. The name "Antioch" is generally used for the tune.
As of the late 20th century, "Joy to the World" was the most-published Christmas hymn in North America.



Thank you for your visit and I hope you are enjoying the ABC's of Christmas. Monday I will do the letter K. Have a joyful weekend!

Sharing from my heart ~ Sandi