When I was at Sunday School, every year, alongside churches all over the world, we would “perform” our nativity play for the members of the church, our parents and the villagers – well in truth it wasn’t a play it was a tableau. While the casting of most of the characters changed year on year, the oldest girl was always given the part of Angel Gabriel. I have to say that I soon rose through the part of Shepherd and Inn Keeper – I think I may have once been a Wise Man but I was never able to be Mary as I was not slim enough to fit into the dress – and soon I reached the dizzying heights of head angel. A tableau by the definition of Miss Cooper, our Sunday School teacher, was building up a picture – no words were spoken by the characters and once we had reached our places, we had to stand very still until the singing at the end. Well, no words were spoken, except by the Angel Gabriel and, perhaps due to the number of years I was oldest girl, to this day I can give a rousing rendition of “Fear not, for behold etc etc” that would bring terror into any 5 year old shepherd’s heart!
Once all the characters were in place, we would then sing various Christmas Sunday School songs and always finish with the congregational hymn “Love came down at Christmas” sung to the tune Yuletide (the second tune in Congregational Praise).
I grew up thinking that was the right, the only, tune to sing that hymn to – and so it came as rather a shock when I attended a carol service in a different church and stood up to belt out Yuletide in the time-honoured manner, to hear an entirely different, and, to me, unrecognisable, tune emitting from the organ!
When I went into ministry and began writing Carol Services, which I knew I would like to finish with “Love came down at Christmas”, and with the absence of an organist to play the requested tune, I began the hunt of finding Yuletide on an MP3 version and discovered that in fact there are tonnes of tunes that this hymn can be sung to!
It was as part of this hunt that I discovered that in fact the words that we sing as a Christmas Carol were originally written by Christina Rosetti as a poem. The poem was first published without a title in “Time Flies: A Reading Diary” in 1885 and then in 1893 was included in the collection “Verses” with the title “Christmastide”.
Over the years it has been set to the music of numerous composers, including R O Morris, Harold Darke, John Rutter and of course, Sidney Hann (who wrote the Yuletide tune). The most recent new setting being in 2014 by David J Loxley-Blount which was performed by the Financial Times Choir in Southwark Cathedral. A revelation to me at least!
I think it’s true to say that whichever tune you prefer to sing this carol to, it has words that remind us of the birth of our saviour and the love that he brought into the world. It tells of the importance of having love in our lives and sharing that love with others. It reminds us - “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16 NLT)
May God’s love be with this Christmas time and into the New Year.
Love came down at Christmas,
Love all lovely, Love Divine,
Love was born at Christmas,
Star and Angels gave the sign.
Worship we the Godhead,
Love Incarnate, Love Divine,
Worship we our Jesus,
But wherewith for sacred sign?
Love shall be our token,
Love be yours and love be mine,
Love to God and all men,
Love for plea and gift and sign.
Catherine Booton
(Tracking down a version of Yuletide was nigh on impossible! Enjoy this version by Shawn Colvin - Ed).