But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.’
Luke 2:10
What is your favourite carol? I love O Holy Night, particularly the way that Lucy Engels sings it. It fills my heart with wonder and mystery.
Not many people do it any more, but it used to be the tradition to go round people’s houses and sing carols at their doors while raising money for the poor.
Have you ever wondered why we have a specific set of songs that are dedicated just to Christmas? And why do the songs sound the way they do—triumphant, joyful, exuberant, even in minor keys?
We sing because joy demands expression. The shepherds couldn’t keep quiet after seeing the angels. Mary couldn’t help but sing her Magnificat. The angels themselves broke into song over Bethlehem’s fields. When heaven invades earth, music happens.
But notice when we sing these carols. We sing them in December, in the darkest days of the year. We sing “Joy to the World” when circumstances might not be joyful at all. We sing about peace on earth in a world that knows little peace. We proclaim good news in seasons of grief, loss, and struggle.
This is the defiant joy of Christmas—a joy that doesn’t depend on our circumstances being joyful. It’s a joy rooted in what God has done, not in what’s happening around us. The angels announced joy to shepherds who were poor. They proclaimed peace to a people under Roman occupation. They declared good news in a world that was, in many ways, not good at all. Freedom from slavery and forgiveness of sins.
Christmas music is not so much singing despite the darkness but singing into the darkness. We flood the darkness with the greatest news we could imagine - Jesus is alive! We shout and we sing for joy because love has invaded our world and our hope is real.
When you sing a Christmas carol this year, you’re joining the great company of believers across centuries who have sung the same truth: Christ was born and he died for us. You are loved.
