Traditional Christmas carols are perhaps some of the most familiar text in the English language. I love singing them each Christmas, but for me the plain meaning of these old hymns often “hides in plain sight” due to the excessive familiarity that comes after a lifetime of repetition. I’ve found that restating them in more modern, non-poetic text makes that meaning more accessible to my 21st century mind.
That’s why over the coming days I will be publishing 14 traditional Christmas carols that I have translated from the somewhat archaic poetic original into more-or-less-modern prose. (I’ve simply included all of the Christmas songs from the LDS hymnal.) I hope that you’ll find these beneficial.
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