Tuesday 19 December 2006

Christmas in Ausralia on a Scorching Summers Day

Last night we had our Aussie Christmas Carol Service at our church. This is a tradition in our church, on the Monday before Christmas each year we have a carol service that is devoted to Australian Christmas Carols that don't talk about snow. That would be entirely inappropriate as we have Christmas in Summer and even in winter most of Australia doesn't get snow.
We usually do have some traditional carols as well but non of the ones that talk about snow. One of my favourites that we sing is called See The Sun.
See the Sun Leigh Newton © 1988

1. See the sun ride high across the blue,
See the summer eucalyptus hue,
See the jacarandas all in bloom,
Signal Christ will soon be here.

2. See the star that points the way to life,
See the kings who travel through the night,
See young Mary riding in her plight
With the child still in the womb.

3. Praise the child we now await to come,
Praise the boy born as the Father's son,
For this baby is the only one
Who can lead us back to God.

Bridge
But the summer knows that life is cruel;
His pain will not be easy.
When the bushfires roar across this land
His life will then be given.

4. But for now our child will soon be born,
Born our brother in the early morn,
Born a servant who will calm the storm

I like this because it uses Australian imagery that I can relate to at Christmas time, and although I have not been personally affected by bushfires I know people who have and it is a reminder to us of the reason that Christ came which we should remeber even at Christmas.

Another of my favourite Aussie Carols is a more traditional one called A Christmas Lullaby or The Silver Stars
The Silver Stars Are In The Sky
Words John Wheeler Music William G James
The silver stars are in the sky,
The red-gold moon goes riding high,
O, sleep my little one sleep!
Once long ago, against her breast,
A mother rocked her child to rest,
Who was the Prince of Heav'n above,
The Lord of happiness and love.
O, sleep, my little one sleep!

The boobook calls across the night,
The brown moths flutter in the light,
O, sleep, my little one sleep!
In Bethlehem long, long ago,
When roads and paddocks gleam'd with snow;
On this same night, that mother mild,
Lull'd into dreams her royal child.
So, sleep, my little one, sleep!
Sleep ...

I like this one because it also brings in The Aussie imagery and it reminds us that Jesus came as a baby like we did and had a loving family like us.

The service was really good we had glow sticks and it was really fun.
God be with you and your family this Christmas and remember the real meaning of christmas.

7 comments:

natto said...

I like that song!

Crazyjedidiah said...

there are two which one do you like

natto said...

oops, both of them

Jonathan said...

I really like the first one, but the sun sure isn't riding high here.

Crazyjedidiah said...

the point jonno, the point.

Jonathan said...

Yeah...

I really like it because of the way it wonderfully ties the point in with the Australian summer. But it definitely doesn't fit in here - me liking it is sort of like English settlers liking See amid the winter's snow when they arrived in Australia.

Jonathan said...

Tsktsk, Beth, you've left the last line off it. That's bad, cause I always get it mixed up.