IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER

In the bleak midwinter is one of the least favourite carols of mine. It was written by Christina Rossetti. When I first heard this carol, I was sure that the carol must have been written by a Scottish man. I can just hear an old man from the deepest countryside of Scotland saying it’s a bleak winter. But she was an English poet. it was written I think in 1872 for a magazine and she got £10 for it. That was a fortune in those days. but music was put to it in 1906. It’s the tune I really don’t like. But the words are really beautiful see what you think then I will try to talk about some of the meanings in the carol.     

 

In the bleak midwinter

By Christina Rossetti

In the bleak midwinter

Frosty wind made moan,

Earth stood hard as iron,

Water like a stone:

Snow had fallen, snow on snow

Snow on snow,

In the bleak mid-winter,

Long ago.

Our God, heaven cannot hold him

Nor earth sustain;

Heaven and earth shall flee away

When he comes to reign:

In the bleak mid-winter

A stable-place sufficed

The Lord God Almighty

Jesus Christ.

Enough for him, whom cherubim

Worship night and day,

A breast full of milk,

And a mangerful of hay:

Enough for him, whom angels

Fall down before,

The ox and ass and camel

Which adore.

Angels and archangels

May have gathered there,

Cherubim and seraphim

Thronged the air –

But only his mother

In her maiden bliss

Worshipped the beloved

With a kiss.

 

So, the lyrics Our God, heaven cannot hold him

Nor earth sustain;

Does this mean he is greater than heaven and earth?  

What would be your, translation of this?   

 

Heaven and earth shall flee away

When he comes to reign:

Isaiah 65:17 “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things will not be remembered or come to mind.”” Revelation 1620

When we are born, we don’t remember a life before an yet personally I’m convinced that we did live before coming into the world we know now, today. Just as when we die, do we go to another land we call heaven? If so, do we forget what is on earth? I believe we deal with it differently we remember and wait for those we have left but move onto another way of living. But must be able to wipe out part of our memory otherwise we would grieve in another land for those we have lost and spend the rest of our days there sad.

 

If I were to look at this in a deeper way, I could say a new religion will be born we will destroy our earth so this means earth and heaven will become further apart.

 

An archangel is the highest rank

What is the meaning of cherubim? The second highest order. A child angels face with angel wings looking out for Jesus/God. In this carol making sure there was hay and a breastful of milk as well as the animals needed. The simplicity of life, all that is required.

 

This poem/carol depicts the simple offering of Jesus’s Mother though the wise men can offer gold Frankincense and so on, Mary’s gift of a kiss and her heart totally outstrips any other gift.