Then the angel said to the shepherds keeping watch over their flocks at night,
“Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the City of David a Saviour, who is Christ he Lord…” (Luke 2:8-14)
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Readers, have a ‘Mega-merry’ Christmas, as may be inferred from the OT Hebrew word ashar (Strong’s #833, as in Proverbs 31:28 on the virtuous wife), meaning
‘happy, blessed, prosperous, successful, from original root ‘be straight, upright’.’
Better still is New Testament Greek’s makarios (Strong’s #3107), which means
‘from root mak, indicating large, or of long duration…happy, supremely blessed, a condition in which congratulations are in order. It is a grace word that expresses the special joys and satisfaction granted the person who experiences salvation.’
This ‘Blessed’ is used in The Beatitudes, or the Sermon on the Mount, as recorded in Matthew 5. (Details New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, Executive editor. Dr Jack Hayford.)
May it be an especially blessed night of spiritual silence and insight for everyone.
Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht is an old favourite, always sending shivvers down my spine!
The above Graz choir’s version premiered last year is ‘dedicated to all those who are not able to spend Christmas with their loved ones‘.
It was first sung in 1818 in Oberndorf bie Salzburg chapel. My father must have heard it during his residence in Stalag IIIA, near Dresden. Austria looked very attractive, even as seen en-route as a captive transported from the Battle for Crete (1941). So mid-1950s, we took many holidays ‘im Tyrol’ west of Salzburg, often motoring through there later.
This version by ‘Celtic Woman’ is also sublime…
Read/watch this song’s story in “Silent Night! Holy Night!” A Song for the World.
Richard's Watch 
Thanks and to you too – so much material. I nearly always read yours. Happy Christmas and New Year,,
Margaret
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Richard: So your dad was a POW near Dresden? My uncle Delbert Berninghaus was a POW at Stalag IV B near Muhlberg, Germany during World War II. Muhlberg is twenty-five miles from Dresden.
“In his memoir, Delbert Berninghaus does an excellent job describing for the reader what life was like for a new private in the U.S. Army in 1944. He also describes very effectively what happened to the 106th Infantry at the Battle of the Bulge. As he writes about night watch duty in the Ardennes Forest, it’s impossible not to feel some of his fear as the snow dropping from trees sounds like approaching enemy soldiers. His detailed account of the first weeks of his captivity is equally compelling.
“Those men who were captured late in the war did not know the depravation of prison life as long as some Americans did, but their experience was equally as harrowing in most respects other than length.
“Del was imprisoned at Stalag IV B near Muhlberg, Germany. One POW described it as, ‘a beautiful wooded area, on the banks of the Elbe River, about 25 miles downstream from Dresden. . . drab wooden barracks were divided into rooms or huts about 15 feet square with 25 or 30 men in each.'”
http://www.indianamilitary.org/German%20PW%20Camps/Prisoner%20of%20War/PW%20Camps/Stalag%20IV-B%20Mulberg/Delbert%20Berninghaus/Delbert%20Berninghaus.htm
Have a very blessed Christmas.
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Hello Tim, Always enjoy reading your comments. Informative and well thought out. Merry Christmas to you and your family. Mark Jenson
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Hello Richard, Merry Christmas and a VERY Happy New Year to you and your family. We have great reason to hope, don’t we? Thanks for all the work you do in putting these articles out. Very much appreciated. Mark Jenson
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Beautiful & May you & All who come here be blessed, upon this Blessed Holy Night!!!
Peace & Happy Christmas Everyone from pennine:-)
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Silent Night would be a favourite of mine.
My uncle who was an RAF pilot was killed in the Battle of Monte Casino, I think it was called.
These people died for our freedom, we must preserve it.
Praise the I AM.
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