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 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.