Christmas Hymn Inaccuracies

I want to preface this blog post with the fact that I am Christian and love Christmas music and hymns. My critiques below will not stop me from singing these hymns and does not mean that I think that the lyrics should be changed. There is much leeway given for artistic license and that is ok despite introducing incorrect concepts to the story of Christ's birth.


Joy to the World
Joy to the world, the Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King!
Let ev’ry heart prepare him room,
And Saints and angels sing,
And Saints and angels sing,
And Saints, and Saints and angels sing.

There is nothing wrong with Joy to the World being a Christmas hymn, but most verses are focused on the second coming. The first verse above can be seen referring to both the birth of Christ as well as the second coming of Christ. It is perfectly appropriate when thinking about Christ's birth to look forward to the second coming because that is one of many things that make His birth worth celebrating.


Oh, Come, All Ye Faithful
Yea, Lord, we greet thee,
Born this happy morning;
— Jesus, to thee be all glory giv’n.
Son of the Father,
Now in flesh appearing;

This hymn could have been one sung by the angels at Christ's birth. The only potential inaccuracy would be in verse 3 above. It says, 'born this happy morning.' We don't actually know the time of day that Christ was born. In Luke 2 it states that the angels came to shepherds "keeping watch over their flock by night." But they said, "unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." In the Jewish culture of the time, one day ends and the next day begins at sunset. So for the angel to say 'this day' in the night time implies that it was some time after sunset. In the Book of Mormon a prophecy that was given five years earlier stated about the day of Christ's birth it says, "the night shall not be darkened; and it shall be the night before he is born." A recounting of the fulfillment of that prophecy it says, "the sun did rise in the morning again, according to its proper order; and they knew that it was the day that the Lord should be born, because of the sign which had been given." If Christ were born in the day time described in the Book of Mormon, that would have been in the night time in the land of Jerusalem which is on the other side of the world. These two accounts agree that Christ was born at night not in the morning.


Angels We Have Heard on High
Angels we have heard on high
Sweetly singing o’er the plains,
And the mountains in reply
Echoing their joyous strains.

This hymn is perfectly appropriate for Christmas in every way. However, I don't know which plains are being referred to as there don't appear to be any plains around the Bethlehem-Jerusalem area.


Silent Night
Silent night! Holy night!
All is calm, all is bright
...
Glories stream from heaven afar;
Heav'nly hosts sing Alleluia!
...
Radiant beams from thy holy face,
With the dawn of redeeming grace,

This hymn is also perfect for Christmas. I imagine that Holy night was not very silent or calm, given that Bethlehem was completely overloaded with people. Also, there was a new born baby in their midst. We would like to imagine that he was a very calm and peaceful baby, and maybe He was, but we don't really know. That night can be imagined to be bright assuming there were no clouds and the stars and moon were shining brightly. The one star that we know about that was seen by those on the American continent and by the wise men while they were in the east, may have been bright above them, but we don't know how strong it was perceived to be in the Bethlehem-Jerusalem area since king Herod didn't even remember there being a star.
While heaven feels far away to many, there is no indication that it is far only that it is above the earth.
There are several accounts of Jesus' face beaming with light and glory but not at His birth. Also, it is hard to tell when the author of these lyrics is referring to regarding the dawn of redeeming grace. Is he implying that this was at His birth? or the future resurrection? His redeeming grace has been active since at least Adam and Eve, although initiated by His infinite atonement. It does seem to be appropriate to refer to His birth as the dawn of redeeming grace.


Once in Royal David’s City
Once in royal David’s city
Stood a lowly cattle shed
...
And his shelter was a stable,
And his cradle was a stall;

I can't say this hymn is inaccurate because we don't know much about what it looked like where Christ was born. All we really know is that Christ was not born in an inn and he was laid in a manger. We don't know what type of animals ate out of the manger that Jesus laid in or the structures surrounding the manger. Anything about cattle, a shed, stable or stall is not directly out of the scriptural account and may be from extra-biblical sources or just artistic license. It would make sense if it were a manger for sheep as we know there were shepherds and flocks of sheep in the area.


Away in a Manger
The stars in the heavens looked down where he lay,
The little Lord Jesus, asleep on the hay.
...
The cattle are lowing; the poor baby wakes,
But little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes.

Just like the hymn above, there may have been artistic license taken here. Hay is a good assumption for a manger; cattle may be as well, given the Israelite's history as herdsmen. However, to assume that Jesus didn't cry at all as a child seems a little unrealistic but not outside of artistic license. There is no evidence from apocryphal writings to assume that Jesus didn't cry as an infant. However, it is not uncommon for an infant to wake up and be content. Infants don't all cry the whole time they are awake usually just when they are hungry or uncomfortable.


It Came upon the Midnight Clear
It came upon the midnight clear,
That glorious song of old,
From angels bending near the earth
To touch their harps of gold:
"Peace on the earth, good will to men
From heav'n's all-gracious King."
The world in solemn stillness lay
To hear the angels sing.

Still thru the cloven skies they come
With peaceful wings unfurled,
And still their heav’nly music floats
O’er all the weary world.
Above its sad and lowly plains
They bend on hov’ring wing,
And ever o’er its babel sounds
The blessed angels sing.

The midnight clear spoken of does not appear to be referring to the night of Christ's birth so cannot be inaccurate. Harps on the other hand are only mentioned twice in the scriptures referring to being heavenly, both times in the book of Revelation and neither time calling those using them angels and neither time are they made of gold. It does say that the heavenly host of angels were praising God but doesn't say if they were praising Him through song. In the first reference to heavenly harps, it refers to "the voice of harpers harping with their harps." I can imagine that the artistic license used here is not outside of the possibility of what may have actually happened on that first Christmas night.
The idea of angels having wings makes sense because, at least, they are not bound by gravity. There are a few references to creatures having wings in the scriptures. While these creatures are not called angels, it has been assumed that this is what they are because they live in the presence of God. As I am not an authority on the subject of angel wings, I have to say that this may not be an inaccurate depiction of what happened, although there is no reference to angels having wings in the scriptural accounts of Christ's birth.


O Little Town of Bethlehem
This hymn has pretty cool imagery but nothing that is apparently inaccurate that hasn't been mentioned already above.


Hark! the Herald Angels Sing
Hail the heav’n-born Prince of Peace!
...
Ris’n with healing in his wings.

Christ is the Only Begotten Son of God in the flesh that has ever lived on earth. While He was begotten of a heavenly being, He wasn't born in heaven which is what the phrase heav'n-born implies.
Here is a clear example of wings being metaphorical. Christ did not have wings, as we often think of with birds and sometime think with angels, but he was risen with healing in His wings.


With Wondering Awe
With wond’ring awe the wisemen saw
The star in heaven springing,
And with delight, in peaceful night,
They heard the angels singing:
Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna to his name!

By light of star they traveled far
To seek the lowly manger,
A humble bed wherein was laid
The wondrous little Stranger.
Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna to his name!

And still is sung in ev’ry tongue
The angels’ song of glory

It is a fair assumption that the wise men saw the star in peaceful night, but we don't know for sure that it was during the night time that they saw it or that the night was peaceful. We do know that "they rejoiced with exceeding great joy." However, there is no scriptural indicator that they heard angels sing like the shepherds may have.
It is also a fair assumption that they traveled far but we don't know how far. They did not however travel by light of star given that the star appeared up to two years before their journey. That is unless they traveled at night and the star was still in the sky. It is a pretty good assumption that Jesus was no longer in a manger when the wise men came. They also did not seek the lowly manger because they were not the shepherds who were told by angels that Christ would be in a manger. They likely did not know that a manger was even involved on the night of His birth some time before their visit. While the word stranger does rhyme with manger and the wise men did not know Jesus before they saw Him, it is not an appropriate term for Christ. In the scriptures when the term stranger is used, at least in the New Testament, it is referring to those who are not Israelites. This is cool imagery but we don't actually know what song the angels sang (assuming they were singing).


While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks
While shepherds watch’d their flocks by night,
All seated on the ground,
The angel of the Lord came down,
...
“To you, in David’s town this day,
Is born of David’s line
...
Thus spake the seraph, and forthwith
Appeared a shining throng

Most uncertainties in this hymn are well within artistic license to be safe assumptions. If the shepherds were seated when the angel came or not doesn't matter but it is a good rhyme. There is no mention in scripture of David's line in the scriptural account of the angel's visit to the shepherds. To call an angel a seraph seems appropriate and to assume that the heavenly hosts were a throng and shining also seems appropriate. Both are outside of the the text but safe to assume.


Far, Far Away on Judea’s Plains
Far, far away on Judea’s plains,
Shepherds of old heard the joyous strains

This is the third reference to plains in Christmas hymns. Again, when I look at a topographical map of the area around Bethlehem and Jerusalem I don't see any flat lands. It looks somewhat flat around sea level hours away but not near where Jesus was born.


The First Noel
The first Noel the angel did say
Was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay,
In fields where they lay keeping their sheep
On a cold winter's night that was so deep.
...
They looked up and saw a star
Shining in the East beyond them far,
And to the earth it gave great light,
And so it continued both day and night.

Where the shepherds seated or laying? It doesn't really matter but they may have been poor. Is this a stereotype of shepherds or more likely that the angel came to poor shepherds rather than rich shepherds? This also doesn't really matter. It most likely wasn't a winter's night but rather early spring and the lows were probably around 50 degrees (F). To some people that is pretty cold but I wouldn't say a deep cold. Although some say that spring weather around Jerusalem is very unpredictable. The truth is we just don't know what the weather was that night or what time of year it was.
There is no mention of a star in relation to the shepherds. I also believe that the whole concept of a star in the east is a mis-read of Matthew's account. The wise men were in the east when they saw the star that pointed them towards the Jerusalem area. So the star itself was probably west of the wise men not in the east. However, in this I may be wrong given that, like the sun, many stars rise in the east and set in the west. If the star remained in the sky after that glorious night, it may still have guided and directed them. We do know that a new star appeared that night, but it sounds like it is not the same as the great lights in heaven that lit the night sky on the other side of the world so that there was no darkness to the point of causing the whole night sky to be as bright as mid-day. We don't know which star it was or if it is still in the night sky today. It almost sounds like they are mixing accounts of the shepherds, the wise men, and the people on the American continent, although this last account was a few years away from being translated for the first time when this song was originally printed.


I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
This is a beautiful Christmas hymn that is not retelling any aspect of the story of Christ's birth so is not inaccurate on this topic.