O Come, O Come this Winter’s Wind (Oh Come O Come Emmanuel)

 O Come, O Come this Winter’s Wind (Oh Come O Come Emmanuel) 

The origin of the melody was unknown for a while. The mystery was settled in 1966 by British musicologist Mary Berry (also an Augustinian canoness and noted choral conductor), who discovered a 15th-century manuscript containing the melody in the National Library of France. - Wikipedia  

This was always one of my favorite hymns as a kid. As the struggles of recovering from the severed ties with my childhood religion started to heal, I was glad to include criticism of authoritarian leadership that can be found in various corners of religious practice. Gratefully I can say that the timbre of my congregations as a whole were not the scary, fire-and-brimstone kinds. I got hippie Jesus, not scary Jesus. There were individuals who were of less than savory character, but as with any subset of the human population, you’ll find the best of us and the worst of us. 

 

Oh come oh come this winter's wind 

And freeze all shame attributed to sin 

For no oppressor's ignorant creed  

Will melt our stolid self-sufficient rede 

Rejoice rejoice 

Oh solstice time 

Inspires change in all mankind 

  

Oh keep oh keep our loved ones warm 

And soften any tendency to harm 

The season's cold and dark and long 

But in it there is light and song 

Rejoice Rejoice 

Oh Solstice time 

Inspires change in all mankind 

  

Oh see oh see the falling snow 

All round us as a glittering glow 

Illuminating night and day 

And softening the chaotic fray 

Rejoice rejoice 

Oh solstice time 

Inspires change in all mankind 

  

Behold behold the frost so delicate 

That draws the patterns intricate 

And ponder how we can create 

A world we all appreciate 

Rejoice rejoice 

Oh solstice time 

Inspires change in all mankind