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"As with Gladness Men of Old" used Matthew 2:1–12 as a theme to compare the journey of the Biblical Magi to visit the baby Jesus to each Christian's personal pilgrimage and as a reminder that it is not the value of the gifts, it is the value of giving and adoration to Jesus that is what Christians should seek.
"The Friendly Beasts" is a traditional Christmas song about the gifts that a donkey, cow, sheep, camel, and dove give to Jesus at the Nativity. The song seems to have originated in 12th-century France, set to the melody of the Latin song "Orientis Partibus". [1] The song is also known as "The Song of the Ass", The Donkey Carol", "The Animal ...
All three gifts are ordinary offerings and gifts given to a king. Myrrh being commonly used as an anointing oil, frankincense as a perfume, and gold as a valuable. The three gifts had a spiritual meaning: gold as a symbol of kingship on earth, frankincense (an incense) as a symbol of deity, and myrrh (an embalming oil) as a symbol of death.
The star leads them to Jesus' Bethlehem birthplace, where they worship him and give him gifts. The wise men are then given a divine warning not to return to Herod, so they return home by a different route. [3] Many Christians believe the star was a miraculous sign.
Source [2]. John Henry Hopkins Jr. organized the carol in such a way that three male voices would each sing a solo verse in order to correspond with the three kings. [3] The first and last verses of the carol are sung together by all three as "verses of praise", while the intermediate verses are sung individually with each king describing the gift he was bringing. [4]
“Christmas is about the birth of Jesus, and white aligns with God’s promise of life everlasting and the purity, hope and goodness that Jesus’ life and death represent,” Sawaya says.
We hate to break it to you, but giving someone every gift mentioned in the song would cost you a small fortune — around $41,205.58, according to the current Christmas price index.
The song is now performed by choirs around the world, especially during the Christmas season as a Christmas carol. [5] Another motivation of the song may have been to Christianize old English winter season songs used in wassailing the apple orchards — pouring out libations or engaging in similar ceremonies to seek fertility of the trees. [6]