Christmas Musicals for Church
Issue link: http://read.jwpepper.com/i/72013
167 NARRATOR 3: Nollaig Shona Dhaoibh!* (pronounced NO-Lihg HO-nuh JEEV) *Gaelic; literal meaning: "You have a happy Christmas." Meaning, "You have a happy Christmas!" NARRATOR 4: A blessed Christmas! NARRATOR 1: A joyous Christmas! ALL: The same to you! NARRATOR 1: And welcome to our celebration of the happiest of days, the most extraordinary of nights, the season of everlasting joy: Christmas! NARRATOR 2: We've gathered together tonight to share this most blessed of events – the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. NARRATOR 3: We have some Irish tales to tell, and remembrances of Christmases long ago. NARRATOR 2: We have gifts to share with our neighbors and friends, and tender blessings to impart. NARRATOR 4: And songs! So many songs! And everybody is invited to sing along! NARRATOR 1: So gather 'round our table. Warm yourself at the hearth by the light of what the Irish call a bloc na Nollag – the Christmas Eve fire that is lit to symbolize the birth of the light of the world. And rejoice! Rejoice! Light has come – joy has dawned – Jesus Christ is born! Joy Has Dawned with Angels We Have Heard on High NARRATOR 1: Christmas has always arrived in Ireland the same way it does all over the world – with anticipation and wonder. Traditionally, the December preparations were called "bringing home the Christmas" – and every member of the family took part. NARRATOR 2: The entire village always prayed for cold, frosty weather in December, for this meant a mild spring and an absence of illness. NARRATOR 4: In fact, if it snowed on Christmas Eve, Irish children were told that geese were being plucked in heaven! NARRATOR 3: You always knew the holiday season had arrived because everyone had a traditional Christmas blessing on their lips. NARRATOR 1: "May you be as contented as Christmas finds you all the year round." NARRATOR 2: "May the roof over your head never fall in, and may we as friends never fall out." NARRATOR 1: "Life goes by as if it had wings, and every Christmas puts another year on your shoulder." NARRATOR 2: "May you have the hindsight to know where you've been, the foresight to know where you're going, and the insight to know when you've gone too far." NARRATOR 1: "May you never forget what is worth remembering, or remember what is best forgotten." NARRATOR 2: "Food and drink for Christmas; new clothes for Easter." NARRATOR 1: "Happy Christmas – to you!" NARRATOR 2: "The same to you!" Preview Copy