January 6 

In the Bleak Midwinter 

TEXT: Christina G. Rossetti

b. December 5, 1830, London, England

d. December 29, 1894, Bloomsbury, England

Born into a gifted family of poets and artists, Christina Rossetti was a leading English poet of the Victorian era and was compared favorably with her contemporary, the famous poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Rossetti’s father emigrated from Italy in 1824 and became a professor at King’s College. Her mother homeschooled Rossetti and her two sisters and brother. Their home education included The Pilgrim’s Progress and the works of St. Augustine. Of her voluminous output of romantic, devotional, and children’s poetry, Rossetti is most known today for two poems that have been set to music, “Love Came Down at Christmas” and “In the Bleak Midwinter.”

TUNE: Gustav T. Holst

b. September 21, 1874, Cheltham, England

d. May 25, 1934, London, England

One of England’s most famous nineteenth century composers, Gustav Holst is best known for his orchestral suite, The Planets. A teacher and professional trombonist, he wrote dozens of compositions for almost every musical medium. Biographer Michael Short wrote, “many people who may never hear any of Holst’s major works … have nevertheless derived great pleasure from hearing or singing such small masterpieces as the carol, ‘In the Bleak Midwinter.’”⁵⁰ The great hymn “O God Beyond All Praising” is a tune derived from “Jupiter” from The Planets. Since “In the Bleak Midwinter” is irregular in meter, it demands care to follow the several extra melody notes to be sung or ignored to match all the syllables.

As you sing this hymn … you may wonder why this carol was chosen to end these forty-three hymns and the Epiphany section. This carol summarizes the Christmas story with four vivid pictures: the place, the prophecy, the adoration, and our response. The first stanza appears to be in error as to the place, for Bethlehem would not have snowy, cold winters—or even the certainty that Jesus’ birth was in winter. But allegorically, whether or not Rossetti meant this, it is certainly a “bleak” picture of the cold and hostile world—a world without hope—into which Jesus came. We could even say the “snow on snow on snow” was the growing hostility that led Him to death on a cross.

The second stanza alludes to the first coming where Jesus did not need a palace or throne. A stable was “sufficient.” But Christ’s second coming, “when He comes to reign,” prophesies the destruction of heaven and earth as described in 2 Peter 3:10, “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare” (NIV). Rossetti’s third stanza describes the adoration that began in Bethlehem when the angels gathered in worship. How tenderly she describes Mary’s worship, “with a kiss.” This is not worship devoid of emotion, and neither should ours be. The fourth stanza brings us to the close of this Christmas season with a question: How do we respond? We acknowledge we are incapable of any worthy gift. But God gives us a heart to know Him (Jer. 24:7). In return, we give Him our hearts. On this last day of the season, make this your purposeful and glad response. If you have never declared Jesus as your Lord and Savior; there is no better time than now.