The First Noel
213

Text and music: Traditional English carol (ca. 17th century)
Tune name: THE FIRST NOEL

This Christmas carol celebrates one of the best- loved incidents of the Christmas story: how the simple shepherds in the fields outside Bethlehem were the first ones ever to receive a Christmas greeting, when the angels appeared to them and “said” the first Noel.

The word noel, a French word sometimes used among English-speaking people as a Christmas greeting, is related to the Latin natalis, meaning “birthday.” “The First Noel” is loved for its simplicity; it is not a sophisticated rendering of biblical events. Though Luke ties the Christmas star to the wise men, in this carol the shepherds, also, see the star.

When “The First Noel” was first printed in 1833, it had nine stanzas. The two printed in our hymnal do not carry the narrative beyond the appearance of the star. Various Christian hymnals choose different stanzas. Three that are often included change the focus from the shepherds to the wise men:

And by the light of that same star
Three wise men came from country far;
To seek a King was their intent,
And to follow the star wherever it went.

This star drew nigh to the northwest,
O’er Bethlehem it took its rest,
And there it did both stop and stay,
Right over the place where Jesus lay.

Then entered in those wise men three,
Full reverently upon the knee,
And offered there, in his presence,
Their gold and myrrh and frankincense.