This is day 9 of “The 12 Days Leading to Christmas.” Each day I am highlighting a Christmas hymn that is worth our listening to as Christians this Christmas season. You can read more about the goal of the series here.
Today I highlight for you “Lo, How a Rose E’re Blooming.” This carol dates back to at least the 16th century in Germany – possibly even earlier. When it was first published it had 23 stanzas! Today, most renditions will have 3 to 5 of those stanzas. The five stanzas listed below were translated at various times in the 19th and 20th centuries. 
The poetry shines using the prophetic language of Isaiah to lead us to the account of the birth of Jesus. The metaphor of the “rose” shows up repeatedly in the poem and drives us to see and feel, not just the fact of the birth of Jesus, but the beauty of it.
Here are the Lyrics:
Lo, how a Rose e’er blooming
From tender stem hath sprung!
Of Jesse’s lineage coming
As men of old have sung.
It came, a flower bright,
Amid the cold of winter
When half-gone was the night.
Isaiah ’twas foretold it,
The Rose I have in mind:
With Mary we behold it,
The virgin mother kind.
To show God’s love aright
She bore to men a Savior
When half-gone was the night.
The Shepherds heard the story,
Proclaimed by angels bright,
How Christ, the Lord of glory
Was born on earth this night.
To Bethlehem they sped
And in the manger found him,
As angel heralds said.
This Flower, whose fragrance tender
With sweetness fills the air,
Dispels with glorious splendor
The darkness everywhere.
True man, yet very God,
From sin and death He saves us
And lightens every load.
O Savior, child of Mary,
Who felt our human woe;
O Savior, King of glory,
Who dost our weakness know,
Bring us at last we pray,
To the bright courts of heaven
And to Thy endless day.
Have a listen:
Children’s Choir –
Acapella Choir –