Day Seven

One of my favorite Christmas memories from childhood is of my mom's brother and their mother singing "The Birthday of a King" (actually, I think my grandmother played the piano and my uncle would sing.) The whole family would be gathered together at my grandparents' house in Connecticut. My dad's mom would join my family of five on our journey to CT and there we would celebrate with my mom's parents, her brothers, sisters-in-law and my cousins (5 girls, plus the 3 in my family gave my grandparents 8 granddaughters: 4 redheads, 2 blondes and 2 brunettes.)
We always ate delicious meals together...my mom would tell us to take it easy on the cheese and crackers and shrimp cocktail. We would have pretty dresses on, with bows in our hair. We would use our best manners as we gathered at the table, set with the fancy plates and lace tablecloth and candles. Usually when dinner was finished, we would go into the living room for some singing time. My grandmother would take her place on the piano bench (and I would turn pages for her), and we would begin singing...hymns, carols, old songs and new arrangements. We would sing in unison and in harmony. It was beautiful! Every year, my uncle would get up and sing...I can't hear this song without thinking of our time in my grandparents' living room:

The Birthday of A King - By William Harold Neidlinger

In the little village of Bethlehem
There lay a Child one day
And the sky was bright with a holy light
O'er the place where Jesus lay.

Refrain:
Alleluia! O how the angels sang
Alleluia! How it rang!
And the sky was bright with a holy light
'Twas the birthday of a King.

'Twas a humble birthplace, but O how much
God gave to us that day
From the manger bed what a path has led
What a perfect, holy way.

Refrain:
Alleluia! O how the angels sang
Alleluia! How it rang!
And the sky was bright with a holy light
'Twas the birthday of a King.