Twas in the Moon of Wintertime

 The director of the Grace Village choir asked me to research this song that will be sung in the choir Christmas concert December 16th. I did not take the time to put the acute accent over the e in Bre[beuf]

Though unfamiliar to most of us, the song “Twas in the Moon of Wintertime” or sometimes called the Huron Carol is well-known to most Canadians who treasure its antiquity and tie to the indigenous heritage.

Written in 1642 by the Jesuit priest Jean de Brebeuf in the native language of the Huron Wendat people among whom he lived at Sainte-Marie in the Ontario Georgian Bay area, it is considered Canada’s oldest Christmas song and was honored with a national series of postage stamps in 1977.

The label Huron was seen as derogatory by the Wendats. It was derived from the French word for a lout, an awkward brutish person. Modern descendants find it offensive.

In 1625 Brebeuf was sent from France where he had joined the Society of Jesus to New France (Canada) when his superiors recognized his facility in languages. His age was about 32.

The Jesuits sent to New France expected to endure hardships and possibly martyrdom. Brebeuf was tortured and killed by Iroquois along with some of his converts in 1649. He was later canonized and is one of the Patron Saints of Canada.

It took many years to learn the language and culture of the Wendat, but finally Brebeuf’s mastery allowed him to write a Christmas carol as a gift. Music was a significant part of their culture. The Wendat language contains at least 8 different words for singing and song.

The Wendat text of the song known as Jesus Is Born incorporated some of their culture: Sky People for angels, tribal elders greasing the baby’s scalp over and over as a show of reverence.

The song was passed along orally with no written record until over 150 years later in 1794 another Jesuit priest wrote the words as he heard them. Later Paul Picard translated them into French.

Jesse Edgar Middleton, a Canadian newspaper man, is listed as the English translator. Except his 1926 version was not a translation but a complete rewriting picturing how baby Jesus would experience birth in a Canadian wilderness forest among the First Peoples. Jesus is born in a bark lodge and wrapped in rabbit fur. God is called Gitchi Manitou which is not a Huron term but Algonquian, an unrelated language group.

More modern versions omit the verse describing such a birth and do not call God Gitchi Manitou.

The Wendat tribe was decimated by illnesses brought by Europeans. Later they were driven from their territory by the Iroquois. The remnant resettled in French-speaking parts of Canada and slowly lost their original language. Today scholars are using the Wendat version of Jesus Is Born to restore a tie to their past language and culture.

Twas in the Moon of Wintertime (Version to be sung by the Grace Village choir)

Verse 1 Twas in the moon of wintertime when all the birds had fled, that God, the Lord of all the earth, sent angel choirs instead. Before their light the stars grew dim, and wond'ring hunters heard the hymn.

Chorus: Jesus your king is born! Jesus is born! Glory be to God on high!

Verse 2 The earliest moon of wintertime is not so round and fair as was the ring of glory around the infant there. And when the shepherds then drew near, the angel voices rang out clear.

Chorus: Jesus your king is born! Jesus is born! Glory be to God on high!

Verse 3 O children of the forest free, the angels' song is true. The holy child of earth and heav'n is born today for you. Come, kneel before the radiant boy who brings you beauty,  peace, and joy.

Chorus: Jesus your king is born! Jesus is born! Glory be to God on high!