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Whence Comes This Rush Of Wings?
French Carol From Bas-Quercy
Whence comes this rush of wings afar,
Following straight the Noel star?
Birds from the woods in wonderous flight,
Bethlehem seek this Holy Night.
"Tell us, ye birds, why come ye here,
Into this stable, poor and drear?"
"Hast'ning we seek the new born King,
And all our sweetest music bring."
Hark! how the greenfinch bears his part,
Philomel, too, with tender heart,
Chants from her leafy dark retreat,
Re, mi, fa, sol, in accents sweet.
Angels and shepherds, birds of the sky,
Come where the Son of God doth lie;
Christ on earth with man doth dwell,
Join in the shout, "Noel, Noel!"
Each evening when goodnights are said, Take off one link and hop into bed. When only the star is left to shine, When you will know it's Christmastime!
-Unknown
Visitors to Bethlehem rarely exceed a few thousand at Christmas. In 1995, there were rowdy celebrations of the first Christmas in a Palestinian-controlled Bethlehem. The Christmas Eve service televised on 25 December is celebrated not in the Church of the Nativity, which stands over the place where Jesus was said to have been born, but in the nearby Franciscan Church of St. Catherine.
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