For Western Christmas, a Taste of Eastern Christmas

For Western Christmas, having already done Fairuz singing familiar Western carols in English, I thought it might be worth sampling a bit of indigenous Christmas music from the lands where the faith began. This replaces the usual Weekend Historical Videos for this week. Most Roman Catholics and Protestants tend to be pretty ignorant of the Eastern Churches (even, among Catholics, of the Eastern Catholic churches in union with Rome). They may have a vague familiarity with the Orthodox tradition, but know little of the Maronite, Syriac Orthodox, Antiochian Orthdodox, Melkite, Coptic, Armenian, Chaldean or Assyrian traditions.

I think I told the story here once before of an Arab Christian who grew tired of being asked by Western hostesses, on learning he was a Christian, "Which missionary group converted your people?" He always answered, "Jesus Christ and the 12 Apostles." After all, it started there: the New Testament itself says Jesus was born in Bethlehem, raised in Nazareth, and was crucified in Jerusalem; that his followers were first called "Christians" in Antioch, and so on. Yet to Western Christians, the Eastern branches of the faith are a mystery. Yet most historians agree that the oldest Christian liturgy still in use today is in the Church of the East (the Assyrian Church).

Oh, the television networks will broadcast a snippet of the Latin Patriarch's Christmas Eve service in Bethlehem, though the majority of Arab Christians will celebrate on the Eastern date in January.

So here are a variety of the varied Middle Eastern traditions, some recorded in the region and some in the diaspora. One or two are reruns from last year, but most are new.

A Coptic hymn to Mary. The Coptic language, now only a liturgical, tongue, is a descendant of Ancient Egyptian:



In the Antiochian Orthodox tradition, a Byzantine Christmas Hymn in Arabic:



A Chaldean Christmas hymn. The Chaldeans are the Eastern Catholic analogue of the Church of the East (Assyrians):



These two from the Lebanese Maronite tradition:





Syriac Orthodox: An entrance prcession for Christmas 2007/8 at a Syriac Orthodox Chruch in Aleppo: amid traditional sounding Eastern music there's also a singing of Silent Night in Syriac as the celebrants enter.



Church of the East (Assyrian):



For an Armenian Christmas I can't resist a repeat from last year, since it combines a Nativity scene with dancing Santas and mixes Eastern and Western music:



And to recall the ancient Armenian Church's more traditional music, this:



And with that, being a fat guy with a white beard, I have a busy evening ahead. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

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