Our Christmas Gift to You

#21 / Dec. 24 Podcast

On this Christmas Eve, our gift to you is this beautiful old carol.

Now, in our country, we often know it as “What Child Is This?” based on a Christmas verse that was written more than a century and a half ago. But its melody is even more deeply enshrined in our common human experience.

In fact, think about it! This tune — “Greensleeves” — is one of the oldest melodies that we in the western world even know. Dating back to at least the Elizabethan period of English history, “Greensleeves” was, in fact, so well known by the time of William Shakespeare that he could refer to it by name three times in his play, “The Merry Wives of Windsor.”

Meanwhile, this ancient, beautiful melody started being associated with Christmas and New Year’s as early as the 1680s. And yet, listen! This tune never really seems to get very old, does it?

Oh, and if you’d like to hear a vocal treatment of this song, be sure to check out Michelle Lewis’s rendition of “What Child Is This?” in our new Christmas playlist. Here’s a direct link to our “La Flood Navidad” Christmas show.

Have a joyful Christmas, dear friends!

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