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The Bavarian Winter Season

About the whole Bavarian Christmas.

Celebrate Christ's birth with the world’s best Christmas carol — and it's not the version you think

As the years pass by, it can feel like Christmas has become less about the birth of Christ and his salvific mission and more about secularism and winter.Look no farther than some of the most popular “Christmas” carols of the past 100 years: "White Christmas," "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," "Deck the Halls," "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer," and on and on.This Christmas, as you gather with your family, return to the meaning of the holiday — the birth of Christ — by reflecting on the original French version of “O Holy Night.”The closing lyrics proclaim, without equivocation, that it is Christ who has saved us and we celebrate his coming. In other words, Christ is King!For those in the French-speaking world, and especially the Acadian and Quebecois diaspora in New England, “Minuit Chretien” was a staple entrance hymn of midnight Mass.While the English version “O Holy Night” is a beautiful song, the lyrics were adapted by Unitarian minister John Sullivan Dwight, reducing the theological weight of the original French.Here are those English lyrics.O holy night, the stars are brightly shining;it is the night of the dear Savior’s birth.Long lay the world in sin and error pining,till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices,for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!Fall on your knees! O hear the angel voices!O night divine! O night when Christ was born!O night divine! O night, O night divine!According to Chicago Catholic, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Chicago, the song quickly became popular in Northern U.S. abolitionist circles due mainly to its third verse, which deals with breaking the chains of slavery.Truly He taught us to love one another.His law is love and His gospel is peace.Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother,and in His name all oppression shall cease.Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we.Let all within us praise His holy name.Christ is the Lord! O praise His name forever!His power and glory evermore proclaim!His power and glory evermore proclaim!Again, this is beautiful, but it downplays the truly salvific mission of Jesus Christ, God incarnate.Before examining the French lyrics and their literal English translation, listen to the definitive version of the song, sung by Luciano Pavarotti at Notre Dame Basilica in Montreal, Quebec, in 1978. The concert in which he sang this rendition was a long-standing PBS Christmas special. French lyricsHere are the French lyrics, as compiled by the Oxford International Song Festival.Minuit, Chrétiens, c’est l’heure solennelle, Où l’homme Dieu descendit jusqu’à nousPour effacer la tache originelleEt de son Père arrêter le courroux.Le monde entier tressaille d’espéranceÀ cette nuit qui lui donne un sauveur.Peuple, à genoux, attends ta délivrance.Noël, Noël, voici le Rédempteur.The tone is set right at the start. The verse boldly announces that this song is for believers. “Midnight, Christians, it is the holy hour.”There is no mistaking this for secularism or a postmodern, easy Christianity. It calls the listener to remember that he is Christian and that Christmas is about the coming of the Savior, as the second line says, “When God as man descended unto us.”The next part boldly proclaims the reason Christ became man: to save mankind from the stain of original sin. “To erase the original stain, and to end the wrath of His Father.”The next two lines are very close to the English translation: “The whole world thrills with hope on this night that gives it a Savior.”The end of the first verse brings it home: “Kneel, people, await your deliverance: Christmas, Christmas, the Redeemer is here!”A bold declaration of what the night is about: the coming of deliverance that Christ the Redeemer brings!The second and third verses are as reverent and hopeful as the first. The closing lyrics proclaim, without equivocation, that it is Christ who has saved us and we celebrate his coming. In other words: Christ is King!

The Season of Lent: An Anglican Perspective

Lent isn't just a season of giving things up — it's an invitation into something ancient, costly, and ultimately joyful. This piece traces the spiritual logic of these forty days from the earliest Christians through to the Prayer Book we use today, and asks what it might mean for us to take that invitation seriously. If Easter is the destination, Lent is how we learn to want it.

Forget Obsessing Over the Antichrist: The Robertsons Say It's Already Here

Much lore surrounds scripture’s mysterious “Antichrist” — the false messiah prophesied to come in the End Times as a supreme and final embodiment of rebellion against God prior to Christ’s Second Coming.For centuries, Bible scholars have debated this climactic future figure; Christians have theorized about who it might be (often pointing to corrupt elites); and Hollywood has used the sinister being as horror movie fuel.But this hyper-fixation on the capital-A Antichrist, says BlazeTV host Jase Robertson, can distract from another part of scripture perhaps even more worthy of our attention: There are already antichrists living among us. No place in scripture is this more evident than in 1 John.In 1 John 2:18, he warns that “many antichrists have come.” Two chapters later, he lays bare what an antichrist is: “every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus” (4:3). This kind of spirit, he says, is “not from God” and is “already in the world.”In other words, the denial of Jesus’ deity is the spirit of the antichrist, and it’s lurking everywhere.John’s words remain strikingly relevant today. The spreading of darkness, erosion of truth, and deterioration of morality are evidence that the spirit of the antichrist is alive and well.It’s this reality — not a future singular villain, the Robertsons warn — that impacts our daily lives, and yet many Christians, perhaps to their detriment, obsess over who the Antichrist is or will be.“Look, I've got a guy who I love dearly. He's one of my best friends in the world, and he got to 2 Thessalonians 2 in his Bible study, and he's never gone forward or backwards,” says Jase. “He wants to know who the ‘man of sin’ is, and he wants a detailed account.”Second Thessalonians 2:3 mentions a “man of sin” proclaiming himself God, who many Christians and scholars interpret as a direct reference to the final Antichrist.Jase believes his friend, and others who get hung up on pinpointing the Antichrist, is missing the bigger point.“The one in us is greater,” says Jase, referencing 1 John 4:4.“The ‘man of sin’ — I don't need to know exactly if that's one person. I see that in men everywhere,” he continues.The question it ultimately comes down to, says Jase, is: “Are you in Jesus or are you anti-Jesus?”“I think [antichrists] are people who are intentionally trying to persuade people and deceive people away from Christ,” adds co-host Zach Dasher, “and the reason why I say that is because in [1 John 2] verse 26, he says, ‘The reason why I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you.”’Even though John was writing in the late first century, his words hold just as true in our time.Zach points to a story he heard recently about a young Christian whose faith was badly “damaged” after he watched a series of social media videos from a professor who was making “incredibly compelling cases of why the Bible's not real, why Jesus isn't who He said He was.”Eventually, however, it was exposed that this professor’s arguments were “blatant lies.”“I think that’s more the spirit of the Antichrist,” says Zach.To hear more of the panel’s discussion, watch the full episode above.Want more from the Robertsons?To enjoy more on God, guns, ducks, and inspiring stories of faith and family, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

Liturgical Winter Season

About the whole Christmas.

Where do Advent calendars come from?

While most people are very familiar with and practice the lighthearted tradition of Advent calendars, many might be surprised by its relatively recent development as a Christian tradition.The Advent calendar is a Christian tradition dating back only to the 19th century, making it less than 200 years old. Advent, derived from the Latin word "adventus," means coming” or “arrival.”'Lacking windows at first, Lang’s design is essentially the same style we have today, though war and a few subsequent alterations would change it slightly.'The calendar counts down the days until Christmas during the Advent season, which is also the very beginning of the liturgical calendar. The Advent calendar then, in its most basic form, is a method of counting down the days until the coming of Christ on Christmas day. RELATED: More than a countdown: Do you know the full meaning of Advent? Photo by AMAURY CORNU/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty ImagesOften, in more recent iterations, small treats, gifts, and pictures are placed in the doors of the calendar, the number of which usually range between 22 and 28 days depending on the day that Christmas Day falls on. Because of the possible range, most Advent calendars simply begin on December 1 and end on December 24, Christmas Eve. Counting downThe Advent calendar has seen quite a few variations in its relatively short-lived existence, though the basic idea has always been the same. A tradition originating among Lutheran Christians, Advent calendars first involved chalk marks that would be erased as the day approached. This practice helped believers anticipate the coming of Christ. Originating in and around Munich, Germany, in the 19th century, Advent calendars were used to count down the days until Christmas Day. Gerhard Lang is widely regarded as the creator of the modern Advent calendar. A partner at the lithographic institute Reichhold & Lang, Gerhard Lang is credited with printing the first Advent calendar in 1908, though some say it was some years later. Lacking windows at first, Lang's design is essentially the same style we have today, though war and a few subsequent alterations would change it slightly.Knock, knockThe small, numbered doors, a staple of contemporary calendars, were introduced in 1920. They sometimes had Bible verses or little pictures behind them. Lang produced around 30 different calendar designs up until the end of the 1930s, when paper shortages and a national ban on paper calendars forced him to shutter the popular business.However, Advent calendars made a post-war comeback. Richard Sellmer, the founder of the Sellmer Verlag publishing house, published the first Advent calendar after the Second World War, reviving the tradition. Eighty years later, Sellmer Verlag still sells Advent calendars.Coming to AmericaIt is believed that American soldiers brought these calendars back after the war, and the tradition spread to the United States. According to Britannica, the tradition of chocolate behind the doors was introduced in the 1950s, presumably to keep children engaged. In America, the Advent calendar's popularity spread quickly in the post-war era. These days, children and adults alike can enjoy counting down the days until the Lord's Nativity with a vast array of different calendar designs.

“Jesus has put His Name on You!” Circumcision and Name of Jesus 2025

The Christian life is not you trying to manufacture a better name. It is you receiving a better Name. And receiving what comes with it: forgiveness, adoption, access to the Father, and a future you did not earn. That’s why Scripture talks about a “new name.” God is not done with you yet. You are being carried toward what He intends—toward resurrection, toward holiness, toward glory—and He will finish what He started. The world measures you by your record. God names you by His promise.

Maundy Thursday: An Anglican Perspective

Maundy Thursday blends celebration and sorrow, drawing the faithful into the Upper Room where Jesus shared his Last Supper with his disciples. #ChristIsKing

Remember

A supernatural encounter with Jesus saved his life — now he’s reaching a generation

Bryce Crawford is an evangelist whose supernatural encounter with Jesus not only stopped him from taking his own life, but has catapulted him into a position where he’s helping transform a generation.“I became a Christian when I was 17. I had depression and anxiety for years. Grew up in a Christian environment, went to a Christian school, but I had a supernatural encounter with Jesus when I was 17. Stopped me from taking my life,” Crawford tells BlazeTV host Allie Beth Stuckey at AmFest.This happened in 2020, when Crawford had gone to Waffle House for his “death row meal” on Christmas Day.“I went to Waffle House, and I was at this table. No one preached to me. No one shared the gospel with me. The total opposite happened actually. This grown man dumped his life issues on me, and he said, ‘I’m losing my wife. She’s divorcing me and taking my kids,’” he explains.“And then he said, ‘There’s no growth in a relationship if the love isn’t mutual.’ And when he said that, time stopped. And I had learned about Jesus all my life. ... And for the first time, I thought to myself, maybe I don’t know God loves me because I haven’t given myself a chance to love him back,” he says.“And so I prayed a crazy prayer. I said, ‘Jesus, if you’re real, take away my anxiety and depression because this is the reason why I want to take my life,’ and I haven’t had that crippling anxiety or depression since that day. It’s been almost five years,” he continues.This was what led Crawford to Christianity and ultimately where he is now — preaching the gospel.“The Bible says we plant seeds and water seeds. It’s not my job to save anyone. It’s not your job to save anyone. And so I found listening and being intentional with people is the greatest tool of evangelism,” he says. “It’s not love-bombing. It’s just caring about people.”Want more from Allie Beth Stuckey?To enjoy more of Allie’s upbeat and in-depth coverage of culture, news, and theology from a Christian, conservative perspective, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

The Robertsons reveal the biggest mistake Christians make when sharing their testimonies

Sharing one’s testimony of faith feels intimidating for a lot of people. Many Christians, churches, and discipleship programs get their guidelines from the apostle Paul’s testimony in Acts 26 when he stood before King Agrippa and shared his coming-to-faith story — starting with his former life, moving to his encounter with Jesus, and concluding with his decision to repent and follow Christ.While Acts 26 is one of the most commonly used biblical models for creating personal testimony templates in Christian discipleship, Jase Robertson says that people are overcomplicating what should be a simple task.“There’s one point,” he says, that a testimony hinges on: We give our lives up because He gave his life up for us. A testimony, Jase says, “should be 99.9% about what He did, and your 0.1% is, I gave my life to Him.”“Your testimony is, you’re going to point to Jesus and say, ‘You want to define love? You want to define how my life turned around? It all started with God becoming a human and giving up His life,’” he says.Al agrees and says that too many people when sharing their testimonies overfocus on the bad things they did before they knew Christ, but “those things don’t matter” in light of the redemption Christ freely offers.“The good part of the testimony is: I finally relented. I finally submitted,” he says.This submission, Al argues, shouldn’t be just the focus of our testimonies; it should be the focus of the entire Christian walk. He points to the marriage passage in Ephesians 5:21, which instructs married couples to “submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”“That’s the idea,” Al says. “It’s the giving up of yourself, and it’s not just for marriage, but of course, it’s for everything.”To hear more, watch the episode above.Want more from the Robertsons?To enjoy more on God, guns, ducks, and inspiring stories of faith and family, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

The Traveller 02: Jerusalem Old City

Short photo-stories of the hidden, hard to find, obscure, and off the beaten track. If you see or read anything that you enjoy - please like, boost, follow. Zaps are always welcome! All stories and photos are my own (DM for prints).