The "Huron Carol" (or "Twas in the Moon of Wintertime") is a Canadian Christmas hymn (Canada's oldest Christmas song), written probably in 1642 by Jean de Brébeuf, a Jesuit missionary at Sainte-Marie among the Hurons in Canada. Brébeuf wrote the lyrics in the native language of the Huron/Wendat people; the song's original Huron title is "Jesous Ahatonhia" ("Jesus, he is born"). The song's melody is based on a traditional French folk song, "Une Jeune Pucelle" ("A Young Maid"). The well-known English lyrics were written in 1926 by Jesse Edgar Middleton, and the copyright to these lyrics was held by The Frederick Harris Music Co., Limited, but entered the public domain in 2011.
Contents
The English version of the hymn uses imagery familiar in the early 20th century, in place of the traditional Nativity story. This version is derived from Brébeuf's original song and Huron religious concepts. In the English version, Jesus is born in a "lodge of broken bark" and wrapped in a "robe of rabbit skin". He is surrounded by hunters instead of shepherds, and the Magi are portrayed as "chiefs from afar" who bring him "fox and beaver pelts" instead of the more familiar gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The English translation uses a traditional Algonquian name, Gitchi Manitou, for God, which is not in the original Wyandot version. The original lyrics are now sometimes modified to use imagery accessible to Christians who are not familiar with Native Canadian cultures.
The song remains a common Christmas hymn in Canadian churches of many Christian denominations. It is also found in several American hymnals, including The Hymnal 1982 of The Episcopal Church (#114), The United Methodist Hymnal (#244) and Evangelical Lutheran Worship (#284).
Because the melody spans a modest range, it is ideally suited to instruments that have a limited pitch range, such as the Native American flute.
Versions
The song was included, as "Jesous Ahatonia", on Burl Ives's 1952 album Christmas Day in the Morning and was later released as a Burl Ives single under the title "Indian Christmas Carol". Bruce Cockburn has also recorded a rendition of the song in the original Huron. Tom Jackson performed the song during his annual Huron Carole show. Crash Test Dummies it on their 2002 album, Jingle all the Way. A haunting choral arrangement by R. Anderson was included on the 1997 album The Mystery of Christmas, by the Canadian group the Elora Festival Singers. The music has been rearranged by Loreena McKennitt under the title "Breton Carol" in 2008. A new recording with a very mystical setting of the Huron Carol was released in 2011 performed by The Canadian Tenors. In 2001, Terry McDade and The McDades recorded a version featuring Indian bansuri on their Free Radio Records release "Midwinter". In 2002, Heather Dale released a tri-lingual version (Wendat [Huron], French, English) on her "This Endris Night" CD; Dale uses a very different English translation, attributed to Father H. Kierans. Sarah McLachlan recorded the song on her 2016 holiday album, Wonderland', released on the October 21, 2016.
Huron
The original words of the carol in the Wyandot language (Huron).
English
The 1926 English version by Jesse Edgar Middleton.