What better way to start our December series about traditional Christmas songs (for the fourth year in a row; can you believe it?) than with a hymn opening with word pictures of announcing angels? For Christians, Christmas holds special religious meaning since it is a celebration of Jesus’s arrival on earth, and according to the Biblical account angels announced his coming to his mother and earthly father and to the shepherds.

The author of Angels from the Realms of Glory believed his religious poetry and hymns would long outlast his other efforts, but today we’ll take a closer look at this Scottish poet and societal reformer and his beloved hymn that has become a classic in many churches. Continue reading →