Tag: Messiah

Advent-Christmas is Coming

Advent, meaning “coming,” starts four Sundays before Christmas, marking the beginning of the Christian liturgical year. Christmas celebrates Jesus Christ’s birth, observed through church services and music. Handel’s Messiah, created in 1742 from biblical texts, highlights these traditions, though it wasn’t originally composed for Christmas festivities.

The season of Advent, from the Latin word adventus meaning “coming” or “visit”, begins four Sundays before Christmas and ends on Christmas Eve.

Advent is the beginning of the liturgical year for Christians. (Liturgical, from liturgy, which means the forms and functions of public worship.)

What is Christmas?

Christmas is both a secular and religious holiday. For those who observe its spiritual significance, Christmas is celebrated as the day the infant Jesus Christ was born (although Biblical scholars doubt that December 25 is exactly the correct day.)

three people, blurred, holding lit candles
photo from LIGHTSTOCK.COM, affiliate link

Christians celebrate the season with a rich tradition of church services which feature Bible readings about Jesus’ birth and special music. Almost 300 years ago, a musician combined these traditions to create a familiar and often performed musical.

"For unto us a son is given" baby lying in a manger
quote from Isaiah 9:6; graphic from LIGHTSTOCK.COM, affiliate link

Handel’s Messiah

George Frideric Handel used this scripture from Isaiah in his famous work, Messiah, first performed in 1742. Millions of people have heard or sung it since then.

The lyrics of Messiah are derived from both Old and New Testament scriptures that describe the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

HANDEL’S MESSIAH, A JOYFUL CELEBRATION

Handel’s father, Georg Handel, was a barber-surgeon. Barber-surgeons were physicians in medieval Europe, who as the name suggests, cut hair and performed surgery.

Much of the work of barbersurgeons involved treating war injuries. Elective surgery was rarely done due to the lack of effective anesthesia. There were no antibiotics so the risk of infection was high. Eventually, surgery and barbery became separate occupations.

The association between barbers and surgeons goes back to the early Middle Ages when the practice of surgery and medicine was carried out by the clergy.

But in 1215, a papal decree ruled that priests could no longer partake in any shedding of blood. Because barbers were accustomed to using a razor, it was presumed that they would be skillful in carrying out any treatment that involved cutting the skin, and so the practice was taught to them.

PBS.ORG
Christmas manger display
photo by Dr. Aletha – a Nativity display at church

Read this post to learn more about Handel and Messiah; did you know it wasn’t written for Christmas?

You can listen to Messiah with Amazon Prime Music Unlimited; sign up at this affiliate link, which also helps support this blog. Single downloads and CD version also available.

Sharing the HEART of Advent

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Add your name to the subscribe box to be notified of new posts by email. Click the link to read the post and browse other content. It’s that simple. No spam.

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Many people find using their phones a convenient way to read and meditate on the Bible. And it’s easy to do so with the Dwell Bible App. With Dwell you can listen to and read the Bible and special devotional offerings for Advent, Lent, and throughout the year.

Using this affiliate link helps support this blog and my mission to share the heart of health wherever needed all over the world. Please join me.

Dr. Aletha

Why Handel’s Messiah Is More Than a Christmas Classic

Did you know Handel’s “Messiah,” usually linked to Christmas, was originally intended for Easter, drawing from Old and New Testament scriptures. Tdditionally, Handel’s father was a barber-surgeon, medieval surgeons also cut hair.

updated April 3, 2025

Handel’s masterpiece-Messiah 

Even though Messiah tells the story of Jesus, whose life unfolds in the Bible’s New Testament, many of the lyrics come from the Old Testament, like this passage from Psalms. Several Isaiah passages referring to Jesus are also lyrics for music in Messiah.

lightstock_254158_medium_aletha

Gates, proudly lift your heads!

Open, ancient doors, the glorious King will come in.

Who is the glorious King? He is the Lord, the powerful soldier.

He is the Lord, the war hero.

Gates, proudly lift your heads!

Open, ancient doors, and the glorious King will come in.

Who is the glorious King?

The Lord All-Powerful is the glorious King.

Psalm 24:7-10, ERV

© 1987, 2004 Bible League InternationalLearn More About Holy Bible: Easy-to-Read Version

 

Handel-A doctor who cut hair

Handel’s father, Georg Handel, was a barber-surgeon, a term for physicians in the Middle Ages who performed operations and cut hair. Surgery was primitive and dangerous due to no anesthesia and no antibiotics to treat infection. Most surgery was done to treat war injuries. 

For centuries, surgery was a craft rather than a profession, and it was often practiced by barbers. In fact, up until the time of Sweeney Todd, a London resident would commonly visit a barber-surgeon for the treatment of a health problem.

Besides providing grooming services, barber-surgeons regularly performed dental extractions, bloodletting, minor surgeries and sometimes amputations.

pbs.com

Is Messiah for Christmas or Easter?

We usually associate  Messiah with Christmas, but Handel wrote it to be performed at Easter. For the lyrics, he used words from Scripture, choosing passages that tell the story of God sending Jesus to earth to redeem His people.

This article at Smithsonian.com explains how a surgeon’s son became a musician instead of a lawyer.

The Glorious History of Handel’s Messiah

a hymnal opened to the word Alleluia, with a tulip lying above

Let scripture DWELL in you

Many people find using their phones a convenient way to read and meditate on the Bible. And it’s easy to do so with the Dwell Bible App. With Dwell you can listen to and read the Bible and special devotional offerings for Advent, Lent, and throughout the year.

Using this affiliate link helps support this blog and my mission to share the heart of health wherever needed all over the world. Please join me.

exploring the HEART of health

I’d love for you to follow this blog. I share information and inspiration to help you turn health challenges into health opportunities.

Add your name to the subscribe box to be notified of new posts by email. Click the link to read the post and browse other content. It’s that simple. No spam.

I enjoy seeing who is new to Watercress Words. When you subscribe, I will visit your blog or website. Thanks and see you next time.

Dr. Aletha

Here is another Messiah story from my archives.

words for Lent – Good news

And before anyone can go and tell them, they must be sent. As the Scriptures say, “How wonderful it is to see someone coming to tell good news!”Messiah selections from the New Testament

Keep reading