God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen
The line “God rest ye, merry gentlemen” almost sounds like someone is trying to get some men to settle down at a Christmas party. But the phrase “rest you merry” means something different than the modern understanding of those words.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the phrase “God rest you merry” means “may God grant you peace and happiness.”
It is no wonder that in the story of A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge balked at the very thought of these lyrics when a young hungry caroler tried to liven his mood:
“The owner of one scant young nose, gnawed and mumbled by the hungry cold as bones are gnawed by dogs, stooped down at Scrooge’s keyhole to regale him with a Christmas carol; but, at the first sound of
‘God bless you, merry gentleman,
May nothing you dismay!’
Scrooge seized the ruler with such energy of action, that the singer fled in terror, leaving the keyhole to the fog, and even more congenial frost.”
-A Christmas Carol, Stave 1
The song is one of the oldest surviving carols and is dated back to the 16th century.
The carol, which is usually cut down to the first three verses, tells the entire Christmas story from the bible. The Last verse sums up the entire theme of the verses:
And with true love and brotherhood
Each other now embrace;
This holy tide of Christmas
All other doth deface.
No wonder Scrooge balked at hearing these verses. For he was the character who said:
”Out upon merry Christmas! What’s Christmas-time to you but a time for paying bills without money; a time for finding yourself a year older, and not an hour richer; a time for balancing your books, and having every item in ’em through a round dozen of months presented dead against you? If I could work my will, every idiot who goes about with ‘Merry Christmas’ on his lips should be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart. He should!”
– A Christmas Carol, Stave 1
Remember Tiny Tim? He could do little for others, yet he felt that he could help simply by being visible, in his “crippled” state, to remind others of Christ. It is hard, sometimes, to relate to Tiny Tim.
It’s easier to be like Scrooge. So I say do it, be like Scrooge!!! I’m not kidding. I am calling on the world to be scrooges. I think this whole season needs modern-day scrooges.
But wait, I know what you are thinking.
No, not THAT Scrooge, the one at the beginning of the beloved tale. I want to be like Scrooge at the end of the story:
“He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world…
“His own heart laughed: and that was quite enough for him…”
– A Christmas Carol, Stave 5
This Scrooge would have never cringed at the lyrics of “God Rest You Merry Gentlemen. This scrooge would have sung out with the caroler and asked others to join in with the words:
Now to the Lord sing praises,
All you within this place,
And with true love and brotherhood
Each other now embrace;
This holy tide of Christmas
All other doth deface.
O tidings of comfort and joy,
For Jesus Christ, our Saviour
was born on Christmas day.
“and it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge.”
– A Christmas Carol, Stave
