Another Favorite Carol

While it's still the Christmas season, here's another of my favorite carols: this one is called by many names, including "The Huron Carol," "Jesous Ahatonia," "'Twas in the Moon of Wintertime," or "The Indian Christmas Carol." French Jesuit missionaries wrote this carol in the Huron and Wyandot languages, trying to explain the story of the birth of Christ to the people of these tribes in terms that would be familiar to them. The lyrics were later translated into French and much later into English. Unfortunately, I can't find the Burl Ives version that's an indelible memory of my childhood, but here's a very nice interpretation by Terry McDade and the McDades:



Here's a very different interpretation by singer Heather Dale. The English lyrics are very different from the ones I remember, but I really like the way she delivers the song in the Native American languages, French, and English, and really emphasizes the Native American feel.