Which is translated in many ways including Whence is that goodly fragrance flowing? It is one of my very favorite Christmas carols. Here are the words to the first verse:
1. Whence is the goodly fragrance flowing,
Stealing our senses all away,
never the like did come a-blowing,
Shepherds, in flow'ry fields of May,
Whence is that goodly fragrance flowing,
Stealing our senses all away.
An very odd looking video with a stunningly beautiful-sounding boys's choir version of this in French is found at:
I have sung this gorgeous thing at least once while with the Masterpiece Chorale in Belleville Illinois 25 years ago this Christmas in English. I remember translating it for my former husband to sing in his senior recital at Scarritt while he was working on a masters degree in choral conducting, when my French was MUCH better than it is now.
Although I love metaphor and need not have it explained for it to touch me, I will admit that I have wondered what that goodly fragrance flowing is too. Or in another translation, which I really like better, what is that fragrance gently wafting? Flowing or wafting, what the heck is it?
There surely are lots of fragrances flowing and wafting in my house these days. Some lovely ones: Baking cookies; Cana's hair just after being washed; the perfume that I love and once in a while remember to put on; the candles throughout the house that have names like "Cinnamon Apple" and "Forest Green"
There are some other candles too, special ones. The ones in our Advent wreath. As I believe I wrote on Sunday, I did not have the candles ready to be lit Sunday morning, the first time in years I hadn't gotten that done. But did by supper! In the morning, I lit a World Market candle, fragrance name "Indonesian Teak" since I was a little late (!) getting out the door and that was the first one I found. For some reason, I decided to forgo the white taper in the middle this year this year, and just use that Teak candle as the Christ candle. That's our wreath in the picture.
What was the fragrance gently wafting from Christ?? Unwashed body and clothing certainly have a distinct fragrance, more likely, odor, at least for us sanitized Westerners... the fresh smell of the out of doors? The fragrance of tears of those healed still lingering about him; the dirt on his hands from making clay for the blind man, and drawing on the ground in the presence of the woman caught in adultery?
For me, the Indonesian Teak (the Christ Candle this year)is the fragrance of spice, of mens' cologne, of masculinity, a very pleasant fragrance...and perhaps the fragrance I need right now...so when it comes to light it on Christmas, it will be the familiar fragrance of several candles I have in the house of the same "flavor" but it will be distinctly its own, for it is Christ's candle, and he beckons me to enjoy and say "it is good."
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