This carol has truly medieval origins, stemming from the Latin song Orientis Partibus. It was sung as part of The Donkey’s festival, a celebration of the flight into Egypt, in which a donkey was led or ridden into the church as a way of thanking the donkey Mary rode upon. The tune has undergone many lyric pairings over the centuries, but the current words we normally associate with it weren’t written until the 1920s by Robert Davis. When I was young, I thought this a rather strange lyric, but now I think its sweet.

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• A Course in Carols Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpNIlFSHn0c&list=PLa626nR993OwC_HQngbftP8P3ztokhxsd

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