Believe it or not! ‘Joy to the World’ wasn’t written for Christmas!”
- larees24
- Dec 13, 2025
- 2 min read
🎄 Welcome, to ‘Christmas around the Piano’…a nostalgic musical journey!🎄
Day 13 - December 13, 2025:
‘Joy to the World’: A carol born by accident! was written in 1719, by English minister and hymnist Isaac Watts as a poem — not a Christmas song.
It appeared in his book Psalms of David Imitated in the Language of the New Testament, where he paraphrased psalms through a Christian lens.
This particular poem had begun as a paraphrase of Psalm 98, celebrating God’s kingship and the joy of creation.
Over a century later, American composer Lowell Mason paired it with a melody inspired by George F. Handel, creating the joyful anthem we know today.
Quick Facts!
✨Watts did not write it as a Christmas hymn. It wasn’t even meant to be sung — just read as poetry. It became associated with the Christmas season much later.
✨ Some say it's a Transatlantic Collaboration Across Centuries, with Lyrics: England, 1719, Music: America, 1848, and Musical inspiration: Handel (Germany/England), early 1700s
✨The text celebrates Christ’s kingship, the renewal of creation, and Joy breaking into the world. It’s more about the Second Coming than the Nativity — another surprising twist.
✨The tune we know today was arranged in 1848 by American composer Lowell Mason, who claimed to have adapted motifs attributed to George Frideric Handel. Scholars debate this. Still, it carries Handel‑like musical gestures. Mason named the tune “Antioch”.
✨The carol is essentially a Christian reinterpretation of a Hebrew Psalm (Psalm 98) celebrating God’s reign.
✨Unlike “Silent Night” or “O Come All Ye Faithful,” it’s a rare carol that proclaims and celebrates cosmic joy, not the Nativity narrative.
✨It’s one of the most ecumenical carols, sung by Protestants, Catholics, Evangelicals, etc. Its universal message makes it adaptable across traditions.
I do hope you have enjoyed reading about this carol, as much as I have enjoyed presenting this to you.
Thank you for joining me on this festive journey! Wishing you and your loved ones, a season filled with light, laughter, love, and of course, MUSIC! 🌟🎄
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Christmas cheer and good tidings to you!
Larissa
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