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Since you’ll probably want to get your tailgate tents out and set up on the church lawn so you can get a sanctuary seat, please be advised that the First United Methodist Church Chancel Choir’s Christmas program is scheduled for Dec. 9.

This year’s program — as is usually the case with the Divine Miss C in charge — is an interesting mix of the traditional and, uh, not-so-traditional music.  One of the prettier traditional pieces is “Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella.”  So that the MVT Class can demonstrate its natural sophistication to the rest of the congregation, here’s the background for the piece … from that source of all knowledge, Wikipedia:

“The carol tells the story of two milkmaids, Jeanette and Isabella, who went to milk their cows in a manger in Bethlehem, only to find the baby Jesus sleeping in the hay. The two girls ran to town to tell the village of the coming of Christ, and the townspeople came with their own torches to view the sight for themselves. However, they had to keep their voices down so little Jesus could enjoy his dreams. To this day in the Provence region, children dress up as shepherds and milkmaids, carrying torches and candles to Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, while singing the carol.”

So there you have it; when someone asks who those two women are the choir sang about, you’ll be able to enlighten them — which, of course, is the true mission of the MVT Class.

 – Danny