A Spotless Rose

“This Flow’r whose fragrance tender
With sweetness fills the air,
Dispels with glorious splendor
The darkness ev’rywhere.
True Man, yet very God;
From sin and death He saves us
And lightens ev’ry load.”

Lo, how a rose e’er blooming is a Christmas carol and Marian Hymn of German origin. It sometimes known as “A Spotless Rose” or “Behold a Rose of Judah”. The rose in the text is a symbolic reference to the Virgin Mary, and the hymn makes reference to the Old Testament prophecies of Isaiah which in Christian interpretation foretell the Incarnation of Christ, and to the Tree of Jesse, a traditional symbol of the lineage of Jesus. From a scent culture perspective the 3rd verse is worth noticing. Accordingly, Mary, the mother of Jesus, is the rose that has sprung up to bring forth a child, who is represented as a small flower (“das Blümlein”). As Wikipedia points out the hymn has its roots in an unknown author prior to the 17th century. It first appeared in print in 1599 and has since been published with a varying number of verses and in several different translations. It is most commonly sung to a melody which was harmonized by the German composer Michael Praetorius in 1609. The song’s popularity endures today; it has been recorded by modern artists such as Mannheim Steamroller and Sting.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Es_ist_ein_Ros_entsprungen

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