Gaudete

Gaudete is the first song on the Christmas album The Gifts of Midwinter by Ken and Lisa Theriot.  A lot of people ask “what does Gaudete mean?  Well, the word itself is Latin for “rejoice.”  The chorus, “Gaudete, gaudete! Christus est natus Ex Maria virgine, gaudete!” means “Rejoice, rejoice! Christ is born Of the Virgin Mary — rejoice!”  So you can see that it is actually a Christmas song (technically a sacred Christmas carol), even though it is often hear throughout the year, at least partially due to the fact that it was made popular again in THIS century by Steeleye Span.

The liner notes for The Gifts of Midwinter say this under the listing for Gaudete:

Words: Piae Cantiones, 1582
Music: Jistebnice Cantional, 1420

I once heard a fighter say that he had been really inspired before a battle because the army was singing together in Latin.  Horribly, they were singing this song, the chorus of which translates as “Rejoice, for Christ is born of the Virgin Mary!”  I’m a little alarmed that they headed off to shed metaphorical blood singing this song, but I suppose it’s quite the medieval attitude…

So the next time you hear someone ask “what does Gaudete mean?” you’ll be able to tell them.  Cool huh?

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