A Very Happy Christmas and a Blessed Christmastide to all of you and all of your families!
As a gift to our readers, Rorate is fortunate enough to present what we believe to be a first in English: a translation, from the original Neapolitan, of St. Alphonsus Liguori musical poem for Christmas, Quanno nascette ninno (When the Child was Born)
When the Child was born (Quanno nascette ninno)
When the Child was born in Bethlehem
It was night and it seemed noon.
Never the stars shining and beautiful were seen like this:
And the brightest one went and called the Magi in the East.
Suddenly birds awoke
Singing in a whole new form:
Even the crickets with shrieks,
Jumping from side to side;
He’s born, He is born,
They said, the God who created us.
