What do Bells have to do with It?

A few years ago, I had the privilege to listen to a bell choir. The group of students chimed out some beautiful Christmas carols.

Bells have long been associated with Christmas. From jingle bells on Santa's reindeer to Juju's teacher in It's a Wonderful Life proclaiming, "Every time a bell rings an angel gets its wings." 

Long before the jingling bells, St. Paulinus of Campania in Italy requested a bell-tower be built with a large bronze bell used to call his congregation to worship. On Christmas he chimed the bell four times, in celebration of Christ's birth.

Casting Crowns sings one of my favorite Christmas songs, I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day. The song calls for peace on earth, much like the angels who sang to the shepherds.

Kerensa, Paul. Hark!: the Biography of Christmas. Lion, 2017.