"Ring Out, Wild Bells" is a poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson, published in 1850 as part of his larger work, "In Memoriam A.H.H." This poignant poem was written in memory of Tennyson's close friend and fellow poet, Arthur Henry Hallam, who passed away unexpectedly at the age of 22. The verses of "Ring Out, Wild Bells" are a reflection on the passage of time and the hope for renewal and transformation. The poem's call to "ring out the old, ring in the new" embodies themes of letting go of past sorrows and embracing a brighter future.

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Edward Caswall (1814-1878) was an Anglican clergyman who later converted to Catholicism. Part of his duties as a Catholic priest included writing translations of various Latin texts to be read, and sometimes sung, by the congregation. He soon began writing his own hymns and poems, including “When Morning Gilds the Skies”, “Sleep, Holy Babe”, and “Come, Holy Ghost”. In 1858, while preparing for the upcoming Christmas Eve service, he wrote an original poem titled “See, Amid the Winter’s Snow”. He used the concept of snow as a message of purity against the sins of the world.

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This month’s tab is an arrangement of the hymn “All Creatures of Our God and King”. The original text was written circa 1225 by the Italian friar Francis of Assisi as part of his Canticle of the Sun poem. Nearly 700 years later, English pastor and hymnist William Draper translated the words and adapted them into a hymn intended to be sung by a children’s choir.

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