Canada’s oldest Christmas song, the Huron Carol was written by the Jesuit priest Saint Jean de Brébeuf, the same man who gave the name lacrosse to the Indian sport he observed while serving the missions of New France. Brébeuf was killed by members of the Iroquois Confederation in what are now known as the Beaver Wars. The Hurons, many of whom converted to Catholicism, were effectively wiped out by the Iroquois in these wars.

Original lyrics in the Wyandot (Huron) language:

Ehstehn yayau deh tsaun we yisus ahattonnia /O na wateh wado:kwi nonnwa ‘ndasqua entai /ehnau sherskwa trivota nonnwa ‘ndi yaun rashata / Iesus Ahattonnia, Ahattonnia, Iesus Ahattonnia.

English Translation of the Original:

Have courage, you who are human beings: Jesus, he is born / The okie spirit who enslaved us has fled / Don’t listen to him for he corrupts the spirits of our thought. Jesus, he is born

The okie spirits who live in the sky are coming with a message /They’re coming to say, “Rejoice! Mary has given birth. Rejoice!” Jesus, he is born

Three men of great authority have left for the place of his birth / Tiscient, the star appearing over the horizon leads them there / That star will walk first on the bath to guide them. Jesus, he is born

As they entered and saw Jesus they praised his name / They oiled his scalp many times, anointing his head with the oil of the sunflower. Jesus, he is born

They say, “Let us place his name in a position of honour / Let us act reverently towards him for he comes to show us mercy. It is the will of the spirits that you love us, Jesus, and we wish that we may be adopted into your family. Jesus, he is born

And the Coureur des Bois