Here’s one of my favorite songs from Sissel’s Kyrkjebø’s first Christmas album, the one that made her a superstar in Norway. The title means “Now a thousand Christmas lights are being lit.” I was looking for a live performance video, but the only one I could find is half talk (in Norwegian). So you’ll just have to look at her face on the album cover, which seems to me no chore. Below is an original translation of the lyrics, done by me at this keyboard at this very moment:

Around this darkened world tonight,

A thousand candles glow,

And all God’s stars above shine down

To cheer our night below.

And over towns and over fields

The joyful carols sing

The news that in a manger bed

We find our God and King.

O Star that shone o’er Bethlehem,

To hail the holy birth,

Bring to our hearts the angels’ song

Of love and peace on earth.

So every wand’ring heart shall see

A beacon in their sky,

To light their path through this dark world

To Christmas home on high.

(For the record, this picture of Sissel on the “Glade Jul” album was the inspiration for the appearance of the character Halla in The Year of the Warrior.)