Up above, Masato told us that Marion Williams & The Stars of Faith recorded "When Was Jesus Born" in 1959 (Savoy 4128). Here's a link to the recording. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgnb1w1Dgt8 WHEN WAS JESUS BORN? (from the Norah Jones recording) Oh tell me when was Jesus born It was the last month of the year Oh when was Jesus born It was the last month of the year When was Jesus born It was the last month of the year It wasn't, January, February March, April, or May June, July, August, September, October, November It was the twenty-fifth day of December It was the last month of the year Born by the Virgin Mary In the last month of the year He was born by the Virgin Mary In the last month of the year Born by the Virgin Mary In the last month of the year It wasn't, January, February March, April, or May, oh June, July, August, September, October, November It was the twenty-fifth day of December It was the last month of the year Born in an ox manger In the last month of the year Was born in an ox manger In the last month of the year Born in an ox manger In the last month of the year It wasn't, January, February March, April, or May, oh June, July, August, September, October, November It was the twenty-fifth day of December It was the last month of the year When was Jesus born Was the last month of the year It wasn't, January, February March, April, or May, oh, oh June, July, August, September, October, November It was the twenty-fifth day of December It was the last month of the year Norah Jones recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-jVXibGkWY Zambian Vocal Group: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nm7gBO5u2-A Fairfield Four: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKFckAVv9pw And here's the Vera Ward Hall recording, collected by Alan Lomax in 1959: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWXi-2-8Ud0 Betty May Bowman (date unclear): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2tV8Tr5hH8 Here's the Traditional Ballad Index entry: What Month Was Jesus Born In? DESCRIPTION: "What month was Jesus born in? Last month in the year." The song details Jesus' birth in December and the humble cercumstances of his birth. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST DATE: 1941 (recording, Heavenly Gospel Singers) KEYWORDS: Bible religious Jesus FOUND IN: US(SE) REFERENCES (3 citations): Courlander-NegroFolkMusic, pp. 58-59, "(What Month Was Jesus Born In?") (1 text); pp. 245-246, "What Month Was Jesus Born In?" (1 tune, partial text) Silber/Silber-FolksingersWordbook, p. 384, "Tell Me What Month Was My Jesus Born In?" (1 text) NorthCarolinaFolkloreJournal, various authors, "A Singing Stream: A Black Family Chronicle" [an entire issue about a documentary of the Landis Family], Vol. XXXVI, No. 1 (Winter 1989), p. 53, "When Was Jesus Born?" (1 text, contained in the script of the documentary) Roud #13975 RECORDINGS: Vera Ward Hall, "No Room At the Inn/The Last Month of the Year" (on NFMAla5) (on LomaxCD1706); "What Month Was Jesus Born In" (on ReedWard01) Heavenly Gospel Singers, "When Was Jesus Born?" (Bluebird B-8907, 1941; on Babylon) Pete Seeger, "What Month Was Jesus Born" (on PeteSeeger12) NOTES [110 words]: It should be noted that there is no Biblical evidence that Jesus was born in December; indeed, those scholars who have an opinion generally think he was born in spring. In any case, December was not always the "last month of the year"; in the classical Roman calendar, it was the tenth month, and even after this changed, it was remembered for quite some time. In addition, for much of the Middle Ages, the new year began on March 25 (approximating the equinox). Even if we ignore all that, Jesus was Jewish, and would have used the Jewish calendar, which had no month of December. Nor was its (approximate) equivalent of December the last month of the year. - RBW Last updated in version 6.1 File: CNFM245
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