What Child Is This?

"What Child Is This?" is a Christmas carol whose lyrics were written by William Chatterton Dix, in 1865. At the time of composing the carol, Dix worked as an insurance company manager and had been struck by a severe illness. While recovering, he underwent a spiritual renewal that led him to write several hymns, including lyrics to this carol that was subsequently set to the tune of "Greensleeves", a traditional English folk song. Although it was written in England, the carol is more popular in the United States than in its country of origin today.

Lyrics

Composition

The lyrics of the carol are taken from a poem written by Dix called "The Manger Throne". The part of the poem that was utilized as the song's lyrics consists of three stanzas in total. The first verse poses a rhetorical question in the first half, with the response coming in the second half. The second verse contains another question that is answered, while the final verse is a universal appeal to everyone urging them "to accept Christ". The carol's melody has been described as "soulful", "haunting and beautiful" in nature.

Chris Tomlin

Christopher Dwayne Tomlin (born May 4, 1972) is an American contemporary Christian music (CCM) artist, worship leader, and songwriter from Grand Saline, Texas, United States who has sold nearly 30 million records. He is a former staff member at Austin Stone Community Church and is signed to EMI's sixstepsrecords. Tomlin leads worship at many Passion events. Some of his most well-known songs are "How Great Is Our God", "Jesus Messiah", "Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)", "Our God", which he co-wrote with Matt Redman, Jesse Reeves, and Jonas Myrin, and "Whom Shall I Fear (God of Angel Armies)". He is currently a worship leader at Passion City Church in Atlanta, Georgia, with Louie Giglio, Kristian Stanfill, Christy Nockels, and Brett Younker.

He was awarded Male Vocalist of the Year at the 2006, 2007 (along with Artist of the Year), and 2008 GMA Dove Awards, and a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album in 2012. He is one of the members of CompassionArt, a charity founded by Martin Smith of the band Delirious? and Smith's wife, Anna, and is on the Board of Directors of CURE International, a nonprofit organization that provides medical care to children in the developing world.

Child

Biologically, a child (plural: children) is a human between the stages of birth and puberty. The legal definition of child generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger than the age of majority.

Child may also describe a relationship with a parent (such as sons and daughters of any age) or, metaphorically, an authority figure, or signify group membership in a clan, tribe, or religion; it can also signify being strongly affected by a specific time, place, or circumstance, as in "a child of nature" or "a child of the Sixties".

There are many social issues that affect children, such as childhood education, bullying, child poverty, dysfunctional families, child labor, and in developing countries, hunger. Children can be raised by parents, by fosterers, guardians or partially raised in a day care center.

Legal, biological, and social definitions

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child defines child as "a human being below the age of 18 years unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier". This is ratified by 192 of 194 member countries. In U.S. Immigration Law, a child refers to anyone who is under the age of 21.