“I Saw Three Ships,” which is an English carol dating back to at least the 17th century, is one of those carols that I grew up singing with without ever giving it a great deal of thought. Somehow, my childhood mind had decided that the three ships in the title were the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria, which of course makes no sense at all. Then again, neither do the lyrics if you think about it--the nearest body of water to Bethlehem is the Dead Sea, about 20 miles away, and the idea of Mary and Joseph arriving in Bethlehem via ship contradicts the rest of the story (the question of which parts of said story do, or need to, make sense is beyond the scope of this space!).

Explanations for what the three ships are about suggest perhaps they refer to the camels of the Magi (“ships of the desert”) or the ships that transported purported relics of the Magi to Cologne Cathedral in the 12th century, and you can never go wrong assuming that any reference to the number three refers somehow to the Trinity. The accretion of imagery to Christmas—whether it be the pre-Christian solstice trees and candles, or the decidedly unreligious Santa Claus—as well as the expansion of various aspects of the Christmas holiday to secular and non-Christian people is an inescapable part of how Christmas operates in America today. While this may be a source of handwringing to some, for me personally the sharing of traditions across belief systems and the intermingling of cultures (without losing respect for their individuality and specificity) is at its best one of the beautiful things about American culture, and one we could all use a little more of this holiday season.

By no means do I mean to suggest that celebrating Christmas, either as a religious or secular holiday, is somehow universal (almost nothing is!). Merely that lots of people can and should enjoy carols like this one, each in their own way (and if anyone has a better idea of what it means, please let me know!).

– Wesley Chinn

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TRADITIONAL ENGLISH CHRISTMAS CAROL I Saw Three Ships (arr. Richard Lloyd)

Voices of Ascension
Dennis Keene, Artistic Director
Colin Britt, Guest Conductor

Recorded live at the Voices of Ascension HOLIDAY FAMILY CONCERT
Wednesday, December 14, 2019, The Church of the Ascension, New York City
The singers in this performance are represented by the American Guild of Musical Artists, AFL-CIO.