In 1643, the French Jesuit Jean de Brébeuf was in the Great Lakes region, in what is now Canada, on a mission among the Wendat tribes, referred to as the “Hurons” by the French. Father Brébeuf had spent several years among them, dedicating himself particularly to the study of their language, an Iroquoian tongue considered especially complex. He became convinced that, to achieve conversions among the Hurons, it was essential to connect with them linguistically and culturally.

With this in mind, he composed "Jesous Ahatonhia" ("Jesus is Born"), a Christmas hymn in the Huron language. Like the Jesuits of the reducciones in South America, Father Brébeuf had realized that music, something that deeply fascinated Indigenous peoples, was a powerful tool for spreading the Christian faith. Using the melody of a French folk song, "La Jeune Pucelle", he retold the Nativity story for the Huron audience.

However, the hymn featured several unique adaptations. Brébeuf did not merely translate the story into the Huron language; he also reworked its content to resonate with Indigenous culture. Elements of the original narrative, such as the Magi, gold, frankincense, myrrh, the stable, and the manger, would have been incomprehensible to a semi-nomadic people unfamiliar with concepts like royalty or luxury goods. Aware of this, Brébeuf reimagined the Nativity setting and characters: in his version, the Christ Child was born in a broken bark lodge, wrapped in a tattered rabbit skin. 

To honor him, three chief hunters arrived bearing gifts of fox and beaver pelts. Instead of shepherds, hunters heard the hymn “Jesus, your King is born,” and the listeners of the carol were referred to as “children of the free forest,” evoking the wild Canadian landscape. Even the concept of divinity was adapted: to refer to God, Brébeuf used “Gitchi Manitou”, an Algonquian term for the Great Spirit, a pantheistic idea of nature that featured prominently in many Native North American cultures.

"Jesous Ahatonhia" is a striking example of the Jesuit strategy of cultural adaptation in their missions among Indigenous peoples. Today, it remains a well-known and beloved Christmas carol in Canada, commonly referred to as the “Huron Carol.”