Advent advenit

The Nativity Fast started yesterday, so I guess the Orthodox Church has entered the season of Advent (sort of). As part of my goal to actually be fairly proficient in Latin by the end of the school year, I'm going to try to post a Latin Christmas hymn each day (hahahaha) until Epiphany and provide a translation.

I'll start with one of my favorites, since I am in an "eat dessert first" kind of mood: O Magnum Mysterium. There is also an amazing arrangement of this hymn by Morten Lauridsen which you can hear on youtube, but really should buy anyways because it is just that good. There are lots of beautiful arrangements of the hymn, but this one is in my opinion the best. In fact, I think that it is my favorite piece of choral music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn5ken3RJBo

O magnum mysterium
et admirabile sacramentum
ut animalia viderent Dominum natum
iacentem in praesepio.
Beata Virgo, cuius viscera
meruerunt portare
Dominum Christum
Alleluia

O great mystery
and wondrous* sacrament
that animals should see the Lord born
lying in a manger
Blessed is the Virgin, whose womb
has won** to bear
the Lord Christ.
Alleluia

*Admirabile has connotations of strangeness or surprise and I think this sense is supposed to be brought out by the next line talking about how animals see the birth of God. Technically, wondrous encapsulates that sort of an idea if you take the literal sense of wondering at, but modern use generally limits wondrous or wonderful to being synonyms of great.
**Mereo, -ere more literally means merit or deserve or be worthy. I've chosen the translation of win because in my mind it has a more active connotation which retains Mary's struggle for holiness. Merit is too loaded of a term for me due to Anselm and deserve or be worthy sound too passive.