The shading shows how neatly the quote from the carol spans the grid in a pattern that is, ultimately, (7,6,6,7), and thus sits symmetrically in the unchecked letters. NAMUR was somewhat unfamiliar (I guess that few Belgian crosswords would expect their solvers to know Darlington, which is about the same size), but at least you had a straightforward cryptic indication. (It was straightforward, wasn’t it?)
ACROSS
1 IN-CALF; in c Alf
5 DORSALLY; rod (rev.) + sally
9 BALEARIC ISLANDS; anag.
10 HI TECH; E in hitch
12 NULLED; (ba)ll(et) in anag.
15 ALABAMIANS; a lab + I in a man’s
17 TWIG; 2 mngs.
18 TORY; 0 in try
19 SOUND STAGE;
21 AYESHA; a yes ha! Ref. Rider Haggard
22 SEETHE; see the
25 SELF-DEVELOPMENT; F in anag.
28 ATHEISTS; at heists
29 ERNEST; e(a)rnest
DOWN
2 NAAFI; a in I fan (all rev.)
3 AWE; a we
4 FARNHAM; far + h in man (rev.)
5 DYCE; hidden
6 RISINGS; is in rings
7 ANA; an A
8 LADDERING; adder in ling
11 EMBRYOS; anag.
13 LET IT BE;
14 NAMUR; rum an (all rev.)
16 LOONY LEFT; implied anag.
19 SCARERS; scar(P)ers
20 DISROBE; r in anag.
23 HANDS; 2 mngs.
24 PEAS; p(l)eas
26 FOE; initial letters
27 MEN; men(u)
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