Christmas
Carols
The tradition of caroling and Christmas carols is
believed to have originated in England when wandering musicians would
go from town to town and visit castles and other
homes of the rich to give impromptu performances.
But there also is the belief that singing carols at
Christmas likely came from the group of angels,
shepherds and Wise Men who visited Jesus at his
birth, because they worshiped the holy child, sang
and proclaim praises unto Him. And after their
visit, they continued their proclamations in the
street.
The origin of the word carol however, is thought to
come from the word 'caroller,' which is a French
word that describes a circle dance with singers.
And from the twelfth through the fourteenth
centuries, the carol was highly popular as a dance
song. The use of carols then evolved to festivals
where they were sung as processional songs and
others were used as part of religious mystery plays
in Europe. Some traditional qualities of a carol was
that the words expressed should celebrate a topic
that was seasonal, have verses and a chorus arranged
alternately and have music that was suitable for
dancing.
Although many of the carols that are now popular at
Christmas time are very old, there are others from
earlier times that didn't survive. During the 17th
century when the Protestants, led by Oliver Cromwell
were in power in England, many Christmas caros were
banned and consequently some were never heard again.
The Christmas carols that survived the Protestant
Reformation period didn't become very popular again
until the mid-19th century to the start of the 20th
century.
Many of the Christmas carols that were banned, and
early Christmas carols in general, had lyrics that
expressed joyous and merry themes instead of the
serious somber words found in church hymns. During
the time when carols were banned, some composers and
musicians wrote non-religious songs that had highly
varied choral music, which they called carols, for
Christmas. After Christmas carols again became
popular, many of those songs were re-arranged with
new Christian lyrics and used by the church.
Making changes to Christmas carols continues in a
different way today with pop artistes singing the
carols to different tunes and melodies to give them
a style that characterizes the particular artiste.
Having Christmas carols with tunes of contemporary
or popular music of today means that they are also
more likely to survive because younger listeners
will be interested in hearing any music that
is done by their favorite or other popular singers.
The popularity of Christmas carols in the United
States increased in the 19th century, as it did in
England, because many of the traditions related to
Christmas came to the United States from England.
The United States and England also have closely
linked religious observances, which also accounts
for the popularity and similarity of Christmas
carols that are enjoyed in both countries.
Today, radio stations are the first to play
Christmas carols, usually starting toward
mid-November, to signal the coming season. At the
start of December when the Christmas season official
begins, mall stores and other retail establishments
will begin to pipe Christmas carols and songs
through their places of business.
The singing of carols at churches, schools, and by
groups performing at malls usually will be a common
sight starting in early to mid-December. Carol
singing as a part of Nativity plays and concerts at
churches and schools is usually in full swing by
mid-December as the Christmas season gets into high
gear and the countdown to Christmas Day begins.
Whether it's the traditional tune or popular
makeovers of Christmas carols that you enjoy,
listening to them is part of an old Christmas
tradition. And any version of a Christmas carol that
is played will serve the purpose of putting you in a
festive mood for Christmas that you may even want to
dance, just like the music of original carols was
meant to do.
