Christmas Carols and Songs

         Christmas carols are based on Christian lyrics and relate, in the main, to the Nativity. Christmas carols were introduced in to church services by St Francis of Assisi in the 12th century. As for the word carols, "carol" is a derivative of the French word caroller, the interpretation of which means dancing around in a circle. Carol and carols, eventually came to mean not only to dance but included music and lyrics - hence modern Christmas Carols.

        The joyous themes for many Christmas carols were banned in England by the staunch Protestant Oliver Cromwell and many of the very old Christmas carols were subsequently lost for all time. Christmas carols were only fully popularized again during the Victorian era when they again expressed joyful and merry themes in their carol lyrics as opposed to the normal, more somber, Christian lyrics found in hymns. As religious observances in the United States and England were closely linked the popularity of Christmas carols grew in both countries in the 19th century.

        Many Christmas traditions are relatively recent such as Santa Claus and reindeer and bear no relation to Christmas carols.   The words of Christmas song lyrics can range from traditional, religious, humorous to the complete bizarre.  The music which accompanies the songs can range from solemn to romantic to unbelievably quirky!

Jingle Bells!

Believe it or not Jingle Bells, one of the most famous American Christmas songs, was originally written for Thanksgiving! The author and composer of Jingle Bells was a minister called James Pierpoint who composed the song in 1857 for children celebrating his Boston Sunday School Thanksgiving. The song was so popular that it was repeated at Christmas, and indeed Jingle Bells has been reprised ever since. The essence of a traditional Christmas is captured in the lyrics of Jingle Bells and the sound effects using the bells have become synonymous with the arrival of Father Christmas or Santa Claus to the delight of children of all ages.

                                       O Holy Night 

The words and lyrics of the old carol 'O Holy Night' were written by Placide Cappeau de Roquemaure in 1847. Cappeau was a wine seller by trade but was asked by the parish priest to write a poem for Christmas. He obliged and wrote the beautiful words of the hymn. He then realized that it should have music to accompany the words and he approached his friend Adolphe Charles Adams(1803-1856) who agreed to compose music for the poem. It was translated into English by John Sullivan Dwight.

We Wish You a Merry Christmas

The author and composer of We Wish You a Merry Christmas cannot be traced however it is believed to date back to England in the sixteenth century. The tradition of carollers being given Christmas treats for singing to wealthy members of the community is reflected in this Christmas song - We Wish You a Merry Christmas.  Over the years the fashion for figgy puddings mentioned in We Wish You a Merry Christmas has faded. But for the curious, the recipe consisted of the most important ingredient which was of course figs together with butter, sugar, eggs, milk, rum, apple, lemon and orange peel, nuts, cinnamon, cloves and ginger. Not dissimilar to the modern day Christmas Puddings!

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