Christmas Carol History Articles | Christmas

By: Liam

The tradition of Christmas carols in church services is believed to have originated with Saint Francis of Assisi  in the 12^th century. Previous music in churches was in Latin, not understood by the congregation. Certainly wandering musicians during the Middle Ages would go from town to town and visit castles and other homes of the rich to give impromptu performances. These were more entertainment than religious in nature.

 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 some of the carols that are now popular at Christmas time are quite old, there are many others from earlier times that didn't survive.

 During the 17th century when the Puritans, led by Oliver Cromwell were in power in England, both the observance of Christmas and carols were banned. The Puritans carried this over to New England where the celebration of Christmas was made a crime in Massachusetts in 1659.  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 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.

 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.

 Listening to Christmas carols is part of an old tradition. Whether you prefer an old classic or a new makeover music has the ability to help you into a festive mood. It may even move you to dance, just as the original carols did hundreds of years ago.